At St. Louis in 1804, future president William Henry Harrison negotiated a treaty with two representatives of the Sauk nation who had come to the city on other business. When it was over, the government believed it had secured the right to open all Sauk lands east of the Mississippi to settlement, for a mere $2,500. Sauk chiefs back home in Illinois and Wisconsin, however, believed that the two negotiators had never possessed the authority to speak for the whole nation and that the treaty was therefore invalid. The Indians continued to inhabit their village of Saukenuk near the mouth... more...
![Link to article: A trader relates his family history and personal adventures, 1745-1857.](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | A trader relates his family history and personal adventures, 1745-1857. |
![Link to article: Ho-Chunk chief Spoon Decorah looks back over a long life.](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Ho-Chunk chief Spoon Decorah looks back over a long life. |
![Link to article: Walking Cloud recounts episodes of the Black Hawk War.](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Walking Cloud recounts episodes of the Black Hawk War. |
![Link to article: John Shaw recalls Tomah, Black Hawk, Keokuk, and other Indian leaders.](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | John Shaw recalls Tomah, Black Hawk, Keokuk, and other Indian leaders. |
![Link to article: The founding of Fort Winnebago and the career of trader Pierre Paquette](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | The founding of Fort Winnebago and the career of trader Pierre Paquette |
![Link to article: Recollections of a young mother in the Lead Region, 1826-1841](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Recollections of a young mother in the Lead Region, 1826-1841 |
![Link to article: Gen. Joseph Street, Indian agent to the Ho-Chunk, Sauk and Fox.](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Gen. Joseph Street, Indian agent to the Ho-Chunk, Sauk and Fox. |
![Link to article: Eastern newspapers report on Black Hawk's 1833 tour](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Eastern newspapers report on Black Hawk's 1833 tour |
![Link to article: Black Hawk, remembered by those who knew him](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Black Hawk, remembered by those who knew him |
![Link to article: A Wisconsin soldier describes the massacre at Bad Axe, 1832](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | A Wisconsin soldier describes the massacre at Bad Axe, 1832 |
![Link to article: The Sauk and Fox shortly before the Black Hawk War](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | The Sauk and Fox shortly before the Black Hawk War |
![Link to article: Indian Versions of Some Early Wisconsin Events](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Indian Versions of Some Early Wisconsin Events |
![Link to artifacts: A powder horn carried during the Black Hawk War](/turningpoints/images/artifacts.gif) | A powder horn carried during the Black Hawk War |
![Link to book: A description of the Battle of Bad Axe, 1832](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A description of the Battle of Bad Axe, 1832 |
![Link to book: Black Hawk's Route through Wisconsin in 1832](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Black Hawk's Route through Wisconsin in 1832 |
![Link to book: A local historian chats about Prairie du Chien (vol. 1)](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A local historian chats about Prairie du Chien (vol. 1) |
![Link to book: A local historian chats about Prairie du Chien (vol. 2)](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A local historian chats about Prairie du Chien (vol. 2) |
![Link to images: View of the Pecatonica battlefield (1857)](/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | View of the Pecatonica battlefield (1857) |
![Link to images: View of the Bad Axe battleground (1856)](/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | View of the Bad Axe battleground (1856) |
![Link to images: View of the Wisconsin Heights battlefield (1856)](/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | View of the Wisconsin Heights battlefield (1856) |
![Link to images: Portrait of Black Hawk in 1833](/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Portrait of Black Hawk in 1833 |
![Link to images: Menominee Chief Oshkosh in 1858](/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Menominee Chief Oshkosh in 1858 |
![Link to images: Wisconsin's first Territorial Governor, Henry Dodge](/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Wisconsin's first Territorial Governor, Henry Dodge |
![Link to images: Pictures of the Sauk Indians during the 1830's](/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Pictures of the Sauk Indians during the 1830's |
![Link to images: Prairie du Chien merchant and judge James H. Lockwood, 1856.](/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Prairie du Chien merchant and judge James H. Lockwood, 1856. |
![Link to manuscript: A woman describes her fears during the Black Hawk War, 1832](/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | A woman describes her fears during the Black Hawk War, 1832 |
![Link to manuscript: A Wisconsin soldier looks back on his role in the hostilities of 1832.](/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | A Wisconsin soldier looks back on his role in the hostilities of 1832. |
![Link to manuscript: One-Eyed Decorah relates how he helped Black Hawk surrender.](/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | One-Eyed Decorah relates how he helped Black Hawk surrender. |
![Link to manuscript: Journal, summer 1834, of Rev. Cutting Marsh, during a visit to the Sauk and Fox Indians](/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | Journal, summer 1834, of Rev. Cutting Marsh, during a visit to the Sauk and Fox Indians |
![Link to manuscript: The new Indian agent describes tensions in the Lead Region in 1827.](/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | The new Indian agent describes tensions in the Lead Region in 1827. |
![Link to manuscript: Wisconsin soldiers who served in the Winnebago War (1827)](/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | Wisconsin soldiers who served in the Winnebago War (1827) |
![Link to manuscript: Wisconsin soldiers who served in the Black Hawk War (1832)](/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | Wisconsin soldiers who served in the Black Hawk War (1832) |
![Link to manuscript: A missionary's handwritten dictionary of terms in the Sauk language, 1834](/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | A missionary's handwritten dictionary of terms in the Sauk language, 1834 |