The Sac or Thakiwaki lived near
Lake Huron and
Lake Michigan at the time of European contact. In 1832 they participated in the
Black Hawk War against the United States. Military leader
Black Hawk remains a cultural hero today. After the war, the tribe relocated several times from
Illinois to
Iowa,
Kansas, and finally
Indian Territory in the 1870s. Under the related
Curtis Act of 1898, the tribal government and its institutions were dismantled. The tribe was previously known as the Sac and Fox Tribe of Indians of the Mississippi River. Noted diplomat
Jeffrey Deroine, a formerly enslaved man, served as an interpreter for this treaty. By 1889 519 of the tribe were located in Indian Territory, what is now central Oklahoma. On June 10, 1890, they ceded these
Indian Territory lands to the federal government.
Self-government re-established in 20th century The administration of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt established what was called an "Indian New Deal", passing a law to encourage tribes to re-establish self-government. The
Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1934 was passed by its legislature in a similar effort. In 1937, the Sac and Fox organized Under these laws and gained federal recognition as a tribe, with an independent relationship to the federal government. They have areas of tribal jurisdiction in Oklahoma, while no longer having a reservation. Under their constitution, they established tribal citizenship as applying to everyone listed on the tribal
Dawes Rolls and their descendants, as long as individuals had a minimum
blood quantum of one-eighth Sac and Fox blood (equivalent to one great-grandparent). They recognize that descendants may be brought up as culturally Sac and Fox while having mixed ancestry.
Late 20th century to present The tribe has become increasingly active in asserting its sovereignty since the late 20th century. In 1983, the tribal government established its own system for registering vehicles and issuing license plates for tribal citizens. The state of Oklahoma tried to collect registration fees anyway, and the tribe sued. The US Supreme Court ruled in the tribe's favor of its independent sovereignty on May 17, 1993, in
Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Sac & Fox Nation. Other tribes have since established their own systems for vehicle registration on tribal lands. The Sac and Fox Nation celebrate May 17 as "Victory Day." Tribal officials have concentrated on the federal management of trust land fees and environmental issues on their land that has been leased for oil production. On May 16, 1989, a tribal representative group that included Elmer Manatowa, Principal Chief; Truman Carter, Treasurer; William Rice, Attorney General; James L. Welsh III, Director of Real Estate; and Curtis Cunard, Petroleum Consultant, testified before the 101st Congress, Special Committee on Investigations of the Select Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate. The testimony examined the federal government's management of water and natural resources of the Sac and Fox Nation. They testified to the extensive surface damage and permanent contamination of the tribal drinking water, which was destroyed by waterflooding techniques and the injection well process used by the oil companies. These officers also testified to the lack of federal oversight and trust management responsibilities, including fraudulent real estate appraisals of their lands. This historic testimony by the tribe's representatives, the result of their internal investigations, revealed the extensive mismanagement of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and its failure in carrying out trust responsibilities. This was one of a series of suits by tribes against the government on the financial management of trust land fees. As a result, the BIA has made significant trust management changes. Through the courts, the US and the Sac and Fox Nation came to historic financial settlements in compensation for some of the damage. ==Treaties==