Black Hawk (Mà-ka-tai-me-she-kià-kiàk)
1767–1838
Sauk war leader. Fought with British forces alongside Tecumseh in the War of 1812. In the late 1820s, challenged the treaty by which land was sold to the US government and resisted displacement to Iowa. In 1832, led a large band of Sauk and Fox warriors across the Mississippi into Illinois; after several skirmishes, the band was cornered and most slaughtered at Bad Axe in what became known as the Black Hawk War. Black Hawk escaped and later surrendered; he dictated his autobiography to an interpreter when he returned to Iowa.
Sources
ANB s.v. Black Hawk
Kennedy ed. 2008
Bibliography
ANB: American national biography. Edited by John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes. 24 vols. and supplement. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1999–2002.
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