User:Megan O'Malley

About Black Hawk
William Clark, governor of St. Louis, asked the Sauk Indians to come to a council meeting. When Black Hawk arrived, he was accused of not coming when asked and other crimes he says he did not commit. Black Hawk said they were tricked and forced to join the British Forces in the American Revolution and said the claims against them were lies. The Americans then threatened war, which Black Hawk did not want. They smoked a peace pipe and continued the council meeting. Black Hawk then signed a treaty, forfeiting his village's land, unaware of the meaning of the treaty. Ke-o-kuck, another Sauk, pleaded his people to leave the land without protest but Black Hawk called him a coward and said he would do no such thing. Black Hawk believed that land cannot be sold, that it should be shared. The Americans gave whiskey to the Sauk people and cheated them while they were drunk. The Americans beat end even killed several Indians for small incidents such as taking a suckle of corn (from the land they still believed to belong to them) to feed themselves when hungry. Black Hawk sought out help and advise on how to get his village back in a peaceful way. Governor Cole, the previous governor of Illinois, and Judge Jas. Hall. They both apologized and said they were sorry they could not help him or advise him in what to do. Black Hawk was very appreciative of their empathy. The next fall he got the news that his land, which the American Government currently owned and was letting them stay on, was going to sell the land in pieces to individuals and they would be forced to leave. Black_Hawk_(Sauk_leader)

What Influenced of Black Hawks's autobiography
Black Hawk (1767-1838), lived in Rock River, which is located in present day western Illinois. Black Hawk grew up with a dislike and distrust of Americans because his hometown was destroyed by American militia men in the Revolutionary War. In 1804 the Sauk Chief signed a treaty which gave away their land to the American Government. In 1816 he met with the Federal Government and signed a treaty, agreeing to the terms of the treaty of 1804 and that the land would not be sold to individuals and that they would have to leave. Black Hawk says that he did not understand at that time, what he was agreeing to by signing the treaty. In the 1820's settlers began to move onto the Sauk lands. Black Hawk returned to fight for his land in 1832 and in that fight his people, including women and children were massacred. Black Hawk was later imprisoned and taken east. He often met with Andrew Jackson and other government officials, to try to compromise on behalf of his people. Such meetings were unsuccessful. These events all led to Black Hawk's narrative. He told his interpreter Antoine LeClaire, a part French and part Potawatomi woman, what he wanted to be written and Roger Nicholas wrote it down in 1833. This page is about an exert from his autobiography which tells of Black Hawk's life, the Sauk people and their history, and his advocating of Sauk policies.

Analysis of Black Hawk's Autobiography
Black Hawk possessed pride in his land and his people. He felt it was his duty to protect both.Black Hawk's people, unknowingly, sold the land they lived on. "My reason teaches me land cannot be sold. The Great Spirit gave it to his children to live upon and cultivate so far as is necessary for their subsistance; 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." Deceit and dishonesty are a part of human nature and a prevalent theme in this book. The Americans understood that they were blatantly manipulating the Indians, and were aware that the Indians did not understand what was happening. "Had that been explained to me, I should have opposed it, and never signed their treaty." Although Black Hawk did not know what he was agreeing to, he did agree and sign the treaty. However, according to his tribe's customs and laws, signing with a quill feather does not validate a treaty. It is questionable if the American Government really should have been entitled to enforce such laws and treaties. The right to own land and Authority are both themes in this autobiography. Conflict between different cultures is a theme throughout Black Hawk's life and autobiography. The indians had a better understanding of how to cultivate and live off of the land, while the Americans had the weapons to protect and take it. If they had overcome their differences and tried to understand, rather than try to change or remove, one another, they would have all been more successful. He was not born a chief but gained the status of war chief through his noble leadership in battle. His rise in the social status is not very different from the 'American Dream.' He was born an average boy(little is known about his youth) but became a famous protector to his people and a famous advocate of indian rights to Americans. Man parallels exist between the Sauk Indians and the Americans. They both wanted land and the other group of people to leave. Often when reading narratives about indian raids written by settlers or indian massacres written by indians, if the names were taken out of the story, they would both be the same, just different points of view. In his Autobiography Black Hawk writes "How smooth must the language be of whites, when they can make right look like wrong, and wrong look like right." A main reason for conflicts between Indians and Americans was a language barrier and the Americans' obvious manipulation of the indians. Black Hawk pointed out this manipulation and tried to appeal to government officials in a literary manner. In his autobiography, he used a combination of dialect from the settlers and the Sauk people. He tried to make the people see that the two cultures were very different but also very similar. This is why he titled his autobiography the way he did. He combined his Indian name and his American name, right next to each other. The punctuation in the middle separates the two names, representing a gap in the cultures, while also forming a bridge between the two, symbolic of the potential of peace between the two nations. One of the terms he uses in his autobiography is "Bad Medicine," referring to alcohol. Black Hawk pleaded with the whites not to give it to his people, but they utilized it as a means to further manipulate the Indians. Black Hawk's indian name is Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak which means hawk, black hawk, or sparrow hawk. His name, in and of itself, is a symbol. He would often paint his face black before battles to look more intimidating, which accented piercing black eyes. Hawks are smart, but they are also fierce and predatory and get what they want. Black Hawk was not afraid and fought valiantly to protect his land and his people. The color black is symbolic of power and authority and can evoke strong emotions. Black also represents sophistication and potential. Black Hawk gained power and authority through his own bravery and determination. He was by all means sophisticated, as is visible in his autobiography and the decorum he possessed while meeting with government officials, such as Andrew Jackson.Andrew_Jackson

Reference List
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