Are the blackhawks a tribe

Black Hawk: An Autobiography

May 4, 2020
I explained to them the manner the British and Americans fought. Instead of stealing upon each other, and taking every advantage to kill the enemy and save their own people, as we do, (which, with us, is considered good policy in a war chief,) they marched out, in open daylight, and fight, regardless of the number of warriors they may lose! After the battle is over, they retire to feast, and drink wine, as if nothing had happened; after which, they make a statement in writing of what they have done—each party claiming the victory! and neither giving an account of half the number that have been killed on their own side. They all fought like braves, but would not do to lead a war party with us. Our maxim is, "to kill the enemy and save our own men." Those chiefs would do to paddle a canoe but not to steer it.
2020 is shaping up to be a rather tedious year, one that may well be rendered even more so by the fact that I spent the first chunk of it reading Three Kingdoms and will likely spend the rest of it comparing subs

Life of Black Hawk

47 pages • 1 hour read

Black Hawk

Black Hawk

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1833

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Summary and Study Guide

Overview

Life of Black Hawk (1833) is the autobiography of Sauk leader Black Hawk. It was dictated by Black Hawk himself to US army interpreter Antoine Le Claire. Black Hawk relates the story of his life and of his tribe during the early 19th-century conflicts between the Indigenous nations and the white settlers. He details his tribe’s involvement in the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain, his active resistance against his people’s removal from their homeland that led to the Black Hawk War, and his eventual surrender. Black Hawk’s account is the first published memoir by an Indigenous American that illuminates Indigenous people’s experiences during colonial expansion, and it remains a seminal t

Black Hawk

Black hawk

Introduction

As was often the case with texts authored by people of color in the 19th century, the title page of Black Hawk’s autobiography relates several details geared at “authenticating” the narrative. Today, we see these conventions as ridiculous, yet they were expected during a time when (white) audiences would be skeptical about the abilities of authors of color. The supporting details included in Black Hawk’s autobiography include affidavits from the Illinois Clerk of the Court and Antoine LeClaire, Black Hawk’s translator. The title page also indicates that the narrative is “dictated by himself,” a point that is further emphasized in the following testimony by his editor, J.B. Patterson, who Black Hawk dictated the narrative to. Patterson writes:

It is presumed that no apology will be required for presenting to the public the life of a Hero who has lately taken such high rank among the distinguished individuals of America. In the following pages he will be seen in the character of a Warrior, a Patriot and a State prisoner; in every situatio

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