Sac (people)

:For the abbreviation or acronym SAC, please see SAC.

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Abbreviation - Acronym - SAC

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The Sauks or Sacs (Asakiwaki in their own language or Osakiwug) are a group of First Nations/Native Americans whose original territory may have been along the St. Lawrence River. Pressure from other tribes drove them to Michigan around Saginaw Bay from whence they were driven by the Hurons armed with French weapons. They then occupied territory in parts of what is now Illinois and Wisconsin. Their closely allied tribe, the Fox, were noted for their hostility towards the French and fought two Fox Wars in the early 18th century. After the second war, the Sac sheltered the remaining Fox in their camp and were subject to French attack themselves. The Sac continued moving west to Iowa and Kansas. There were two crucial leaders of the Sac at this time. Chief Keokuk accepted the loss of land (at first, east of the Mississippi) as inevitable in the face of vast numbers of white soldiers and settlers. He tried to preserve peacefully whatever remnant of tribal land he could. Chief Black Hawk wanted to fight, saying his people were "FORCED into WAR by being DECEIVED!" (See Akwesasne Notes, June, 1969.) The refusal of the band of Sac under Black Hawk in 1832 to accept the continued loss of lands (in western Illinois, this time) led to their reduction in importance at the hands of General Edmund P. Gaines in the Blackhawk War. The Sac later moved into reservations in Oklahoma where they merged with the Fox as the Sac and Fox Nation.

Related Topics:
First Nations - Native American - St. Lawrence River - Michigan - Saginaw Bay - Huron - Illinois - Wisconsin - Fox - Fox War - Iowa - Kansas - Keokuk - Black Hawk - 1832 - Edmund P. Gaines - Blackhawk War - Oklahoma - Sac and Fox Nation

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The Sac speak an Algonquian language very closely related to that of the Fox, often called Sauk. It is now almost extinct.

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