Carol March McLernon

Nicely illustrated short biography of the early years of Black Hawk. It's hard to know how much is created & how much is based in fact. The illustrations accurately depict the hairstyle and bark lodges of the Sauk tribe.
The story begins with him as a baby, describes the area they lived, the many uses of corn (including the native word for popcorn: pa-pe-ge-su-hu...spelled papaketho^ha on talksauk.com), the cycle of seasonal activities. Finally, as Sparrow Hawk in 14, he goes on a vision fast to become a man. There are many natural observations, one of which (that Sparrow Hawks are the only bird which can hover in place) is relevant to the ending.
I would love to buy extra copies of this book to enable local libraries to carry it, but I have a few hesitations, primarily the Author's Note, at the end, which mentions the Sauk were the last tribe east of the Mississippi. This is patently untrue, whether you interpret it as the last tribe to fight, the last tribe not to have ever been forcibly removed, or the last tribe with a continuous political structure.
Some minor questions, which could be resolved by some historical research on my part: One page mentions the corn rows so long you couldn't see the end. I thought most tribes planted in hills rather than rows. One page says the children never knew hunger until the white men came with guns and traps to capture the animals. I'm not sure of the accuracy, as the Sauks had guns also before the hunger times came. The mention that Black Hawk was 10 years old when the first horses came to the village. It also bothers me that Black Hawk's father is given his Native name, but his mother's name is only used in English translation.… (más)

Back Cover: The boy belongs to the Sauk tribe, the last Native Americans to live east of the Mississippi River. He learns survival skills from other tribal members. He witnesses the introduction of horses and the influx of white men using steel traps instead of wood and rawhide snares to capture fur-bearing animals. These are life-changing events for the tribe. According to Sauk custom, the boy leaves the village alone to seek a vision which allows him to enter adulthood with a new name—Black Sparrow Hawk.

In 1767, a boy was born into the Yellow Earth tribe, also known as the Saukies because of the summers spent in a large village called Sauk-e-nuk. As the boy grew, he began working, first by guarding the crops from the crows using his arms and flapping to scare off the crows wanting the freshly sown seeds.

The boy and his friends spent countless hours watching animals and birds. They could identify each by the movements it made and the colors and sizes of its body. The boy knew that the sparrow hawk was the only falcon that could hover. He knew exactly was this marvelous bird looked like right down to the markings on its head. In the winter, the tribe left Sauk-e-nuk to camp west of the Mississippi River where many more wild animals lived. With spring drawing near, the Saukies moved to sugar camps along the river. Once the sugar harvest was complete, the tribe returned to Sauk-e-nuk, their beloved summer home.

According to tradition, a boy became a man after seeing a vision. When the boy was fourteen, he walked away from the tribe, taking no food. Days went by without a vision. The boy grew hungry, his head pounded, and his lips were parched. Finally, a sparrow hovered and then soared above the boy. He knew from his childhood this was a sparrow hawk, but something was not right. It did not have the blue-gray feathers on its breast nor the rust-colored feathers on its back. This sparrow hawk was pure black, lacking even the white head markings sparrow hawks normally have. The boy knew this was the vision that marks his entrance into manhood. When a feather dropped from the sparrow, the boy plucked it and gave himself a new name: Black Sparrow Hawk. Now a man, Black Sparrow Hawk could return home.

Black Hawk is a fact-filled story of one boy’s life in the Sauk tribe of the eighteenth century. It seems the author missed little, if anything, while describing the life and transition of one boy to manhood. This boy is not just any boy. He will become the great leader of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The story begins with the mother, Summer Rain, and the father, Pyesa, throwing a grand celebration to announce the arrival of their boy. All who gathered came to eat, dance, and learn the baby’s name. Seems this was an important moment in the boy’s very young life, yet we never learn the name given to the boy. That information seems to be too important not to pass on. Everything in Black Hawk is in preparation for the day the boy became a man, taking a new name based on his vision.

Much is known about Black Sparrow Hawk as a man, but very little of his youth. This could explain the lack of his given name at the ceremony. This is a well-researched account of life in the Sauk Tribe in 1767 to 1781. Readers get a glimpse of life for the Sauk Indian, the way they feed their large numbers, trained their children, and worked as one. The story ends the moment the boy takes a new name. I would have liked a little bit about his life after taking the name. The Author’s Note (sic), contains a couple of random facts about Black Hawk, but nothing is referenced. An historical fiction book is filled with facts, as is this one. A book in that genre also has those facts referenced. A bibliography and references, for kids who want to know more, is sorely missing and would have made this book complete.

The illustration depicts life during that time with wonderful precision. They help the reader understand how harsh and difficult, yet harmonious and connected to the land the Native Americas were to the land and Sauk-e-nuk area in particular. Black Hawk can be helpful to any student researching the Sauk tribe in general and the beginning of life for Black Sparrow Hawk in particular, but does not go far enough into the great warrior’s adult life and the influence the name Black Hawk would have on Indian life in America. Black Hawk was written for ages five to ten, but I think this is a middle grade book, for ages eight to twelve, though younger children who have advanced reading skills can benefit from the information contained within these pages.

Received from author.
Originally reviewed at Kid Lit Reviews
http://kid-lit-reviews.com/2012/05/23/black-hawk-a-boy-and-his-vision-by-carol-m...… (más)