In 1818, the territory of Illinois was admitted to the Union as the 21st state and was subsequently inundated with settlers from the east. As the last few Indian freeholds were abandoned in light of the influx of white settlers, the conquest of the region was near complete. Black Hawk, however, would not be displaced. He and his fellow Sauk remained at Saukenuk in defiance of demands that they relocate. As was Sauk tradition, Black Hawk and his tribesmen departed their lands for their winter hunt in 1828. When they returned, they found that settlers had moved into their village and established residency in many of the Sauk dwellings. Undeterred, Black Hawk and his tribe occupied the remaining buildings and lived in such close proximity to the whites that they managed to share the land during the planting season. It was a tense harvest, but free of violence. It would be the last period of relative peace in Sauk territory for many years.
The next winter, Black Hawk and the members of his tribe (by this time, 300 men women and children) once more embarked on their winter hunt. This time, however, the settlers convinced state authorities that the persistent tribe was a threat to their dominance in the region. Illinois governor John Reynolds dispatched the state militia to remove the Indians by force. When the tribe returned they found themselves facing over 1000 armed militiamen. Black Hawk led his people across the Mississippi River and assessed the gravity of the situation. Coming to the realization that his capital was lost and fearing a war that could annihilate his people, Black Hawk and a delegation of Sauk leaders sued for peace. In exchange for permission to use lands along the banks of the Iowa River, Black Hawk and his tribe were to place themselves under the leadership of another Sauk Chief named Keokuk—who was friendly to the whites and had since relocated his community to a reservation in that vicinity.
In 1832, a band of Fox warriors agreed to join Black Hawk in an effort to regain Saukenuk. By this time, he was gaining support among the leaders of various tribes who had also been congregated along the river banks. With the help of the Winnebago shaman White Cloud, many displaced and aggravated members of the Winnebago, Potawatomi, and the Kickapoo tribes flocked to his banner and Black Hawk soon amassed an army of 600 warriors. In the spring of 1832, Black Hawk and his warriors once more crossed the Mississippi with the intention of occupying Saukenuk. Governor Reynolds once more called up his militia, this time declaring a state of emergency that created an army of 1600 men (among the recruits was a lawyer named Abraham Lincoln who later described his experience as uneventful). The Winnebago community located near Saukenuk feared the results of a battle and distanced themselves from Black Hawk.
By this time, the militia had begun tracking his movements and kept a close watch on his efforts to gain additional support. Dogged by the Americans and rejected by pensive Indian leaders, themselves exhausted by war, Black Hawk finally came to the realization that negotiations were the only way to secure a future for the Sauk Nation. On May 14, 1832, he dispatched representatives under a flag of truce to meet with the American forces that had been observing him. Whether by design or sheer happenstance, the soldiers attacked and killed three of the Indians; the survivors returned to Black Hawk and told him what had happened. The last hope for peace was now gone—for Black Hawk this would be struggle for the survival of his nation. The Sauk Rebellion had begun.
Mark C Carnes, Ed, U.S. History. (New York: MacMillan Library Reference, 1996).
Gilbert Legay, Atlas of Indians. (Hauppage: Barron’s, 1995)
Carl Waldman, Atlas of the North American Indian. (New York: Checkmark Book, 2000).
