Everything about The Sauk totally explained
The
Sauks or
Sacs (
oθaakiiwaki in their own language or
Ozaagii(-wag) in
Ojibwe from where their
French and
English names are derived) are a group of
Native Americans of the
Eastern Woodlands culture group.
Clan system
Originally, the Sac were governed by a patrilineal
clans system. Clans which continue are: Fish, Ocean/Sea, Thunder, Bear, Fox, Potato, Deer, Beaver, Snow, and Wolf. The tribe was governed by a council of sacred clan chiefs, a war chief, the head of families, and the warriors. Chiefs fell into three categories: civil, war, and ceremonial, but only the civil chief was hereditary. The other two chiefs were determined by demonstrating their ability or their spiritual power. This traditional manner of selecting historic clan chiefs and governing themselves was at first forcibly replaced by United States appointees of the Sac and Fox Agency and now by constitutional government patterned after the American form.
Early history
The Sac may have had their original territory along the
St. Lawrence River. However, migration patterns of other tribes drove them to
Michigan around
Saginaw Bay. Due to the yellow clay soils found around Saginaw Bay, their self-designation became
Oθaakiiwaki which is often interpreted to mean "yellow-earth". The
Ojibwe and
Ottawa name for the tribe is
Ozaagii, meaning "Those at the Outlet", whence they were known by the French as "Sac" or by the English as "Sauk". With the
Anishinaabe expansion and
Hurons attempts at gaining regional stability, the Sac were driven by the
Hurons armed with French weapons. They then occupied territory in parts of what are now northern
Illinois and
Wisconsin.
Their closely allied tribe, the
Fox, were noted for their hostility towards the French and fought two
Fox Wars in the early 18th century. After the second war, the Sac sheltered the remaining Fox in their camp and were subject to French attack themselves. The Sac continued moving west to
Iowa and
Kansas. There were two crucial leaders of the Sac at this time.
Keokuk accepted the loss of land (at first, east of the Mississippi) as inevitable in the face of vast numbers of white soldiers and settlers. He tried to preserve peacefully whatever remnant of tribal land he could. Having failed to receive supplies on credit as their embassy just returned from Washington expected,
Black Hawk wanted to fight, saying his people were "forced into war by being deceived." The refusal of the band of mainly Sac under Black Hawk in 1832 to accept the continued loss of lands (in western Illinois, this time) led to their reduction in importance at the hands of General
Edmund P. Gaines in the
Blackhawk War. About this time, one group of Sac moved into Missouri and later to Kansas and Nebraska. The larger group of Sac moved into reservations in
Oklahoma in 1869 where they merged with the Fox as the
Sac and Fox Nation. A smaller number returned from Oklahoma (or didn't go) and became the Mesquakie tribe in Iowa.
As of 2006 the Sac and Fox communities in existence are:
Language
The Sac speak an
Algonquian language, now called
Sauk language, which is a dialect of the same language spoken by the
Meskwaki, and very closely related to that of the
Kickapoo. Their language is now almost extinct. Supposedly, the now extinct
Mascouten language was also related to the Sauk language.
Geographical names
Lake Osakis in west-central
Minnesota, the
Sauk River, which flows from Lake Osakis, and the towns of
Osakis,
Sauk Centre, and
Sauk Rapids all received their names as a result of an historical association with a small group of Sauks who, having been banished from their tribe for murder, made camp on the shores of Lake Osakis. According to
Ojibwa oral tradition, these five Sauks were massacred by local
Dakota Indians in the late 18th century.
Other places with "Sauk" references include
Prairie du Sac,
Sauk City,
Saukville and
Sauk County in Wisconsin,
Sac City and
Sac County in Iowa, Sac Townships in
Iowa and
Missouri,
Sauk Village, Illinois,
Le Sauk and
Little Sauk Townships in Minnesota, and
Sauk Prairie and
Sauk Valley Townships in North Dakota. The name of the city of
Saginaw,
Michigan is believed to mean "where the Sauk were" in the Ojibwe language. The cities of
Dixon,
Sterling, and the surronding area in
Illinois call themselves the Sauk Valley.
Sauk Trail is the name of a winding road in Illinois south of Chicago, said to follow an old Indian trail.
Notable people
Black Hawk
Keokuk
Do-Hum-MeFurther Information
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