Life of Black Hawk

The theme of Colonialism and Black Hawk’s Physical and Literary Resistance recurs as Black Hawk stresses that as the settlements were approaching the Sauk village, the people became “unhappy.” One of the main problems of the tribe was the addiction to alcohol, with the white settlers or traders providing alcohol to Sauk men. As American settling progressed, violent confrontations between the settlers and the Sauk increased, as Black Hawk realized that the white people were demanding land rights and claimed the place for themselves. The government soon began its policy of enforced removal. As the agent informed Black Hawk that the Sauk must leave their village, the tribe was divided anew. While Ke-o-kuck accepted removal, Black Hawk decided to follow nonviolent resistance by remaining in the village. His will to remain in his homeland and his opposition to colonial settlement remain central throughout the narrative. Black Hawk states that settlers arrived in the Sauk village and destroyed their homes to use the fertile land for themselves. Even before the tribe’s forcible removal, colonial expansion displaced the Sauk from their homeland. These accounts speak to The Loss of Traditional Life and the Preservation of Indigenous Identity. As the white settlers advanced, the Sauk land disappeared and their way of life, with its culture and customs, disappeared too. Black Hawk’s attempt to remain on the land was an attempt to retain Sauk identity.

As Black Hawk asserts the right of the Sauk to remain in their land, the theme of Indigenous Versus White Values and Mindset recurs. Black Hawk stresses that “land cannot be sold” and the Great Spirit gives people their homeland (56). The theme of Colonialism and Black Hawk’s Physical and Literary Resistance extends as Black Hawk explains that land loss due to settlement inhibited the tribe’s cultivation of corn as white people excluded them from their fenced ground. The hunting ability of the tribe was also impacted as Sauk men were exploited by the white people who gave them alcohol to “[cheat] them out of their horses, guns, and traps” (56). Violence also continued as Black Hawk mentions that a white man beat a Sauk woman who tried to take corn from a field. The government had divided Sauk land into individual allotments and had begun to enforce the removal of the tribe. Black Hawk continued to persist in his strategy of nonviolent resistance and was determined to return to the village after hunting. Indigenous Versus White Values and Mindset is evident as Black Hawk criticizes the settlers’ idea of owning Indigenous land and notes that white people might not have “any standard of right or wrong” (61). The Sauk based their ethics on a respect for the land and people, but as white settlers only exploited the land and the Sauk culture, Black Hawk wonders if they even have any code of ethics, and if they do, on what it is based.

As the Sauk were divided it became difficult for Black Hawk to organize collective resistance, but he refused to leave from the land of his ancestors for which he had a “sacred reverence” (61). At one point, when every official was trying to persuade him to remove, Black Hawk said he would accept the agreement if the government provided for the tribe. This moment in the text is ambivalent as it contrasts his key position of remaining in his homeland. However, Black Hawk explains that he considered leaving in peace for “the sake of [his] women and children” (63). After the government refused to offer provisions, Black Hawk continued his nonviolent resistance. This continues to speak to The Loss of Traditional Life and the Preservation of Indigenous Identity as he attempts to resist the removal from Sauk lands.

The government adopted the strategy of forced removal as the army arrived in the village and the officials warn Black Hawk that the Sauk would be forced away from the village. As he explains the events that led to the Black Hawk War, he notes that he wished to avoid armed conflict. Constant pressure upon his tribe to remove and the threat of the army made Black Hawk think about countering the United States. Hopes of support from the British army and alliances with neighboring tribes led Black Hawk to consider self-defense and prepare his men for war. He states repeatedly, however, that he wanted to solve the issue with nonviolent means.