5. Warriors of Peace - Black Wolf

"There are many ways to fight for peace, and there are many kinds of peace to fight for.  There are those who try to prevent a battle from starting.  There are those who, in the midst of battle, will seek to find ways to end the hostility.  There are those who, after the fighting has ended, will fight popular opinion to honestly chronicle the events, giving all sides their say and perspective."

T. Jansen 

Chief Shounk Tshunksiap
Black Wolf
Ho-Chunk

The Ho-Chunk Chief known as Shounk Tshunksiap, or Black Wolf, was one of those who was willing to put his own life at risk so as to end the fighting.  When Black Hawk arrived in Lake Koshkonong it was with full knowledge of the Ho-Chunk Indians living in the area.  (Ho-Chunk, or Ho-Chunk-gra, in the Siouan language of The People, means “People with the Big Voice”.  The name ‘Winnebago’ is an Algonquin name given to them by the Sac and Fox people living nearby.  Black Wolf was Chief of a Band of Indians living in a place then and now known as Black Wolf Point.  Runners from Prophetstown had alerted the Ho-Chunk of Black Hawk’s arrival, and tribal allegiances were split between the Sauk leader and the Americans who pursued him. Some were willing to fight with Black Hawk against the Americans, some were not.

This history behind the tribal split dated back to the aftermath of the War of 1812.  The Ho-Chunk fought alongside the British in both that war and the previous war of the American Revolution, but when the British were defeated in 1815 the Ho-Chunk were forced to sign their first treaty with Washington.  One faction within the tribe chose to sign the treaty, the other did not. Black Wolf himself fought in the war of 1812, led by Black Hawk, who was his war captain.

Butte des Morts Treaty Ground

By the year 1832, Black Wolf was already well-known to the Americans, having signed three separate treaties; the Treaty of Butte des Morts in 1827, the Treaty of Green Bay in 1828, and the Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1829.  He was by all accounts an unattractive man of imposing appearance.  A description exists written by Juliette Kinzie in 1831, who met him at Fort Winnebago.  It reads, “There was Black Wolf, whose lowering, surly face was well described by his name.  The fierce expression of his countenance was greatly heightened by the masses of heavy black hair hanging around it, quite contrary to the usual fashion among the Winnebagoes.”  A portrait of Black Wolf, painted in 1827 by J. O. Lewis, certainly catches the pictured Chief in an unflattering light, with an angry, red-eyed sidelong glare on his face, but is in contrast to the description of his 'masses of heavy black hair’.

There are three reasons Black Wolf is worthy of special recognition as a Warrior of Peace:

First, when Black Hawk determined that the women and children of his band needed to return to the Sauk lands on the far side of the Mississippi, Black Wolf joined them as one of their guides, leading them to safety.

Second, by helping to relocate the band away from Ho-Chunk territory, it helped to insure the safety of his own tribe, and preserve the appearance of neutrality.  In effect, it prevented the half of the Ho-Chunk tribe that was considering joining Black Hawk and fighting the Whites from getting involved.

Third, Black Wolf stayed with Black Hawk through the remainder of his journey and, after the events of the Massacre at Bad Axe, continued north with Black Hawk, taking him ultimately to the village of his uncle, One-Eyed Decorah.

Black Wolf did not join Black Hawk's band as a warrior. He joined as a guide, hoping to lead the band away from the conflict, out of the Sauk ceded territory, and eventually back to freedom in the Iowa Sauk village.  He put his own life at risk to help save the Sauk people and his own people from the ravages of full-scale battle with the whites.

Master of Life, hear our prayer.
Protect us from fear. Strengthen our hearts
Grant us victory over our merciless enemy.
Shield us from their eternal malice.
Save us from destruction.
Bring us to a time of peace.

source:  http://www.kenlelandauthor.com/blog.html

Like Black Hawk, Black Wolf escaped death during the flight of the fugitives.  After Black Hawk and his ally One-Eyed Decorah determined the he, Black Hawk, should surrender as Decorah’s ‘captive’, so that Decorah could get the substantial reward being offered for Black Hawk’s capture, Black Wolf returned to his family back near Lake Winnebago.  In November of 1832, Black Wolf is recorded in John H Kinzie’s annuity register as living in the Lake Koshkonong area, with four women and two children.

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(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)