Black Hawk

Black Hawk (1767-1838) was a chief of the Sauk Native American tribe. Born Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak in Saukenuk, a village along the Rock River, Black Hawk was the son of medicine man Pyesa and a descendant of Chief Nanamakee. He found sucess as a young warrior on raids with his father, eventually leading a group of 200 men against the rival Osage. Following Pyesa’s death in battle with the Cherokee, Black Hawk inherited his father’s medicine bundle and took on a leadership role in the tribe. During the War of 1812, he fought alongside the British against American forces, hoping to regain Sauk territory stolen by white settlers. In 1832, Black Hawk, backed by his so-called British Band of warriors from several tribes, declared war against the Michigan and Illinois Territories. Waged between April and August 1832, the Black Hawk War ended with the chief’s surrender to Lieutenant Jefferson Davis, who would go on to lead the Confederacy during the Civil War. Released after nearly a year in captivity, Black Hawk dictated his life story to government interpreter Antoine LeClair. The Autobiography of Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak (1833) was published in Cincinatti, making Black Hawk the first Native American to have an autobiography appear in print.