Life of Black Hawk

Black Hawk refers to his male ancestors, his great-grandfather and his father, who were also war leaders, to emphasize his own status within the tribe. The Sauk highly honored brave warriors who would defend their nation against any enemies, and young men strived to prove their courage and bravery in war. The traditional “medicine bag” was “the soul of the nation” and confirmed the authority of the tribe’s war leader and a young man’s passage into manhood (11). A war leader like Black Hawk was responsible for the nation’s survival and preservation. Black Hawk’s description of his own achievements in battle and the inheritance of the medicine bag after the death of his father show that he viewed himself as a powerful Sauk leader.

The theme of Colonialism and Black Hawk’s Physical and Literary Resistance is immediately evident as Black Hawk describes the tribe’s early relations with white men. The Sauk established trading relations with the French and the British, but things changed as European forces were battling to gain authority. A pivotal moment in Black Hawk’s narration is the arrival of the Americans in the Sauk homeland. As Americans gradually gained power after the War of Independence and the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, they established control over the land and enforced their plans of expansion. The Sauk were concerned as they learned the Americans would try to seize their country. Black Hawk details the circumstances under which the Sauk signed the Treaty of St. Louis in 1804. Black Hawk considered the treaty as the source of the tribe’s struggles. Throughout the narrative he claims the treaty was invalid as it was signed by four Sauk men who had no authority to represent the whole tribe and were only sent by Black Hawk to request the release of a Sauk prisoner. Black Hawk’s account at this point highlights the misleading and often fraudulent means the United States used to attain Indigenous lands. According to the treaty, the Sauk ceded their homeland to the United States government for annual monetary compensation, which Black Hawk considered unjust. These accounts highlight The Loss of Traditional Life and the Preservation of Indigenous Identity. As the Sauk lost their land to the white settlers, they increasingly lost their culture as well. Black Hawk recounts this loss but also attempts to preserve the tribe’s identity simply by providing this account, adding the Sauk perspective to the historical record.

Black Hawk joined the British forces in the War of 1802 due to his distrust toward the Americans and due to thinking that it would best serve his nation’s interests. His central intention in all of his deeds and actions was to preserve the Sauk homeland. Black Hawk claims he had no intention of making war against the white people and was ambivalent about the decision to join the war. However, he considered the arrival of settlers and the building of forts in Sauk land threatening. Furthermore, Black Hawk trusted the British as the Americans “made fair promises but never fulfilled them” (22). Black Hawk saw the neighboring tribes fighting against the United Sates army and realized their intentions to invade their lands. Simultaneously, the failure of the American government to offer provisions to the Sauk defined Black Hawk’s decision to ally with the British. This account of the white settlers’ mindsets and promises begins to highlight Indigenous Versus White Values and Mindset. Black Hawk points out that the white settlers were not honest or fair with their negotiations, preying upon the Sauk’s trust and solid ethics. Later in the narrative he will detail this more closely as he compares Indigenous ethics with the ethics of the white settlers.

Black Hawk demonstrates his ethics as a war leader as he opposed violence on non-combatants and resented that, during the war, Indigenous people were killing prisoners of the British. The theme of Indigenous Versus White Values and Mindset emerges as Black Hawk comments on the politics of warfare. As the Sauk values compel the warriors to save their people while fighting against their enemies, the white people disregard the number of soldiers killed. The theme of Colonialism and Black Hawk’s Physical and Literary Resistance reemerges as the war caused conflict within the Sauk tribe. The Americans were winning the war and Ke-o-kuck, the Sauk leader, advocated that the tribe should side with them for protection. The narrative counters the stereotypical views of the Indigenous American mindset as a monolith and displays the opposing political views of Indigenous leaders. Black Hawk defied Ke-o-kuck and continued his politics of resistance. Cases of violence by white people against the Sauk reinforced Black Hawk’s determination to carry on. However, by the end of the War of 1812, Black Hawk wanted to remain in his homeland without further warfare.