Land and Name Acknowledgement
OUR NAME
The name, Presbytery of Blackhawk, was likely chosen by a Synod-level committee charged with the details of the 1972 reorganization of the Illinois presbyteries. Rationale for its choice is not included in official minutes of either the Synod or the Presbytery. In northwestern Illinois, the name Black Hawk or Blackhawk derives from the noted Sauk leader and warrior and has become a common eponym for places and organizations.
- Autobiography of Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak, (Black Hawk) by Sauk Leader/Warrior Black Hawk
- Black Hawk (Sauk leader) from Wikipedia (includes extensive reference list)
Múk-a-tah-mish-o-káh-kaik, Black Hawk, Prominent Sauk Leader
by George Catlin, 1832 (Smithsonian American Art Museum)
What is in a Name?
You are welcome to share our Power Point Presentation with your congregation to help raise awareness of your own unique setting in this land with a complex history that we now call Blackhawk Presbytery.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- An action of the 222nd (2016) General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) officially repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery, an official papal action in the 15th century that declared that Christians had a divine right to conquer any non-Christians and claim their land as our own. This was the action that emboldened European colonizers to push indigenous people off their land and begin a process of genocide that reduced the number of Native Americans on the North American continent from 250 million people at the time of Columbus to 250,000 people at the end of the Revolutionary War. (see PCUSA Doctrine of Discovery webpage for information and resources)
- The 223rd (2018) General Assembly built on the work of the previous assembly and took action that requires national PC(USA) agencies to begin meetings with land acknowledgment and, where possible, to seek the greeting and welcome of the Indigenous peoples currently living on the land. Presbyteries and congregations are also encouraged to adopt the same practice. (read Assembly action)
- FAQs About Honoring Lands Peoples
- Blackhawk Presbytery: Acknowledgement of Native Lands and Peoples
- Yorkville Au Sable Grove’s “Before Us” PowerPoint acknowledgement
RESOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION
- The Invasion of America, a project of eHistory.org,shows by mapping every treaty and executive order from 1776 to 1887, how the United States seized over 1.5 billion acres from America’s indigenous people. Use this interactive map it to find and read the treaty pertinent to your area.
- Native Land Digital, a Canadian non-profit, offers an extensive interactive map displaying historical indigenous nations’ land, languages and treaty boundaries with related contact information and content.
Download the Discovery Guide
for Your Summer Travels!
Blackhawk Presbyterians are encouraged to educate themselves about the history of our land and our name, and to honor that history and the Indigenous people who lived here before us.
May we recognize and acknowledge that throughout the last several centuries, the rights of Native Americans were severely abused by both church and state. This history has had lasting implications. Beginning with knowledge and confession, may we seek paths of reconciliation with the living descendants of Indigenous peoples.
