Sowengisik (1820–1884), later Henry Bird Steinhauer, upon adoption into a German-Canadian family, was an Ojibwe translator, missionary, clergyman of the Methodist Church,[1] and by means of his assimilation into Western Canadian society, became of the first First Nations persons to achieve collegiate credentials at a Canadian institution.

Steinhauer was one of the first Indigenous Canadians to complete studies at a collegiate institute, graduating top of his class at Upper Canada Academy in Cobourg, Ontario.

He was enrolled at UCA by Egerton Ryerson in 1835, completing his studies in 1839 after a one-year hiatus for missionary work at Alderville.

He was employed by Principal Matthew Richey to proofread his literary work, possessing a greater skill for English grammar than his English-born peers.

[4] He assisted Evans in inventing and perfecting the Cree syllabic characters, in which nearly all Indigenous languages of Western Canada are written in today.