Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

84 Black Americans BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

The OldWorld blackbird lives in woods

and gardens in Europe, Asia, New

Zealand, and Australia. Most types of

blackbird, however, are found in North

America. They live in marshes, fields,

prairies, woods, and towns.

Blackbirds generally range from about 8

to 11 inches (20 to 28 centimeters) in

length. Among OldWorld blackbirds

the males are black and the females are

brown. This is true of many blackbirds.

Often the males also have some brightly

colored or dark, glossy feathers. The

male red-winged blackbird has yellow

and red feathers on its shoulders. The

female is brown and streaky like a sparrow.

The male yellow-headed blackbird

has a bright yellow head and a black

body. The female has a dull yellow head

and a gray-brown body.

Most blackbirds eat mainly insects and

grains and other seeds. They often look

for food on the ground in large groups.

The OldWorld blackbird eats insects,

worms, and fruits.

#More to explore

Bluebird • Cowbird • Robin • Songbird

Blackfoot

The Blackfoot (also called Blackfeet) are

a group of three Native American

tribes—the Piegan, the Blood, and the

Blackfoot proper (also called Northern

Blackfoot). The Blackfoot were most

powerful in the early 1800s. At that time

they controlled a large area of land in

the United States and Canada from

Montana to Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The Blackfoot got most of their food by

hunting bison (buffalo). They lived in

portable cone-shaped tepees made from

a wooden frame covered with bison

hides.

European traders arrived in the Blackfoot’s

territory in the late 1700s. The

Indians were friendly to these newcomers

until 1806, when the Lewis and

Clark Expedition killed two of their

warriors. Afterward the Blackfoot considered

Americans to be their enemies,

and they attacked traders, miners, and

settlers.

The Blackfoot suffered from diseases

such as smallpox that were introduced

by the Europeans. Non-Indians also

killed nearly all the bison of the Plains.

This left the Blackfoot without their

most important source of food.

Unable to live as bison hunters, the

Blackfoot agreed to move to reservations.

By the end of the 20th century,

about 32,000 Blackfoot lived in the

United States, mostly in Montana.

Children from the Blackfoot tribe wear colorful

traditional clothing.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Blackfoot 85

 

Another 12,000 lived in Canada, primarily

in Alberta.

#More to explore

Lewis and Clark Expedition • Native

Americans

Black Hawk

A chief of the Sauk people, Black Hawk

led a band of 1,000 Native Americans

who refused to be forced from their

homeland by white settlers. In 1832

their struggle sparked the brief Black

HawkWar.

Black Hawk was born in 1767 near the

mouth of the Rock River in what is now

the U.S. state of Illinois. His Indian

name was Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak.

Black Hawk resented the coming of

American settlers and fought with the

British against the United States in the

War of 1812.

While Black Hawk was away, Keokuk

became leader of the Sauk. Keokuk was

friendly with U.S. officials. His followers

agreed to move across the Mississippi

River into what is now Iowa. Black

Hawk and his followers resisted, but

they were forced to move to Iowa in

1831. The next spring, however, they

returned to their homeland. President

Andrew Jackson then sent troops.

Black Hawk did not get the help he

needed from other tribes. The U.S.

troops drove his band north into what is

nowWisconsin. In the final battle of the

Black HawkWar, the troops killed most

of the Indians at the Bad Axe River.

Black Hawk survived and was sent to

prison. In 1833 he was allowed to return

to Iowa. He died there in 1838.

#More to explore

Jackson, Andrew • Native Americans

•War of 1812

Black Hills

The Black Hills of the west-central

United States are abundant in natural

beauty. The hills were home to Native

Chief Black Hawk led his people,

the Sauk tribe, in a fight against

white settlers.

86 Black Hawk BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

Americans until the area became the

center of a gold rush in the late 1800s.

Today they attract millions of visitors

from all over the world.

The Black Hills lie largely within the

Black Hills National Forest of western

South Dakota and northeasternWyoming.

From a distance their rounded

hilltops and heavily forested slopes look

dark, which is why they are named the

Black Hills. The hills rise approximately

3,000 feet (900 meters) above the surrounding

Great Plains.

The Black Hills contain many tourist

attractions. Mount Rushmore National

Memorial in South Dakota features

huge carvings of Presidents George

Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham

Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.

South Dakota’s Custer State Park is

home to a large herd of roaming bison.

Other attractions in South Dakota

include Jewel Cave National Monument,

Wind Cave National Park, and

the old mining town of Deadwood.

Devils Tower National Monument is in

Wyoming.

The Black Hills were once a hunting

ground and sacred territory of the Sioux

Indians. A treaty signed in 1868 gave

the Sioux rights to the region. However,

white miners rushed into the hills after