Black Hawk (artist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Čhetáŋ Sápa (Black Hawk)
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Dream or Vision of himself changed to a destroyer and riding a Buffalo Eagle, 1880-1881
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Chetan Sapa (Black Hawk)
c. 1832 South Dakota
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| Died | c. 1890 Unknown
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| Nationality | Sans Arc, Lakota |
Čhetáŋ Sápa (Black Hawk) (born around 1832, died around 1890) was a special spiritual leader. He was part of the Sans Arc or Itázipčho group of the Lakota people. Black Hawk is famous for his 76 drawings. These drawings were put together into a book. They show many parts of Lakota life and important ceremonies.
A government worker named William Edward Canton asked Black Hawk to create these drawings. This happened at the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. Black Hawk made his drawings between 1880 and 1881. Today, his artwork is a very important record. It helps us understand Lakota beliefs, traditions, and daily life.
Contents
Cheyenne River Indian Reservation
The Sioux people were first written about by a French explorer in 1640. They originally lived in the area that is now Minnesota. In the 1700s, they moved west. This was to avoid fights with other tribes who had guns from French traders.
The Great Sioux Nation has seven main groups. These are sometimes called the "seven council fires." One of these groups is the Teton Sioux, also known as the Lakota people. The Lakota are then divided into seven more tribes. The Sans Arc tribe is one of them.
In 1868, the Fort Laramie Treaty gave the Lakota people a large reservation. This land was mostly in South Dakota and North Dakota. After some conflicts with the U.S. government in the 1870s, the government changed the reservation. They divided the Great Sioux Reservation into smaller ones. The Cheyenne River Indian Reservation was created in 1889. Records show that Black Hawk and his family lived in the Cherry Creek area of this reservation.
About Black Hawk's Life
The first official record of Black Hawk is from 1880. He appears in government census papers. The Treaty of Fort Laramie from 1868 said that detailed records of Native Americans should be kept. Documents at the National Archives in Kansas City show Black Hawk's name in the 1880s. A record from September 1880 lists him as a member of the Sans Arc group.
These records also show that Black Hawk had four family members. The items listed, like livestock and a stove, suggest he lived in a log cabin. He was likely married to a woman named Hollow Horn Woman. Black Hawk was a spiritual leader in his community. William Edward Canton, who bought his drawings, called him "CHIEF MEDICINE MAN OF THE SIOUX." The Great Sioux Nation was very large, so he was probably a very important medicine man for his own group, the Sans Arc Lakota.
Black Hawk's drawings show rare scenes of spiritual visions and ceremonies. His book gives us a look into the rituals he performed as a medicine man. Records show Black Hawk had at least one son, born in 1862. His wife's name, Hollow Horn Woman, comes from a Lakota story. In this story, a woman brings a sacred pipe to a chief, bringing good fortune to the Lakota. Black Hawk lived in the southern part of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. The last record of him there is from 1889. It is thought he may have died in the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. This event happened on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Lakota Traditions and the Medicine Man
Black Hawk was known as a medicine man. This term means he was a special spiritual leader. The Lakota people believe in a creator called Wakan Tanka, meaning "Great Spirit." Holy men like Black Hawk were thought to have a strong connection to this spirit. Lakota culture had many important rituals. These rituals were a big part of daily life.
Lakota people believe all animals are spiritual beings. Some animals are considered more wakan (holy) than others. These include buffalo, horses, elks, wolves, and bears. The sacred pipe was a direct link for medicine men to Wakan Tanka. Medicine men were believed to have "holy visions." They would often share these visions with their tribe. People who had visions of the same holy animals sometimes formed groups of holy men.
A "vision quest" was very important for a holy man. People would use the sacred pipe and a sweat lodge during these quests. If someone had a vision of a Thunder Being or Heyoka, they had to share it with their tribe. Black Hawk's drawing, Dream or Vision of himself changed to a destroyer and riding a Buffalo Eagle, shows he had such a vision. Black Hawk, Black Elk, and Kills Two are famous Lakota medicine men who created art. In 1883, the U.S. government made traditional ceremonies and medicine man practices illegal. Knowing this makes Black Hawk's detailed drawings even more special. They show Lakota life when it was being threatened.
Ledger Drawings
William Edward Canton, a government trader, asked Black Hawk to make drawings. This happened in the winter of 1880-1881. Canton's daughter said he paid Black Hawk 50 cents for each drawing. In 1890, milk cost about 14 cents and butter was about 25 cents. This money helped Black Hawk and his family survive a very hard winter. Canton's daughter wrote that Black Hawk was a "Chief Medicine man" and was in great need. She said he had no food and would not beg.
Black Hawk made 76 drawings to sell to Canton. The drawings were not made in any special order. They were drawn on large sheets of paper. Black Hawk used pen, colored pencil, and ink. After Black Hawk gave the drawings to Canton, Canton arranged them. He had them bound into a book in Minneapolis. Canton also added the titles next to the pictures. He put the most powerful images at the beginning of the book.
Black Hawk's drawings show many different things. There are scenes of battles, nature, and Lakota ceremonies. He also drew his spiritual visions and pictures of Lakota beliefs about the universe. Vision quests were usually private. But Black Hawk's drawings helped him share his visions with others. His ledger book is special because it was rare for a white person to ask a Native American artist to create art. Usually, Lakota people made art to trade for goods. The way Black Hawk's drawings came to be suggests Canton wanted to help Black Hawk and his family.
Scenes of Cosmology
Black Hawk's drawings include two scenes of a Heyoka, or "Thunder Being." A Thunder Being is a powerful spirit that appears to people during vision quests. The Thunder Beings in Black Hawk's book combine parts of a horse, buffalo, and eagle. Only a few drawings showing Lakota spiritual experiences still exist today. Canton placed these two important drawings at the start of the book. He titled them "Dream or Vision of himself changed to a destroyer and riding a Buffalo Eagle" and "Same as first." These titles tell us Black Hawk drew himself as a Thunder Being after a vision. The rider and animal in the drawing are connected by lines. The animal has eagle talons for arms and legs, and buffalo horns on its head. Its tail forms a rainbow. Seeing a rainbow was also a sign of a Thunder Being.
Scenes of Lakota Life and Ritual
After the Thunder Being drawings, Black Hawk shows many Lakota religious ceremonies. Experts say his drawings of "buffalo transformation ceremonies" are key to his spiritual vision. These ceremonies were done by a group of holy men called "Buffalo Dreamers." There were also groups like Elk Dreamers and Wolf Dreamers. Black Hawk drew all these groups. The pictures show tribe members wearing animal masks. These masks helped them transform into the animal. They believed they could gain the animal's power. Black Hawk showed this by giving the people hooves instead of feet. He also drew animal tracks behind them.
Black Hawk also included two drawings of female puberty ceremonies. During a young woman's first menstrual cycle, she would go to a tipi. There, with a medicine man's help, she would become a woman. Black Hawk's drawings of Lakota rituals are some of the best visual records we have. Besides private ceremonies, Black Hawk also drew daily Lakota life. These scenes include tribal leaders, courtship, and dances.
Black Hawk also drew scenes of the Crow Indians. The Crow were a neighboring tribe and sometimes rivals. They were known for their fancy clothes and being skilled warriors. Black Hawk drew a gathering of Crow warriors. Each of the 25 men is dressed differently. Black Hawk is one of the few Native American artists to draw an enemy tribe. His drawings also show several scenes of warfare. Many pictures show a warrior with a gun fighting one with a traditional spear. These drawings help us understand how battles were fought in the late 1800s. An expert named Catherine Berlo believes Black Hawk was part of the Miwatani Society. This group of Lakota warriors was known for their red capes and feathers.
Scenes of Nature
About 20% of Black Hawk's drawings show nature. In 17 drawings, he drew 49 different animals. These included at least 15 different kinds of animals. He drew elk, mountain sheep, owls, bears, and porcupines. Black Hawk drew the animals like an encyclopedia. Sometimes he showed both a male and female of the same animal. Animals are very important in Lakota life and religion. A Lakota elder once said that all wild animals have power. This is because Wakan Tanka lives in them. Perhaps Black Hawk wanted to share the beauty and power of these animals with Canton.
Where the Book Came From
In 1993, Black Hawk's ledger book was found in a filing cabinet. It had been donated to Goodwill Industries. There was a discussion about what to do with this valuable book. The director of Goodwill contacted leaders of the Oglala tribe and the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. They discussed if selling the book would go against the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). This law protects Native American cultural items. In 1994, the book was sold at an auction for almost $400,000. Later that year, it became part of a special collection. It is now at the Fenimore Art Museum.
Black Hawk's Legacy
Black Hawk's detailed drawings of Lakota life are very important. He made them when Lakota traditions were facing many challenges. His artwork has lasted over 100 years and is still important today. Many modern Native American artists find inspiration in ledger art. Francis Yellow, a Lakota artist, wrote a poem about Black Hawk. In his poem, Yellow wrote that Black Hawk's "love made real on paper across time beyond death." Black Hawk's ledger book is a great resource. It helps us learn about Lakota culture and history.
See also
