Minnehaha Minnehaha Minnehaha is a fictional Native American woman documented in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1855 epic poem "The Song of Hiawatha". She is the lover of the titular protagonist Hiawatha and comes to a tragic end. The name, often said to mean "laughing water", literally translates to "waterfall" or "rapid water" in Dakota. The figure of Minnehaha inspired later art works such as paintings, sculpture and music. "The Death of Minnehaha" is a frequent subject for paintings. Minnehaha Falls and her death scene inspired themes in the 'New World' symphony by Antonín Dvořák. Longfellow's poem was set in a cantata trilogy,
The Song of Hiawatha parody, "The Song of Milkanwatha: Translated from the Original Feejee". Probably the work of Rev. George A. Strong, it was ascribed on the title page to "Marc Antony Henderson" and to the publishers "Tickell and Grinne". The work following the original chapter by chapter and one passage later became famous: Over time, an elaborated version stand-alone version developed, titled "The Modern Hiawatha": In England, Lewis Carroll published "Hiawatha's Photographing" (1857), which he introduced by noting (in the same rhythm as the Longfellow poem), "In an age of imitation, I can claim no special merit for this slight attempt at doing