Autobiography of Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak, or Black Hawk

This autobiography presents a first-person account by a leader of his people who narrates ancestral traditions, village life and customs, and participation in several campaigns; it outlines grievances over contested land cessions and treaty terms, explains the motives and sequence of resistance to settler encroachment, describes his surrender, confinement and travels through American towns, and offers reflections aimed at vindicating his decisions and preserving his community's perspective, with editorial material and appended commentary on the conflict's causes and aftermath.