Black Sparrow Hawk, Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak in his native language, was born in 1767 at Saukenak, a native community located where Rock Island, Illinois, is today. When he was only 15 years old, Black Hawk became a brave, a title earned by courageously killing or injuring an enemy in battle. Unlike other warriors who kept several wives, Black Hawk only married one woman, Singing Bird (Asshewaqua). He remained loyal to her throughout his life.

Black Hawk was most famous for his resistance against American expansion in the Mississippi Valley. In 1804, the Americans had the Sauk and Mesquakie Indians sign a treaty that gave the government six million hectares (15 million acres) of Sauk and Mesquakie land in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri in exchange for alcohol and a meagre sum of money. Black Hawk refused to honour the treaty, arguing that few people in the Sauk and Mesquakie nation were aware of the terms. Furthermore, the men who signed the treaties were not authorized by the tribe and could not represent the people.

Black Hawk formed what became known as The British Band, a group of Sauk and Mesquakie Indians fighting aside the British in the War of 1812. Keokuk, the principal chief of the tribes, sided with the Americans in that war. This created a major rift within the Sauk and Mesquakie community. The rift deepened when Keokuk signed another treaty ceding all the tribes' land east of the Mississippi River.

Unwilling to relinquish this land, Black Hawk led 400 Sauk and Mesquakie families east, across the river, to reclaim their territory. Their presence instilled fear in the Illinois settlers. They called upon the federal government to help. It responded quickly, sending a militia 1600-men strong. When Black Hawk caught wind of this, he decided to retreat back across the Mississippi to Iowa. He sent three envoys to inform the militia. When they did not return he sent five more to see what happened. Of the eight emissaries Black Hawk sent out, three were killed. The Black Hawk War had begun.

Several battles later, Black Hawk was turned into U.S. authorities by a group of Winnebago natives. He was then imprisoned for several months. Black Hawk was eventually returned to Iowa. On October 3, 1838, he died in his lodge.

Posthumously he became an American icon admired for his bravery and conviction. In 1891, an 18-ton granite statue of Chief Black Hawk was erected in Spencer Square, Rock Island. It marks the location of the former Sauk village, Saukenak.