February 15, 2014
Lowden State Park
Oregon, IL
The paintings of Oscar-Claude Monet are best perceived at a distance, where the mind fuses the tiny dots and smears of color on the canvas, and creates a scene of magnificent wonder. Standing on the western banks of the Rock River anywhere near the town of Oregon Illinois, at a comfortable distance from Lowden State Park, it is possible to look out across the water and see something incredible, also best perceived at a distance. Standing with arms crossed and staring out over the river is a fifty-foot statue of an Indian, towering over and among the surrounding trees. The monolith, known officially as ‘The Eternal Indian’, and known affectionately as ‘The Statue’, is also known world-wide as ‘Black Hawk’.
Standing in a location where once stood an ancient tree holding an Eagle’s Nest, this enormous tribute is the work of famed artist Lorado Taft. The pine tree, with its eagle’s nest has since fallen to the ground, but the statue, which was poured in December of 1910 and finished in 1911 still stands proudly, over 100 years later.
When I drove into Lowden Park, I followed the signs for ‘The Statue’, until I reached a large parking area, covered in snow. It was, in fact, snowing moderately, and it was quite late in the day and fairly cold. As expected, we were the only ones there. I was there for one reason only – to place a prayer stick near the statue, and offer my loving intentions to the universe for peace. This place, the cliff in Lowden State Park, has no known part in the history of Black Hawk’s final journey, but it symbolizes his historic relevance, and honors the memory of the proud Indian Nations, especially those of the Sauk and Meskwaki who were long-term residents of the area. It was a place where white men had made a permanent tribute to native Indians, acknowledging their history, and recognizing their humanity.
After a brief walk around the statue, to look out over the cliff and read some of the display boards, we returned to the car to pull out the fire-making materials and my prayer stick and drum. We had no more than left our vehicle when to our total amazement another car came rolling into the parking lot. A young couple emerged, braving the snow and cold to stop and see the statue. At first I was annoyed that people had come along at that very moment, interrupting my meditations. Then I quieted my mind and concluded that there was a reason these two people were here. I was supposed to be a part of their journey in the same way that they had become a part of mine. My quest, after all, is to listen, and learn, and then tell the story to others.
The young man was white, like my husband. The woman was Asian. I am white, black, and Ojibwe Indian. Together we represented all of the colors of the medicine wheel. After we had each walked around a bit, I asked the couple if they knew anything about the story of Black Hawk. They said that they did not, and even though they were lightly dressed for such an evening, they stood in fascinated silence as I told them the tale of Black Hawk’s last journey.
When I reached the part of the story where so many of Black Hawk’s people were killed at the Bad Axe Massacre, the river stained red with their blood, the woman cried in silent solidarity. I told them of my journey, and I told them about my prayer stick, and how it was made, and why I was putting it there. “Thank God for people like you, who keep these stories alive”, she said. As I placed the prayer stick at the base of the statue, and began giving prayers and offerings, I noticed that she, too, was offering her own private, healing prayer. Now she, also, is a part of Black Hawk’s legacy.
The couple then left us to our ceremonies, waving joyfully as they departed. We then stood for a while, cleansing our minds and watching the sky turn from grey to utter darkness, much as Lorado Taft must have done. My husband prepared and lit a fire, which crackled and flickered cheerfully in the cold winter night, illuminating the swirling snow around us. Far below, we could see the cars as they drove down Hwy 2 and the lights of nearby Oregon. If anyone was looking back at the high bluff, perhaps they could see our small but comforting fire. While my husband beat the drum, I gave offerings and a prayer, burned sage and cedar and sweet grass, and smudged the drum and ourselves. We stayed until the fire had burned completely, every coal turned to ash and cold to the touch. We bid a final farewell to the good and healing spirits in that place, and left the Eternal Indian watching over the river in cold indifference to the weather, as he has been doing for over a century, like They have done for hundreds of generations.
(Key Terms: Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak, Black Sparrow Hawk, Black Hawk, 1767, Saukenuk, Pyesa, Rock Island, Black Hawk’s Watch Tower, Black Hawk State Historic Site, Hauberg Museum, Sauk, Sac, Meskwaki, Fox, Rock River, Sinnissippi River, Mississippi River, War of 1812, British Band, Great Britain, Treaty of 1804, Treaties, Ceded Land, William Henry Harrison, Quashquame, Keokuk, Fort Armstrong, Samuel Whiteside, Black Hawk War of 1832, Black Hawk Conflict, Scalp, Great Sauk Trail, Black Hawk Trail, Prophetstown, Wabokieshiek, White Cloud, The Winnebago Prophet, Ne-o-po-pe, Dixon’s Ferry, Isaiah Stillman, The Battle of Stillman’s Run, Old Man’s Creek, Sycamore Creek, Abraham Lincoln, Chief Shabbona, Felix St. Vrain, Lake Koshkonong, Fort Koshkonong, Fort Atkinson, Henry Atkinson, Andrew Jackson, Lewis Cass, Winfield Scott, Chief Black Wolf, Henry Dodge, James Henry, White Crow, Rock River Rapids, The Four Lakes, Battle of Wisconsin Heights, Benjamin Franklin Smith, Wisconsin River, Kickapoo River, Soldier’s Grove, Steamboat Warrior, Steamship Warrior, Fort Crawford, Battle of Bad Axe, Bad Axe Massacre, Joseph M. Street, Antoine LeClaire, Native American, Indian, Michigan Territory, Indiana Territory, Louisiana Territory, Osage, Souix, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Ottawa, Ho-Chunk)
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| The Eternal Indian Lowden State Park Oregon, IL |
Taft was a well-known sculptor, and was one of those being considered for the Mt. Rushmore carvings. He was inspired to create this statue while standing with a group of fellow artists on the cliff’s edge, 125 feet above the river, arms crossed, watching the sunset. The scene, according to Dale Hoppe, director of modern-day Taft Campus, made Taft realize that men had been standing on that same spot doing the same thing for countless generations, long before white men ever came to the area. It was here he hatched the idea of a monument to the Native Americans who had preceded him.
When the statue was dedicated in July of 1911, both a formal invitation to the ceremony and the local newspapers dubbed the creation ‘Lorado Taft’s Black Hawk’. Taft did not himself specify whether or not the statue was truly meant to depict Black Hawk, stating only that “I’ve had my say, yonder. I might add that if I did anything spontaneously, it was this. It grew out of the ground. That is what I hope it may suggest.”
When I drove into Lowden Park, I followed the signs for ‘The Statue’, until I reached a large parking area, covered in snow. It was, in fact, snowing moderately, and it was quite late in the day and fairly cold. As expected, we were the only ones there. I was there for one reason only – to place a prayer stick near the statue, and offer my loving intentions to the universe for peace. This place, the cliff in Lowden State Park, has no known part in the history of Black Hawk’s final journey, but it symbolizes his historic relevance, and honors the memory of the proud Indian Nations, especially those of the Sauk and Meskwaki who were long-term residents of the area. It was a place where white men had made a permanent tribute to native Indians, acknowledging their history, and recognizing their humanity.After a brief walk around the statue, to look out over the cliff and read some of the display boards, we returned to the car to pull out the fire-making materials and my prayer stick and drum. We had no more than left our vehicle when to our total amazement another car came rolling into the parking lot. A young couple emerged, braving the snow and cold to stop and see the statue. At first I was annoyed that people had come along at that very moment, interrupting my meditations. Then I quieted my mind and concluded that there was a reason these two people were here. I was supposed to be a part of their journey in the same way that they had become a part of mine. My quest, after all, is to listen, and learn, and then tell the story to others.
When I reached the part of the story where so many of Black Hawk’s people were killed at the Bad Axe Massacre, the river stained red with their blood, the woman cried in silent solidarity. I told them of my journey, and I told them about my prayer stick, and how it was made, and why I was putting it there. “Thank God for people like you, who keep these stories alive”, she said. As I placed the prayer stick at the base of the statue, and began giving prayers and offerings, I noticed that she, too, was offering her own private, healing prayer. Now she, also, is a part of Black Hawk’s legacy.
The couple then left us to our ceremonies, waving joyfully as they departed. We then stood for a while, cleansing our minds and watching the sky turn from grey to utter darkness, much as Lorado Taft must have done. My husband prepared and lit a fire, which crackled and flickered cheerfully in the cold winter night, illuminating the swirling snow around us. Far below, we could see the cars as they drove down Hwy 2 and the lights of nearby Oregon. If anyone was looking back at the high bluff, perhaps they could see our small but comforting fire. While my husband beat the drum, I gave offerings and a prayer, burned sage and cedar and sweet grass, and smudged the drum and ourselves. We stayed until the fire had burned completely, every coal turned to ash and cold to the touch. We bid a final farewell to the good and healing spirits in that place, and left the Eternal Indian watching over the river in cold indifference to the weather, as he has been doing for over a century, like They have done for hundreds of generations.
Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak – I call to your spirit to hear me in this place of honor. All your life you have traveled the great Sinnissippi and beyond. You have seen this cliff on your travels. I believe you have stood on this place. I believe you have touched this earth, and breathed this air, and left behind positive energy that can still be felt in this place.
I offer a prayer of peace to the families who lived with you and knew this land. I offer a prayer for the bond between mothers and sons, that it will always remain strong. I offer a prayer for the bond between fathers and daughters, that there should always be understanding and love. Your fires once dotted this land bringing light, and warmth, and protection to the families and friends who gathered around them. As the smoke from my fire carries my prayer of peace into the skies, come to me and help me spread my message to all those spirits who would hear my story.
There is goodness, and love, and honor among your families. This I know because I have heard you whisper to me though time. In the spirit world, I pray that those bonds formed in life are strengthened in death. I pray that all spirits, those alive and those beyond this life, continue to use their energies to promote love and healing, even among those who did not share your fires. Please help me spread my message. Ah-ho.
(Key Terms: Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak, Black Sparrow Hawk, Black Hawk, 1767, Saukenuk, Pyesa, Rock Island, Black Hawk’s Watch Tower, Black Hawk State Historic Site, Hauberg Museum, Sauk, Sac, Meskwaki, Fox, Rock River, Sinnissippi River, Mississippi River, War of 1812, British Band, Great Britain, Treaty of 1804, Treaties, Ceded Land, William Henry Harrison, Quashquame, Keokuk, Fort Armstrong, Samuel Whiteside, Black Hawk War of 1832, Black Hawk Conflict, Scalp, Great Sauk Trail, Black Hawk Trail, Prophetstown, Wabokieshiek, White Cloud, The Winnebago Prophet, Ne-o-po-pe, Dixon’s Ferry, Isaiah Stillman, The Battle of Stillman’s Run, Old Man’s Creek, Sycamore Creek, Abraham Lincoln, Chief Shabbona, Felix St. Vrain, Lake Koshkonong, Fort Koshkonong, Fort Atkinson, Henry Atkinson, Andrew Jackson, Lewis Cass, Winfield Scott, Chief Black Wolf, Henry Dodge, James Henry, White Crow, Rock River Rapids, The Four Lakes, Battle of Wisconsin Heights, Benjamin Franklin Smith, Wisconsin River, Kickapoo River, Soldier’s Grove, Steamboat Warrior, Steamship Warrior, Fort Crawford, Battle of Bad Axe, Bad Axe Massacre, Joseph M. Street, Antoine LeClaire, Native American, Indian, Michigan Territory, Indiana Territory, Louisiana Territory, Osage, Souix, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Ottawa, Ho-Chunk)
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