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The Sauk
The Sauk (Sac) and Fox (Mesquakie) Nation
Location: The Asakiwaki (Sauk) and
Meshwahkihaki (Mequakie/Fox) are Algonquin-speaking peoples originally from the
northeastern United States.
Language: Algonquin
History: They belong to the Woodland and
Plains Cultures. Asakiwaki means "people of the yellow earth" and
Meshkwahkihawi means "people of the red earth." "Algonquin" comes from the word
"alligewinenk" which means "come together from distant places."
The Sauk and Fox people believe that long ago the Great Spirit chose a
fertile valley and the land around it to be their home. He commanded that the
Sauk and Fox must think of themselves as brothers. But, each would have their
own sacred things. Oral history tells that the tribe originated near the Saint
Lawrence Seaway in Canada. Following the settlement and invasion of Europeans
on the east coast and pressures from other native nations, the Sauk moved from
near Saginaw Bay in Michigan to Green Bay in the Wisconsin area. The village of
Saukenuk located at the convergence of the Rock and the Mississippi rivers was
their home until they were forcibly removed to 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. Keok was the leader of another
Sauk band. His peaceful leadership helped his band survive by cooperating with
the Americans.
Due to contact with the white man the Native American population was
reduced. 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. The Europeans brought with them diseases
such as smallpox, influenza, measles, bubonic plague, scarlet fever, mumps, and
typhoid. These diseases were not present in the Western Hemisphere and the
native people had no way of fighting them , so they died by the millions.
Daily Life: At Saukenuk or "River of
the Rock" the Sauk and the Fox stayed to build their homes and plant their
fields. There, in this rich valley the deer, buffalo, bear, and smaller game
provided food and skins, which could be traded or made into clothing. Beaver
and muskrat lived in the many streams, which were also filled with fish.
North of the valley there was a great source of lead. Since it was
close to the surface it could be dug out easily. At first it was used to make
ornaments, later white traders taught them how to make lead musket balls to use
in their guns. Soon they traded lumps of lead for goods.
In the valley the soil was rich and fertile. Using the shoulder bone of
a buffalo or deer, the women broke the land and turned over the soil. They grew
corn, beans, squash, pumpkin and tobacco. Of all the crops corn was the most
important. It could be boiled, roasted, or made into soup or dumplings. After
the kernels were stripped from the cob it could be dried and pounded into meal
or stored away for further use. When kernels were laid out on a hot rock they
would pop into fluffy morsels. Corn provided its own seed for the next year's
planting. As long as the Sauk and Fox had a good harvest of corn, they knew
they would not go hungry. The Sauk women tilled the soil, raised the crops,
gathered the harvest, prepared and stored the food and reared the children.
The mother was in charge of the family home and everything in it. If
the mother belonged to the Sauk people then all of her children were Sauk. The
women had an important part in tribal government. Unless the women approved a
son could not take his fathers place as a sacred clan chief. The men protected
the home, the fields, and the tribal hunting grounds. They went into the forest
and out on the plains to hunt for game that provided food and skins for
clothing and for trade. The Sauk are known for their excellent ribbon work, a
form of appliqué. They enjoyed finely decorated deerskin dresses, vests,
and shirts.
The Sauk farmed in villages in the summer and went to hunting grounds
in the winter. Their lodges were large bark-covered wigwams with rounded roofs
that let the rain and snow roll off easily. Most lodges were forty to sixty
feet long and had several families living in them. Each family had its own
cooking fire in the center of the lodge. Sleeping benches covered with skins
and blankets ran along the inside walls.
The Sauk lived in towns from April to October. When the harvest had
been gathered and the geese began to fly south, families went into the forests
to build huts where they lived during the winter hunting season. People to old
and weak stayed in town. A supply of food was stored in bark-lined caches in
the ground and strong young boys stayed behind.
Religion played an important part in their daily life. The Sauk
believed that every person, animal, and thing had its own "manito", or guardian
spirit. When a hunter killed a bear, a deer, a buffalo, or any animal he
thanked the "manito" of the animal for the gift it was giving to the people.
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. The Great
Spirit would show him his personal manito, which would stay with him the rest
of his life. At that time, he chose his manhood name and began to collect the
sacred things that would go into his medicine bag.
Although the Sauk were a peaceful people, sometimes they had to go to
war to defend their hunting grounds or their towns. Neighboring tribes such as
the Osage raided Sauk lands. The Sauk were noted for their courage, and they
believed that every raid should be answered by a counter raid to uphold the
honor of their people. When other tribes invaded Sauk lands , a council was
called to decided what action to take. Often war parties were sent out to meet
the enemy.
Warfare had its own rules of conduct. In war, a Sauk gained honor if he
could count coup. That meant that he had touched an armed enemy and lived to
tell about it. Counting coup earned a warrior the right to wear an eagle
feather in his crest.
They lived happily and well in the valley of the Rock River. But with
the coming of the first white people, they learned to use guns as well as bow
and arrows, and to ride horses to hunt and to make war. Guns were brought to
the Sauk by the white traders who offered them in exchange for furs and lead.
The Sauk and Fox culture is based upon respect for the life within
themselves, their families', their community, and all of creations'. The
Creator gave this way of life to the Sauk and Fox people. The tribe is divided
into clans, each with its own symbol,-- Bird, Fish, Bear Potato, Deer, Beaver,
Snow, and Wolf,-- are a few. Each tribe was governed by a council of sacred
clan chiefs, a war chief, the head of families, and the warriors. The
traditional manner of selecting chiefs and governing themselves was forcibly
replaced by the United States. Appointees and a constitution patterned after
the American government was formed.
Sauk and Fox governments, traditional and new, have been challenged with
threats to the sovereignty of the nations over land resources and the peoples
welfare. In 1832 Black Hawk defended the people's right to their homeland.
Chief Keokuk complied with the U.S. demands to move west of the Missouri
territory. In 1869 the Mokohoko band led by Chief Pashepaho fought to remain
in Kansas until the late 1880's. Removal from the land from which the Woodland
nations evolved has drastically affected the knowledge and practice of
the tribe's language, traditions, original teachings, ceremonies, ways
of life, and relationship to the natural world.
References:
American Indians Volume I. Englewood Cliffs. Salen Press, Inc.
1995.
Cunningham, Maggie. Black Hawk (Story of an American Indian).
Hanson, Allen S. Indians of Wisconsin and the Surrounding
Area.
Handbook of American Indian: North of Mexico. New York,
Greenwood Press. 1969.
Parsen's, Elsie Clews. American Indian Life. University of
Nebraska, Lincoln Press. 1922.
Schermer, Shirley J., William Green and James M. Collins. A Brief
Culture History of Iowa. University of Iowa, Iowa City. 1995.
Sac and Fox Nations, Home Page of the Asakewaki (Sauk) and
Meshkwahkihaki (mesquakie/Fox) People http://www.indians.org./
Lee Sultzman. Sauk and Fox History. Nations Website
http://www.deckshovel.com/sf.html
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