Playwright born an Algonquian speaker (7)
I believe the answer is:
shawnee
'an algonquian speaker' is the definition.
(the Shawnee ethnic group speak Algonquian)
'playwright born' is the wordplay.
'playwright' becomes 'shaw' (George Bernard Shaw).
'born' becomes 'nee' ('nee' is 'born' in French).
'shaw'+'nee'='SHAWNEE'
(Other definitions for shawnee that I've seen before include "N. American indian" , "Eastern US Indian" , "American native" , "brave" .)