- George Copway
George Copway (1818 – January 1869) was a
Mississaugas Ojibwa writer, lecturer, and advocate of Native Americans. His Ojibwa name was "Kah-Ge-Ga-Gah-Bowh" ("Gaagigegaabaw" in the Fiero orthography), meaning "He Who Stands Forever."Copway was born near Trenton,
Ontario , into a traditional Ojibwa family who later converted toMethodism . After conversion, he attended the local mission school and eventually became amissionary for the Methodist church.In 1840, he met English woman
Elizabeth Howell whose family were farmers in theToronto area. They married and moved toMinnesota to serve as missionaries. The couple later returned toCanada where Copway served as a missionary for theSaugeen and Rice Lake Bands of the Ojibwa. In 1846, he was accused and convicted ofembezzlement and wasdefrocked by the Methodists.He then left Canada for
New York City and wrote "The Life, History and Travels of Kah-ge-ga-gah-Bowh" (1847), the first published book by a First Nations person.In 1851, he started his own weekly newspaper in New York City titled "Copway's American Indian" which ran for approximately three months. He died in Oka,
Quebec .elected bibliography
*"The Life, History and Travels of Kah-ge-ga-gah-Bowh" (1847)
*"Organization of a New Indian Territory, East of the Missouri River" (1850)
*"The Traditional History and Characteristic Sketches of the Ojibway Nation" (1850)
*"The Life, Letters, and Speeches of Kah-ge-ga-gah-Bowh, or G. Copway, a chief of the Ojibwa Nation" (1850)
*"Ojibwa Conquest" (1850)
*"Running Sketches of Men and Places, in England, France, Germany, Belgium, and Scotland (1851)
*"Indian Life and Indian History" (1860)External links
* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=4517 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]
* [http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001911 short biography at "The Canadian Encyclopedia"]
* [http://fax.libs.uga.edu/E99xC6xC73x1846/ The life, history, and travels of Kah-ge-ga-gah-bowh] (George Copway), a young Indian chief of the Ojebwa nation, a convert to the Christian faith, and a missionary to his people for twelve years; with a sketch of the present state of the Ojebwa nation, in regard to Christianity and their future prospects. Also an appeal; with all the names of the chiefs now living, who have been Christianized, and the missionaries now laboring among them. Written by himself. Publisher: Albany, Printed by Weed and Parsons, 1847, c1846.
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