Websites+for+Future+Research+on+Native+Americans

Original Author: Jake Gordon, A&S195 SP10 Revision Author:   For this assignment I chose to search the internet for the best possible websites that mentioned Sauk Indians and the village of what used to be called Saukenuk. There were a lot of websites to choose from, so I did my best to use the best ones. In my search, I chose 6 sites that had really good information about this place and these people. They all gave a lot of background information like where it was located, who lived there, etc. The first website I chose to review was from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. This website led me to an article called “__Black Hawk State Historic Site__”. After reading this article, I came to realize that just across the bridge in Rock Island, Illinois there is a historic site that once was the home of Native Americans that were identified as either the Sauk nation, and or the Saukenuk people. This information also led to the fact that this area is, “most famous for being the birth place of the Sauk Warrior Black Hawk” (Wikipedia).In the year 1826 it was estimated that 4, 800 people lived in the Saukenuk village. This was, at that time the largest settlement of a group in new state of Illinois. Black hawk described this village as “uncultivated, and that it was covered with blue-grass, which made excellent pasture for our horses. Several fine springs broke out of the bluff, near by, from which we were supplied with good water. We always had plenty - our children never cried with hunger, nor our people were never in want” (Wikipedia). Some of the areas of expertise that lied among the Sauk tribes was in agriculture and hunting. After they caught their prey, the Sauk hunters would skin the animals and sell their fur. This land belonged to the Sauk people, it was free land to them, and they had many opportunities upon it. During the 1800’s the U.S. Government wanted to take over this land with ownership and remove the Indians from their native home. The Saukenuk people were led by an Indian named Black Hawk, and then this day came when this tribe of Indians along with their leader would be faced with a battle to fight for their land. I came to find out, much to my surprise, during this war, these Saukenuk people were killed in the Quad City area. The second article/site I found was titled “__The Sauk (Sac) and Fox (Mesquakie) Nation__”. The Sauk people were originally from northeastern United States. This website gives a lot of insight about whom some of the famous Sauk people are, their traditions, and also mentioned the history of these people. James Francis Thorpe, whose’ Father was of Sauk-Fox descent, is the most famous athlete of these Sauk people. He was “best known as a two-time All American Athlete of his day, and considered by some to be one of the best athletes of all time. He began his career to athletic fame when he started school at the Carlisle Industrial Indian School in Pennsylvania. At Carlisle, he was both a great football player and a track star. He later played professional baseball for the New York Giants, Cincinnati Reds, and the Boston Braves. In 1912, Thorpe was chosen to compete in the Olympics and won the Olympic decathlon and pentathlon” (Im 1). The article then went on to talk about the Sauk peoples traditions. Under the traditions section it mentions that the women essentially were in control of their families home and everything inside it. They played a huge role in choosing what boys would become a chief of their tribe. The men were in control of protecting their environment and they hunted in the fields to provide food for their families. Under their practices of religion all aspects of the earth, people, animals, and other living things held individual spirits. “Children began learning the religion of their people at an early age. Boys were taught to fast and to keep holy vigils to bring their soul closer to the Great Spirit. When the boy was old enough he made a special vigil quest” ** (Im 1). ** The Sauk also had strong beliefs in the old saying “an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.” What I mean by this is that sometimes “neighboring tribes such as the Osage raided Sauk lands, and the Sauk believed that every raid should be answered by a counter raid to uphold the honor of their people” (Im 1). In the history section it states that the tribe originated near the Saint Lawrence Seaway in Canada . After the Europeans settled in the east coast and being pressured from other native nations, the Sauk moved to Green Bay in the Wisconsin area. The Sauk and Fox people were told by their “Great Spirit” to be connected and think of themselves to be brothers. The village of Saukenuk was located by Rock and the Mississippi rivers, and was their home until they were kicked out and moved into Iowa and Kansas. “The fight to keep the homeland at Saukenuk resulted in a war led by Chief Black Hawk. The Black Hawk war greatly reduced the band as members were killed by the American soldiers. Men, women, and children were shot as they tried to swim across the Mississippi River to safety. Some of those that got across were then killed by Sioux warriors who were old enemies of the Sauk”** (Im 1). **   The Native American population was heavily cut down because of the white man. “The reason for this was diseases brought by the Europeans, warfare (both inter tribal and with white men), forced relocation and removal, and the destruction of traditional lifestyles” (Im 1). Some of these diseases included smallpox, influenza, measles, bubonic plague, scarlet fever, mumps, and typhoid. These people did not know how to fight off these diseases because they never had them in their area, until the White people came around. Almost all of the people who came into contact and got these diseases died, because they didn’t know how to get rid of it. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The third article I found that was tiltled “__The Black Hawk War__”, which also presented good information about these people. It pointed out that the village of Saukenuk was establish in the middle years of the 1800’s. This village was very important to its Sauk people. “It was a social, spiritual, and economic center for them”** (Lewis). **These tribes considered this land to be sacred. The land was very fertile, and food like beans, pumpkins, corn, and squash grew very rich on it. There were two rich deposits of lead near their village, which gave them more economic activity. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Like I mentioned above this land was a social, spiritual, and economic center for them, but it too was a political center as well. This land in the early 1900’s provided the “meeting (Im)place” for these peoples government. Their government consisted of two different types of chiefs, civil and war chiefs. These chiefs would preside over a tribal council. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> In the fourth and final website called __“Black Hawk and White Settlement: Prelude to the Rebellion”__, it presented very intelligent knowledge of these people and this land. In the early 1800s, the land that is now known as Illinois became the 21st state and was “subsequently inundated with settlers from the east” (Gudzune). After the Sauks went on the rountine winter hunt, they returned to find that their land had been invaded by white settlers. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Chief Black Hawk was not worried though. He and his fellow Sauk remained at Saukenuk even though they could sense they were not welcome. They could sense this because they wereliving so close to the new people. “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” (Gudzune).When the tribe returned they found that these new settlers rounded up over 1000 armed men to intimidate them. Black Hawk still though was not worried, so he headed the pack across the Mississippi River and wanted to know what was going on. “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” (Gudzune). <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Towards the middle of the 1800s, Black hawk got a bunch of Fox warriors to agree to help him and his tribe to fight back and try to win back over 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” (Gudzune). Once again Black Hawk and his warriors crossed the Mississippi with the intention of occupying Saukenuk. The Governor this time called on 1600 men. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Later on the Governors men began tracking Black hawks movements and kept a close watch on his efforts to try and gain yet another advantage, as if 1000 more soldiers wasn’t enough. “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” (Gudzune). Chief Black hawk felt betrayed, and wasn’t sure exactly what he was going to do. This is when the Rebellion began. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Works Cited ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Gudzune, Jeffery R. Black Hawk and White Settlement: Prelude to the Rebellion. 19 August 2007. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Im, Sitha. The Sauk (Sac) and Fox (Mesquakie) Nation. 2009. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Lewis, James. The Black Hawk War of 1832. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Black Hawk State historic Site. 24 March 2010. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Return to Native Americans <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Return to Home <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Websites for Future Research **

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