Fox Chief Keokuk

Contemporary accounts describe Keokuk as a tall, muscular warrior and a splendid orator—one of the most exemplary Native Americans who ever lived. But he is often described as vain, self-serving, and money-grubbing.

So, which one was the real Keokuk?

Nearly two centuries after his passing, it is impossible to say. No one has attempted a full-scale biography of the Fox chief. We know about him primarily from notes left at treaty signings, accounts left by visitors to the tribes, and contemporary newspaper articles.

The best we can say is that Keokuk was a realist. He decided early on that it was senseless to oppose the whites. So, he threw his lot in with them rather than fight them. When settlers began encroaching on the Sac and Fox lands near Rock River, he moved his band across the Mississippi to a new location on the Iowa River.

George Catlin painted Keokuk at his village on the Des Moines River in 1834. He said Keokuk was “a man of great pride.” He was “excessively vain” about his appearance on horseback.

Catlin believed Keokuk understood and possibly spoke English, but preferred to speak through an interpreter. Antoine Le Claire and Frank Labashure were his favorite interpreters, but neither man could translate Keokuk’s words to his satisfaction. The old chief listened carefully to what they said. If it wasn’t to his liking, he made them restate it until they got it right.

Keokuk’s entire life was a lot like that, staged to put him in the perfect light with his people and the whites.

His actual story began when he was a young man of fourteen or fifteen. He killed a Sioux warrior with a spear in his first battle. Because he made the kill on horseback, a feast was thrown in his honor, and Keokuk was made a brave. After that, he had the privilege of riding a horse to all the tribe’s functions.

 His next standout moment occurred during the War of 1812.

Black Hawk and his “British Band” joined the British early in the war. Then, they went off to Michigan and Canada to fight—despite the tribe’s protests, it left them unprotected. When he returned to Saukenuk several months later, Black Hawk was surprised to learn Keokuk had been made a chief.

“I inquired how he had become a chief,” said Black Hawk. “They said that a large armed force was seen by their spies going toward Peoria.”

The Sac and Fox became worried their village would be attacked. So, they decided to leave their village and move west of the Mississippi.

Keokuk observed the council meeting from outside the door. He wasn’t allowed in. He cajoled Wacome to let him speak and finally gained entrance.

“Would you leave our village, desert our homes, and fly before an enemy approach?” questioned Keokuk. “Would you leave all, even the graves of our fathers, to the enemy without trying to defend them? Give me charge of your warriors. I will defend the village while you sleep in safety.” The council agreed, and Keokuk was put in charge of the warriors.

“He marshaled his braves, sent out spies, and advanced with a party himself on the trail leading to Peoria,” said Black Hawk. “They returned without seeing an enemy. The Americans did not come by our village. He used all precautions our people should not be surprised. I was satisfied.”

Another time, Keokuk was away on a buffalo hunt when his party encountered a band of Sioux painted for war. The men were sure the Sioux were on the way to attack their village, but what could they do? The Sac and Fox warriors were spread across the prairie, stalking buffalo. There was no easy way to gather the men.

Keokuk rode into the village amongst the startled dancers and demanded to see their chief.

“I have come to let you know there are traitors in your camp,” he said. “They have told me you are preparing to attack my camp. I know they told me lies. You could not, after smoking the pipe of peace, be so base as to murder my women and children in my absence. None but cowards would be guilty of such conduct.”

Keokuk sat there, staring as the Sioux crowded around him. “I suppose they told me lies,” he continued. “But if what I heard is true, then the Sacs are ready for you.”

A moment later, he was off and racing through the woods. Keokuk returned to his village and waited for the Sioux, but the attack never came. Perhaps the Sioux suspected a trap, or Keokuk’s audacity caused them to reconsider.

Early on, Keokuk learned that supporting the whites enhanced his status in the tribe and enriched him personally. When Indian agent Thomas Forsyth visited the Rock River village in June 1822 to pay their annuities, he demanded the Sac and Fox turn over the warriors who murdered a French trader the previous year. The Sac agreed, so long as they could accompany the men to St. Louis.

Keokuk met privately with William Clark when the delegation arrived in St. Louis. He arranged with Clark to wait for him to surrender the two murderers rather than demand they be turned over. The gesture would save face and enhance Keokuk’s reputation.

The government didn’t have enough evidence to convict the warriors, so they were set free. Historian William T. Hagan noted it was fortunate for Keokuk because things could have gone badly for him if the men had been imprisoned or executed.

The incident also brought Keokuk to Clark’s attention. He envisioned Keokuk as the future leader of the Sac and Fox because of his “abilities to harmonize relations between the whites and reds.”

Keokuk was a realist. He understood the whites outnumbered and out powered the natives.

Americans, so he curried their favor. His tour of Washington in 1824 convinced him that his people had no chance in a war with the whites. They were more numerous and more powerful, and their weapons much stronger. Perhaps, if Black Hawk had accompanied him, he would have come to the same conclusion.

The Sac and Fox could win minor victories, but they would lose in any full-on conflict.

Keokuk did what he could in 1831 and again in 1832 to convince Black Hawk that resistance was futile. But he could have just as well talked to the wind. Black Hawk’s mind was made up. Saukenuk was his village, and he intended to fight for it.

Black Hawk sent several recruiters to Keokuk’s band at the start of the conflict. Then when nothing else worked, he sent whiskey.

When his warriors asked him to lead them, Keokuk said he would—on one condition. “They should first put all their women and children to death. Then resolve that having crossed the Mississippi, they would never return but perish among the graves of their fathers, rather than yield to the white men.”

His warriors decided the price was too high. Black Hawk and his British Band were on their own. Keokuk’s Peace Faction stayed home and kept out of the fight.

While the army chased after Black Hawk, Keokuk kept his band close to Fort Armstrong, assuring the authorities he was their friend and ally. At the end of the war, the government rewarded his loyalty.