Autobiography of Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak,: Black Hawk

Black Hawk, born Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak, 1767 - October 3, 1838, was a band leader and warrior of the Sauk American Indian tribe in what is now the Midwest of the United States. After an extended period of mourning for his father, Black Hawk resumed leading raiding parties over the next years, usually targeting the traditional enemy, the Osage. Black Hawk did not belong to a clan that provided the Sauk with hereditary civil leaders, or "chiefs." He achieved status through his exploits as a warrior and by leading successful raiding parties. Men like Black Hawk are sometimes called "war chiefs," but historian Patrick Jung writes, "It is more accurate to call them 'war leaders' since the nature of their office and the power that it wielded was much different from that of a civil chief." Twenty-first century historians such as John W. Hall have suggested the term "war captain" for this role.