George Bonga facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
George Bonga
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African American and Ojibwe
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| Born | August 20, 1802 Northwest Territory near modern Duluth
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| Died | 1880 |
| Occupation | Fur trader Government interpreter Entrepreneur |
George Bonga (born August 20, 1802 – died 1880) was a very important person in early Minnesota history. He was a Black Indian fur trader, a business owner, and an interpreter for the U.S. government. An interpreter is someone who helps people speaking different languages understand each other. George Bonga could speak French, Ojibwe, and English very well.
When he was just eighteen, George helped Governor Lewis Cass of Michigan Territory during a meeting with the Ojibwe people. This meeting was about a treaty, which is a formal agreement, at a place called Fond du Lac, near what is now Duluth, Minnesota.
Bonga worked for the American Fur Company, a big trading business, from 1820 to 1839. He started as a worker and moved up to become a clerk, helping the main trader, William Aitken. In 1837, he was part of the first criminal trial in Minnesota. He tracked down an Ojibwe man named Che-ga-wa-skung, who was wanted for a crime, and brought him 250 miles back to Fort Snelling for trial.
In the 1850s, Bonga worked for the United States Indian agent at Leech Lake. He continued to be an interpreter and also helped manage a government farm. Later, he and his wife opened a lodge, which was like a small hotel, on Leech Lake where they sold goods and welcomed travelers. In 1867, Bonga again served as an interpreter during treaty talks. These talks led to the creation of the White Earth Indian Reservation.
George Bonga was baptized Catholic and went to school in Montreal, Canada. His father, Pierre Bonga, was a Black man who also worked in the fur trade. His mother was an Ojibwe woman named Ogibwayquay. George had a brother, Stephen Bonga, and a sister, Margaret Bonga Fahlstrom. George and his Ojibwe wife, Ashwewin, had four children. One of their children, William Bonga, later joined the Ojibwe community at White Earth.
Bungo Township in Cass County, Minnesota is named after the Bonga family. George Bonga's story has been shared in the "Black American Pioneers" exhibit at the National Great Blacks In Wax Museum. He was also mentioned in the United States Congressional Record in 2003, showing his importance in history.
George Bonga's Family and Early Life
George Bonga's family had an interesting history. His father, Pierre, was the son of Jean and Marie-Jeannette Bonga. Jean and Marie-Jeannette were not free people; they were brought to Mackinac Island by a British officer named Captain Daniel Robertson. Captain Robertson later gave them their freedom before he left. After gaining their freedom, the Bongas legally married and opened the first hotel on Mackinac Island.
Pierre Bonga, George's father, became a fur trader. He worked with the Ojibwe people near Duluth. George's older brother, Stephen Bonga, born in 1799, also became a well-known fur trader and translator in the area. Their sister, Marguerite Bonga, married Jacob Fahlstrom, who was the first Swedish settler in Minnesota. They lived and worked near Fort Snelling for a while before starting a farm in Afton.
Because Pierre Bonga was a successful trader, he sent George to school in Montreal. When George came back to the Great Lakes region, he could speak English, French, and Ojibwe fluently. This skill was very valuable in the fur trade and for working with different groups of people.
George was known in what is now Minnesota for being one of the first two Black children born in the area. His brother Stephen even joked that they were the "first white children" born there. This was because the Ojibwe people sometimes called anyone who was not Native American "white."
George Bonga's Career as a Fur Trader
George Bonga followed his father into the fur trade. He first joined the American Fur Company as a voyageur. Voyageurs were people who traveled long distances by canoe, carrying furs and supplies. In this job, George caught the attention of Governor Lewis Cass. The governor hired George as an interpreter for a treaty meeting with the Ojibwe at Fond du Lac in 1820. Years later, George Bonga's signature appeared on other important treaties in 1847 and 1867.
People described George Bonga as a very strong man. He was over six feet tall and weighed more than 200 pounds. It was said that he could carry as much as 700 pounds of furs and supplies at one time!
George Bonga had a special understanding of both European and Ojibwe ways of life. He was comfortable in both societies and felt connected to both. He even reportedly called himself one of the first two "white men" in Northern Minnesota, meaning he was part of the white culture. He often spoke out against white traders who treated Ojibwe trappers unfairly. Bonga wrote letters to the government on behalf of the Ojibwe, complaining about certain Indian agents. These letters show how he connected both the government and the Ojibwe people.
In 1837, an Ojibwe man named Che-ga-wa-skung was accused of a crime against Alfred Aitkin at Red Cedar Lake (now Cass Lake). Alfred Aitkin was the son of the fur trader William Alexander Aitken. Che-ga-wa-skung escaped, but Bonga tracked him for five days and six nights during the winter. He eventually caught the man and brought him back to Fort Snelling for a trial. This was one of the first United States criminal trials in what was then part of Wisconsin Territory. Che-ga-wa-skung was found not guilty because Alfred Aitkin was half-Ojibwe, and the court decided it did not have power over the case.
Some Ojibwe people were not happy with Bonga because of his role in this case. However, he continued to live with or near the Ojibwe people for the rest of his life. In 1842, he married Ashwinn, an Ojibwe woman, and they had four children together.
Around 1842, the American Fur Company began to decline. There were fewer beavers, and European fashion was changing, so the fur trade was not as strong as it used to be. Because of this, Bonga and his wife started a new business. They opened a lodge on Leech Lake and welcomed travelers. Many visitors wrote about Bonga telling stories of early Minnesota and singing for their enjoyment. George Bonga passed away there when he was about seventy years old.
Legacy and Honors
- Bungo Township in Cass County, Minnesota, is named after his family. The spelling of names often changed a lot back then.
- A play about Bonga's life, called George Bonga: Black Voyageur, was written by Carlyle Brown. It opened in February 2016 at the History Theatre in Saint Paul, Minnesota. James A. Williams played George Bonga in the show.
