Who was Black Hawk?

   The chief named Black Hawk (1767-1838) led the Sauk and Fox Indians in Illinois. In 1804, the Sauk and Fox tribes agreed to give their lands east of the Mississippi River to the United States. But Black Hawk thought the agree-ment was unfair. He and about 500 warriors joined the British in fighting against the U.S. during the War of 1812.
   Most of the Sauk and Fox Indians had left their homes and settled in a reservation west of the Mississippi by 1830. Black Hawk still refused to move. When white settlers began to take over the land, he led his men in a rebellion known as the Black Hawk War. After several victories, the Indians suffered a painful defeat in 1832. Black Hawk finally surrendered and was sent to live on a res­ervation in lowa. The failure of his rebellion marked the end of Indian settlement in Illinois.