Native American History

Celebrating the Name behind the Chicago Blackhawks

The story behind the name is more interesting than the controversy.

This isn’t the best time to be the owner of an American sports team with an etymology based on anything Native American. For good reason, too. The “Washington Redskins” employed an abysmally racist name, and there are plenty of other examples.

There is also some controversy over the name behind the NHL sports team based in Chicago, The Chicago Blackhawks. However, there are a few differences here, and the best way to explain them is to provide some historical notes that help celebrate the people behind names like “The Blackhawks.”

It’s an opportunity to take a look at the large number of geographic and civic names in Illinois that are closely associated with the First Settlers. This includes Black Hawk and hundreds of other Native Americans and their cultures.

Who or what is a Blackhawk?

Black Hawk was a war leader for the Sauk* nation who lived in the Midwestern United States before the European invasion.

In the War of 1812, Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak, aka Large Black Hawk, led a membership drive of sorts among his Sauk nation brethren in…