Pauline Johnson
            Emily Pauline Johnson, Tekahionwake, was born on March 10, 1861, to a Mohawk chief, George Johnson, and a wealthy Englishwoman, Emily Howells. She had two brothers, Henry and Allen, and one sister, Eva. She was born and lived on the Six Nations Reservation near Brantford, Ontario. On the Six Nations Reservation, Johnson and her family lived in a mansion called Chiefswood. After her father’s death, her family were un able to afford Chiefswood and moved to Brantford. Johnson had very little formal education. She attended the Brantford Model School and was not able to attend college. Even though Johnson was not able to get a formal education, she was still a very successful poet. By her late teens she was an accomplished poet and in 1892, Johnson was reciting her poems to audiences all around southern Ontario. Pauline raised enough money to travel to England. There she found a publisher to publish her first book of poetry called The White Wigwam.
            Once Pauline found a publisher, she came back to Canada to tour. While touring she wrote her second book called Canadian Born. Canadian Born was a collection of poems about the shared histories of Canadians. Also while she toured, and to help finance her touring, Johnson wrote for other literary outlets, She wrote about politics for newspaper, family stories for woman journals, travel pieces for popular magazines of the time like the Saturday Night,  and short adventure stories for boys magazines. She based most of her stories from Native legends or subjects but she also wrote stories about her travels and life. She often could make her audiences cry, tremble with fear, laugh, or rejoice in happiness. Even with her success on the road and the success with her writing, she never made much money. The money she did make went to her travel expenses.
            After seventeen years of traveling, Pauline retired to Vancouver. In Vancouver, Johnson meet a Squamish chief. Johnson wrote her third book, which was titled Legends of Vancouver in 1911. Legends of Vancouver was a collection of legends, and stories of the Squamish people told by her friend Chief Joe Capilano.
            By the time she discovered she had breast cancer, it was too late for surgery to help. Pauline Johnson died March 7, 1913. Flags flew at half staff, and a lot of people came to her funeral. She was buried at her favorite place in Vancouver, Stanley Park. She is the only person to be buried at any park all around Canada.
            In her final years she was in great pain. She was optimistic when it came to her life and still wrote both poetry and short stories. Her last book of her collection of poetry before she died was called Flint and Feathers. It was published in 1912. Flint and Feathers is a collection of all her poetry from her previous books plus new poems. Flint and Feathers  was Johnson’s most popular book of her collection and remain in print many years after her death in 1913.
            After her death in 1913, two more of Johnson books were published. The first was The Moccasin Maker, a collection of her short stories about the experiences of Canadian Indians and mix-bloods. Johnson’s last book was called The Shagganappi.
            Pauline’s work was still published and popular years after she died. Flint and Feathers and Legends of Vancouver were republished in the middle of the twentieth century. Pauline continues to be one the greatest female Canadian Indian poets and is still an influence on many Natives.
List of Poems written by Pauline Johnson
Ojistoh
Shadow River
Close By
At Sunset
Re-voyage
A Prodigal
A Cry from an Indian wife
Overlooked
Brier
Harvest Time
The Quill Worker
As Redmen Die
Under Canvas
The Idlers
Canadian Born
Wave-won
The Riders of the Plains
The Camper
Dawendin
Marshlands
And He Said Fight On
The Corn Husker
Silhouette
Erie Waters
The Pilot of The Plains
The Song my Paddle Sings
The Happy Hunting Grounds
Lullaby of The Iroquois
Moonset
The Vagabonds
Rainfall
Penseroso
Your Mirror Frame
The Cattle Thief
The Corn Huskers
Lillooet
 
Bibliography
Cota, Christi. "Emily Pauline Johnson." Voices from the Gaps. 2006. 12 Sep 2007
            <http://voices.cla.umn.edu/vg/Bios/entries/johnson_emily_pauline.html>.
"The Pauline Johnson Archive." The Pauline Johnson Archive. October 1996. McMaster
            University. 12 Sep 2007 <http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/~pjohnson/home.html>.