Mahkate:wi-meši-ke:hke:hkwa

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Gender Masculine
Other Forms FormsMakataimeshekiakiak, Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak, Black Hawk (English), Black Sparrow Hawk (English)

Meaning & History

Means "be a large black hawk" in the Sauk dialect of the Fox language.

A noted bearer is War Chief Black Hawk (1767 – 1838), as he was known in English. During the War of 1812, Black Hawk had fought on the side of the British against the United States, hoping to push the latter's settlers away from Sauk territory. Later he led a band of Sauk and Fox warriors, known as the British Band, against European-American settlers in Illinois and present-day Wisconsin in the 1832 Black Hawk War. After the war, he was captured by U.S. forces and taken to the eastern U.S. He and other war leaders were taken on tour of several cities. Shortly before being released from custody, Black Hawk told his story to an interpreter; aided also by a newspaper reporter, he published 'Autobiography of Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak, or Black Hawk, Embracing the Traditions of his Nation...' in 1833 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The first Native American autobiography to be published in the United States, his book became an immediate bestseller and has gone through several editions. Black Hawk died in 1838 (at age 70 or 71) in what is now southeastern Iowa. He has been honored by an enduring legacy: his book, many eponyms, and other tributes.
Added 5/6/2014 by Ora
Edited 5/6/2014 by Ora