The Black Hawk War and Treaties
The Black Hawk War and the treaties leading up to it directly contributed to George Washington Gale’s founding of Galesburg and Knox College. The initial treaty that led to the Black Hawk War was the treaty of St. Louis in 1804. This treaty stated that Sauk and Meskwaki lands would be ceded to the U.S., that the people would be under the protection of the U.S., and that they could not trade with anyone beside the U.S. Article seven of this treaty states, “As long as the lands which are now ceded to the United States remain their property, the Indians belonging to the said tribes, shall enjoy the privilege of living and hunting upon them.”1 The treaty was considered void or false by many Meskwaki and Sauk, including the Sauk leader Black Hawk, because this treaty was signed in the absence of important leaders and without the consent of the Tribal Council.2 The construction of Fort Madison on the western side of the Mississippi in 1808 also called the legitimacy of the treaty into question, as this fort was built on the side of the river that was supposed to be for the Meskwaki and Sauk, thus breaking the treaty of St. Louis.
The Battle of Bad Axe
In 1828, Thomas Forsyth, the US Indian Agent for Sauk and Meskwaki, told the nations that they had to move entirely to the west side of the Mississippi. The nations were rightfully confused and upset, as they would have to abandon their homes and villages. This was made worse with the Corn Treaty in 1831 that forced the Sauk not only to move west of the Mississippi, but also prevented them from crossing back to the east side without permission from the U.S. government.3 This cut down on the land the Sauk could use to grow crops, leading to food shortages for the nation in the winter. Hungry and betrayed, Black Hawk gathered a band of around a thousand Sauk, Kickapoo, Ho-Chunks, and Meskwaki to cross the Mississippi into the Sauk village of Saukenuk. These people were there to plant crops and protect their land, and many were women and children.4 Despite their peaceful intentions, their actions were perceived as a threat by white settlers who immediately began forming militias. The Black Hawk War began in April of 1832, and ended in August. Paranoia caused the settlers to over exaggerate the number of people in Black Hawk’s band as tensions rose. Fearing conflict and bloodshed, Black Hawk’s band moved north into the place we currently call Wisconsin, where they were met by militia men with a cannon and steamboat. Black Hawk’s group was outnumbered and attempted to surrender multiple times, but every time they tried the settlers would continue to attack. The Black Hawk War ended in the massacre at Bad Axe. Hundreds of members of Black Hawk’s band, including children, were killed, while Black Hawk and others were taken prisoner.5 The Sauk and Fox were forcibly removed from Illinois, causing them to lose a large amount of their land and become economically dependent on the US, while allowing the founders of Galesburg to move onto their land.
The Sauk and Fox nations were considered to be combined by the US government in order to make treaties after the war. The Sauk and Fox nations were able to purchase their land in Iowa, starting in 18576, and now reside in Tama county in the Meskwaki nation. Because they formally own their land according to the US, they are able to grow their sovereign nation and thrive as a community. They are also the only federally recognized tribe in Iowa with their own constitution and laws.
By Emma Bohman
1 Illinois Periodicals Online, “William Henry Harrison Steals Western Illinois From the Sauk and Fox”, Accessed May 23, 2021, https://www.lib.niu.edu/1998/ihwt9806.html
2 Black Hawk, and J. Gerald. Kennedy. Life of Black Hawk, or Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak. (New York: Penguin Books, 2008.)
3 Buffalo, Johnathan. "They Don’t Even Want Our Bones: An Interview with Johnathan Buffalo, Historic Preservation Officer Meskwaki Nation." In Re-Collecting Black Hawk: Landscape, Memory, and Power in the American Midwest, by Nicholas A. Brown and Sarah E. Kanouse, ed. (Pittsburgh.: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015), 65-71.
4 Massey, Sandra. "Even Though He Had a Native Person Standing in Front of Him, He Just Did Not See Me: An Interview with Sandra Massey, Historic Preservation Officer Sac and Fox Nation." In Re-Collecting Black Hawk: Landscape, Memory, and Power in the American Midwest, 9.
5 Nichols, Roger L. and H. Atkinson. "The Battle of Bad Axe: General Atkinson's Report." The Wisconsin Magazine of History. 50:1 (1966): 54-58.
6 “Meskwaki: A Brief History,” Meskwaki.org, Accessed May 23, 2021, https://www.meskwaki.org/about-us/history/
Image: Battle of Bad Axe. Accessed May 13, 2021. https://jstor.org/stable/10.2307/community.13890649.