Life of Black Hawk

“Soon after this, a leading chief of the Muscow nation, came to our village for recruits to go to war against the Osages, our common enemy. I volunteered my services to go, as my father had joined him; and was proud to have an opportunity to prove to him that I was not an unworthy son, and that I had courage and bravery. It was not long before we met the enemy, when a battle immediately ensued. Standing by my father’s side, I saw him kill his antagonist, and tear the scalp from his head. Fired with valor and ambition, I rushed furiously upon another, smote him to the earth with my tomahawk—run my lance through his body—took off his scalp, and returned in triumph to my father! […] This was the first man I killed! The enemy’s loss in this engagement having been great, they immediately retreated, which put an end to the war for the present. Our party then returned to our village, and danced over the scalps we had taken. This was the first time that I was permitted to join in a scalp-dance.”

Black Hawk describes his years as a young warrior. For a young Sauk man, earning the status of the brave warrior was also a passage into manhood. Black Hawk strived to prove himself in battle and make his father proud. The passage demonstrates the patrilineal ethics of the Sauk tribe. Black Hawk looked up to his father and was by his side in war to learn the skills of a warrior. A Sauk man would ground his masculine identity in defending the nation against its enemies and proving himself superior to them.

“The American chief told them he wanted land—and they had agreed to give him some on the west side of the Mississippi, and some on the Illinois side opposite the Jeffreon. When the business was all arranged, they expected to have their friend released to come home with them. But about the time they were ready to start, their friend was let out of prison, who ran a short distance, and was shot dead! This is all they could recollect of what had been said and done. They had been drunk the greater part of the time they were in St. Louis. This is all myself or nation knew of the treaty of 1804. It has been explained to me since. I find, by all our country, east of the Mississippi, and south of the Jeffreon, was ceded to the United States for one thousand dollars a year! […] I could say much about this treaty, but I will not, at this time. It has been the origin of all our difficulties.”

The passage refers to the Treaty of 1804 by which the Sauk ceded their land to the United States government. The party Black Hawk sent to request the release of a Sauk prisoner returned having signed the treaty without authorization. Moreover, the passage demonstrates the fraudulent means US officials used in treaty negotiations. Often, they would offer alcohol to the Indigenous people to guarantee their consent. Black Hawk knew nothing of the treaty terms.

“Soon after our return home, news reached us that a war was going to take place between the British and the Americans. Runners continued to arrive from different tribes, all confirming the report of the expected war. The British agent, Col. Dixon, was holding talks with, and making presents to, the different tribes. I had not made up my mind whether to join the British, or remain neutral. I had not discovered one good trait in the character of the Americans that had come to the country! They made fair promises, but never fulfilled them! Whilst the British made but few—but we could always rely upon their word!”

The passage refers to the War of 1812. The British tried to secure the alliance of the Indigenous tribes by offering them provisions and material gifts. Black Hawk had not immediately resolved to participate in the war. However, his distrust of the Americans is evident and influenced his final decision. Ultimately, Black Hawk’s desire was not to support the British against the Americans but to defend his homeland.

“Why did the Great Spirit ever send the whites to this island, to drive us from our homes, and introduce among us poisonous liquors, disease and death? They should have remained on the island where the Great Spirit first placed them. But I will proceed with my story. My memory, however, is not very good, since my late visit to the white people. I have still a buzzing in my ears, from the noise—and may give some parts of my story out of place; but I will endeavor to be correct.”

In this quote, Black Hawk delineates the impact of colonialism on the Sauk tribe, alluding to the diseases that diminished the Indigenous population, the addiction to alcohol, and the prolonged warfare. The passage also complicates Black Hawk as a narrator. He admits that his memory might have gaps, showing that his perspective is personal.

“I hurried across the river, anxious for an opportunity to show the courage of my braves; but before we reached the ground, all was over! The British had taken many prisoners, and the Indians were killing them! I immediately put a stop to it, as I never thought it brave, but cowardly, to kill an unarmed and helpless enemy!”

Black Hawk reveals his ethics in warfare several times in his narration. One of his principles is to not attack non-combatants. During the War of 1812, Indigenous people committed atrocities on unarmed people, which Black Hawk resented. As a war leader Black Hawk only wanted to fight against soldiers and had respect for the helpless.

“I was satisfied, and then started to visit my wife and children. I found them well, and my boys were growing finely. It is not customary for us to say much about our women, as they generally perform their part cheerfully, and never interfere with business belonging to the men! This is the only wife I ever had, or ever will have. She is a good woman, and teaches my boys to be brave!”

The passage emphasizes again the patriarchal ethics of the Sauk tribe. Black Hawk is reticent about his wife, apparently following Sauk values. Sauk women had different roles and activities from those of the men. However, Black Hawk notes that his wife instills bravery in his sons, which highlights the women’s pivotal role in the children’s education and identity.

“Here, for the first time, I touched the goose quill to the treaty—not knowing, however, that, by that act, I consented to give away my village. Had that been explained to me, I should have opposed it, and never would have signed their treaty, as my recent conduct will clearly prove. What do we know of the manner of the laws and customs of the white people? They might buy our bodies for dissection, and we would touch the goose quill to confirm it, without knowing what we are doing. This was the case with myself and people in touching the goose quill the first time. We can only judge of what is proper and right by our standard of right and wrong, which differs widely from the whites, if I have been correctly informed. The whites may do bad all their lives, and then, if they are sorry for it when about to die, all is well! But with us it is different: we must continue throughout our lives to do what we conceive to be good. If we have corn and meat, and know of a family that have none, we divide with them. If we have more blankets than sufficient, and others have not enough, we must give to them that want. But I will presently explain our customs and the manner we live.”

Black Hawk criticizes white American ethics and politics, stressing Indigenous Versus White Values and Mindset. Even when Black Hawk himself signed another treaty with the United States government, he was not aware of its terms. Lack of translation and misunderstanding inhibited communication between the two sides. Black Hawk contests white standards and emphasizes that Sauk consciousness impels people to do right throughout their lives. Community and sharing are also part of Sauk values as they would provide for others in need.

“We had about eight hundred acres in cultivation, including what we had on the islands of Rock river. The land around our village, uncultivated, was covered with blue-grass, which made excellent pasture for our horses. Several fine springs broke out of the bluff, near by, from which we were supplied with good water. The rapids of Rock river furnished us with an abundance of excellent fish, and the land, being good, never failed to produce good crops of corn, beans, pumpkins, and squashes. We always had plenty—our children never cried with hunger, nor our people were never in want. Here our village had stood for more than a hundred years, during all which time we were the undisputed possessors of the valley of the Mississippi, from the Ouisconsin to the Portage des Sioux, near the mouth of the Missouri, being about seven hundred miles in length. At this time we had very little intercourse with the whites, except our traders.”

Black Hawk describes the Sauk homeland before colonization. The land provided the Sauk with all kinds of food, and the tribe was self-sufficient. His statement that the Sau children were never hungry makes the impact of colonial expansion on the tribe more vivid. Black Hawk asserts the Sauk’s land rights, noting that the land of the Mississippi was their homeland for more than a century. Their lives were not immediately disturbed as their early contact with the white settlers was limited to the fur trade.

“Every one makes his feast as he thinks best, to please the Great Spirit, who has the care of all beings created. Others believe in two Spirits: one good and one bad, and make feasts for the Bad Spirit, to keep him quiet! If they can make peace with him, the Good Spirit will not hurt them! For my part, I am of opinion, that so far as we have reason, we have a right to use it, in determining what is right or wrong; and should pursue that path which we believe to be right—believing, that ‘whatever is, is right.’ If the Great and Good Spirit wished us to believe and do as the whites, he could easily change our opinions, so that we would see, and think, and act as they do. We are nothing compared to His power, and we feel and know it. We have men among us, like the whites, who pretend to know the right path, but will not consent to show it without pay! I have no faith in their paths—but believe that every man must make his own path!”

The passage shows Black Hawk’s religious beliefs. The Great Spirit that represents the Sauk concept of God was central to Black Hawk’s life. The Indigenous people believed in a creator whose spirit guides people toward the right life path. He criticizes white people pretending to know what is wrong and right and rejects their beliefs.

“The traders arrive, and give us credit for such articles as we want to clothe our families, and enable us to hunt. We first, however, hold a council with them, to ascertain the price they will give us for our skins, and what they will charge us for goods. We inform them where we intend hunting—and tell them where to build their houses. At this place, we deposit part of our corn, and leave our old people. The traders have always been kind to them, and relieved them when in want. They were always much respected by our people—and never since we have been a nation, has one of them been killed by our people.”

Black Hawk describes the early symbiotic relationship between the Sauk and the white traders during the fur trade. The Sauk established relations with the traders, exchanging goods that benefited both sides. The passage shows that before colonial expansion, relations between white people and Sauk were not always confrontational or violent.

“We were not as happy then in our village as formerly. Our people got more liquor than customary. I used all my influence to prevent drunkenness, but without effect. As the settlements progressed towards us, we became worse off, and more unhappy. Many of our people, instead of going to their old hunting grounds, where game was plenty, would go near to the settlements to hunt—and, instead of saving their skins to pay the trader for goods furnished them in the fall, would sell them to the settlers for whisky! and return in the spring with their families, almost naked, and without the means of getting anything for them.”

A turning point in the lives of Sauk people was the advance of white settlers into their homeland. Black Sauk notes that the tribe lost its harmonious living and stresses the key problem of alcohol addiction. The white people used alcohol as a means against the tribes to deceive them either in trading or in treaty negotiations, exploiting their intolerance to alcohol. The passage shows that alcohol abuse also impacted the tribe’s ability to sustain itself, as the hunters would relinquish their habits.

“My reason teaches me that land cannot be sold. The Great Spirit gave it to his children to live upon, and cultivate, as far as is necessary for their subsistence; and so long as they occupy and cultivate it, they have the right to the soil—but if they voluntarily leave it, then any other people have a right to settle upon it. Nothing can be sold, but such things as can be carried away.”

The passage shows one of the key principles of Black Hawk that foregrounds his Indigenous consciousness. Black Hawk believes that land is given to people by God and cannot be sold or owned. People’s duty is to cultivate it and make it abundant, taking only what is necessary for their survival. His perspective counters the European colonial mindset.

“We learned during the winter that part of the land where our village stood had been sold to individuals, and that the trader at Rock Island had bought the greater part that had been sold. The reason was now plain to me, why he urged us to remove. His object, we thought, was to get our lands. We held several councils that winter to determine what we should do, and resolved, in one of them, to return to our village in the spring, as usual; and concluded, that if we were removed by force, that the trader, agent, and others, must be the cause; and that, if found guilty of having driven us from our village, they should be killed!”

Black Hawk learns that his homeland was divided into allotments and sold to settlers by the United States government. His mind changes as he realizes the white people’s determination to seize Sauk land and relinquishes his previous strategy of nonviolent resistance. This was a decisive moment that led to the Black Hawk War, as the leader asserts the tribe’s right to defend its land against colonial invasion, even with violence.

“We were a divided people, forming two parties. Ke-o-kuck being at the head of one, willing to barter our rights merely for the good opinion of the whites; and cowardly enough to desert our village to them. I was at the head of the other party, and was determined to hold on to my village, although I had been ordered to leave it. But, I considered, as myself and band had no agency in selling our country—and that as provision had been made in the treaty, for us all to remain on it as long as it belonged to the United States, that we could not be forced away. I refused, therefore, to quit my village. It was here, that I was born—and here lie the bones of many friends and relations. For this spot I felt a sacred reverence, and never could consent to leave it, without being forced there from.”

The passage demonstrates the internal political division in the Sauk tribe over their removal. Not all Sauk agreed in what would be best for their nation. Ke-o-kuck thought that the Sauk had no chance against the US army and accepted removal for the safety of the tribe. However, Black Hawk expresses his love for his native land and determined to resist, refusing to accept that Sauk land can be sold.

“All our plans were now defeated. We must cross the river, or return to our village and await the coming of the war chief with his soldiers. We determined on the latter: but finding that our agent, interpreter, trader, and Ke-o-kuck, (who were determined on breaking my ranks,) had seduced several of my warriors to cross the Mississippi, I sent a deputation to the agent, at the request of my band, pledging myself to leave the country in the fall, provided permission was given us to remain, and secure our crop of corn, then growing—as we would be in a starving situation if we were driven off without the means of subsistence. The deputation returned with an answer from the war chief, ‘that no further time would be given us than that specified, and if we were not then gone, he would remove us!’ I directed my village crier to proclaim, that my orders were, in the event of the war chief coming to our village to remove us, that not a gun should be fired, nor any resistance offered.”

While a part of the tribe had already moved west of the Mississippi, Black Hawk remained in the village but sought to avoid an armed conflict. This was the first stage of his confrontation with the US military, and Black Hawk insisted on nonviolent resistance, ordering his men to not respond to the treats of the soldiers. As the army was coming to enforce removal even with violence, things soon changed.

“The express returned. We moved on, and encamped some distance below the prophet’s village. Here another express came from the White Beaver, threatening to pursue us and drive us back, if we did not return peaceably! This message roused the spirit of my band, and all were determined to remain with me and contest the ground with the war chief, should he come and attempt to drive us. We therefore directed the express to say to the war chief, ‘if he wished to fight us, he might come on!’ We were determined never to be driven, and equally so, not to make the first attack, our object being to act only on the defensive. This we conceived our right.”

Under the persistent threats from the American army, the Sauk remained determined to resist and fight to secure their land. The Sauk warriors appeared proud and would not yield to threats of violence. Black Hawk viewed a violent response of the Sauk as a right to self-defense.

“I had resolved on giving up the war—and sent a flag of peace to the American war chief—expecting, as a matter of right, reason and justice, that our flag would be respected, (I have always seen it so in war among the whites,) and a council convened, that we might explain our grievances, having been driven from our village the year before, without being permitted to gather the corn and provisions which our women had labored hard to cultivate, and ask for permission to return—thereby giving up all idea of going to war against the whites. Yet, instead of this honorable course which I have always practised in war, I was forced into WAR, with about five hundred warriors, to contend against three or four thousand!”

Throughout the narrative, Black Hawk repeats that he was forced to fight, having been deceived and threatened by the United States. The passage shows that before the outbreak of the war, Black Hawk attempted to negotiate peace. His band was already weakened by lack of food and provisions. As the army fired against Black Hawk’s people, the conflict soon started.

“We were forced to dig roots and bark trees, to obtain something to satisfy hunger and keep us alive! Several of our old people became so much reduced, as actually to die with hunger ! And, finding that the army had commenced moving, and fearing that they might come upon and surround our encampment, I concluded to remove my women and children across the Mississippi, that they might return to the Sac nation again.”

The passage describes the destitution of the Sauk during the war. By the start of the war, the Sauk had lost their self-sufficiency being divided, were excluded from their corn fields, and had abandoned their hunting habits. The struggling condition of the Sauk was key in the outcome of the war and influenced Black Hawk’s decision to surrender and accept removal.

“I had determined to go and join the Chippewas; but reflecting that by this I could only save myself, I concluded to return, and die with my people, if the Great Spirit would not give us another victory! During our stay in the thicket, a party of whites came close by us, but passed on without discovering us. Early in the morning a party of whites, being in advance of the army, came upon our people, who were attempting to cross the Mississippi. They tried to give themselves up—the whites paid no attention to their entreaties—but commenced slaughtering them! In a little while the whole army arrived. Our braves, but few in number, finding that the enemy paid no regard to age or sex, and seeing that they were murdering helpless women and little children, determined to fight until they were killed! As many women as could, commenced swimming the Mississippi, with their children on their backs. A number of them were drowned, and some shot, before they could reach the opposite shore.”

The passage describes the cruelty of the final battles of the war. It refers to the Battle of Wisconsin Heights where the Sauk civilians tried to escape the conflict and attempted to cross the Mississippi. It was the penultimate confrontation of the war. According to the passage, the US army also attacked women and children. Black Hawk understood that he was losing and thought to escape.

“On our way down, I surveyed the country that had cost us so much trouble, anxiety, and blood, and that now caused me to be a prisoner of war. I reflected upon the ingratitude of the whites, when I saw their fine houses, rich harvests, and every thing desirable around them; and recollected that all this land had been ours, for which me and my people had never received a dollar, and that the whites were not satisfied until they took our village and our grave-yards from us, and removed us across the Mississippi. On our arrival at Jefferson Barracks, we met the great war chief, [White Beaver,] who had commanded the American army against my little band. I felt the humiliation of my situation; a little while before, I had been the leader of my braves, now I was a prisoner of war!”

After his surrender, Black Hawk was a prisoner of the United States government. He reflects on the unjust treatment of his people and the seizure of their homeland, mourning that it was now settled by white people. His pride as a war leader was wounded as he had succumbed to the authority of a white officer.

“I think, with them, that wherever the Great Spirit places his people, they ought to be satisfied to remain, and thankful for what He has given them; and not drive others from the country He has given them, because it happens to be better than theirs! This is contrary to our way of thinking; and from my intercourse with the whites, I have learned that one great principle of their religion is, ‘to do unto others as you wish them to do unto you!’ Those people in the mountains seem to act upon this principle, but the settlers on our frontiers and on our lands, seem never to think of it, if we are to judge by their actions.”

The passage illustrates Black Hawk’s core belief of the land and shows Indigenous Versus White Values and Mindset. Black Hawk believes that people should appreciate the land that God offered them as a home and not conquer other people’s lands. Referring to a key Christian principle, Black Hawk stresses the unjust behavior of white people and the contradictions and hypocrisies of European values.

“Having seen all the wonders of this big village, and being anxious to return to our people, our guide started with us for our own country. On arriving at Albany, the people were so anxious to see us, that they crowded the streets and wharves, where the steam boat landed, so much, that it was almost impossible for us to pass to the hotel which had been provided for our reception.”

President Andrew Jackson ordered the tour of Black Hawk across the eastern states. Crowds gathered to see the Sauk, revealing a fascination with the Indigenous people as cultural figures. At the time, Black Hawk and his tribe were seen as attractions, and the president wished to assert his authority and control over the Indigenous tribes. However, Black Hawk was conscious of white people’s desire to control narratives and wished to counter misrepresentation of his culture by telling his own story.

“Passing down the Mississippi, I discovered a large collection of people in the mining country, on the west side of the river, and on the ground that we had given to our relation, DUBUQUE, a long time ago. I was surprised at this, as I had understood from our Great Father, that the Mississippi was to be the dividing line between his red and white children, and that he did not wish either to cross it. I was much pleased with this talk, as I knew it would be much better for both parties. I have since found the country much settled by the whites further down, and near to our people, on the west side of the river. I am very much afraid, that in a few years, they will begin to drive and abuse our people, as they have formerly done. I may not live to see it, but I feel certain that the day is not distant.”

The passage shows Black Hawk’s insightfulness and his understanding of the politics of colonial expansion. Even after finally accepting removal, Black Hawk saw that settlements were advancing west of the Mississippi, where the Sauk were supposed to settle. Black Hawk predicted the future of his tribe, as the Sauk were later removed to Iowa, Kansas, and, finally, Oklahoma.