George Bonga (August 20, 1802 – 1874) was a fur trader, entrepreneur and interpreter for the U.S. government, who was of Ojibwe and African descent, fluent in French, Ojibwemowin and English.

At the age of eighteen, he served as an interpreter for Governor Lewis Cass of Michigan Territory during a treaty council with the Ojibwe at Fond du Lac near present-day Duluth, Minnesota.

In 1837, he was involved in the first criminal trial held in Minnesota when he tracked down and successfully apprehended Che-ga-wa-skung, an Ojibwe man who was wanted for murder, transporting him 250 miles (400 km) back to Fort Snelling.

In the 1850s, Bonga worked for the United States Indian agent at Leech Lake, serving as interpreter and superintendent of the government farm.

In 1867, Bonga served as an interpreter during treaty negotiations which resulted in the creation of the White Earth Indian Reservation.

George and his Ojibwe wife, Ashwewin, had four children, including William Bonga, who joined the followers of Waabaanakwad at White Earth.

[6] In this role, Bonga drew the attention of Territorial Governor Lewis Cass, who hired him as an interpreter for a treaty council with the Ojibwe in Fond du Lac in 1820.

Bonga wrote letters on behalf of the Ojibwe, complaining to the state government about individual Indian agents in the region.

His letters, which point out both his connections to the white government and the Ojibwe, illustrate the ways that Bonga traversed cultural boundaries.

With the beaver nearly extinct and European fashions changing, the fur trade that had been Bonga's livelihood had declined dramatically.