Čhetáŋ Sápa (Black Hawk) [tʃʰɛtə̃ sapa] (c. 1832 – c. 1890) was a medicine man and member of the Sans Arc or Itázipčho band of the Lakota people.

[3] Originally the Sioux occupied the region that is now Minnesota; however, they moved west in the 18th century to avoid conflict with neighboring tribes who had been armed by French fur traders.

Documents at the National Archives, Central Plans Region, in Kansas City show evidence of Black Hawk's existence throughout the 1880s.

An annuity and goods disbursement record from September 1880 lists Black Hawk as a member of the Sans Arc band.

[1] The titled of Black Hawk's ledger book given to it by William Edward Caton reads "CHIEF MEDICINE MAN OF THE SIOUX".

[4] The Sioux Nation is made up of many different groups so it is unlikely that Black Hawk was the chief medicine man for the entire population which at the time was around 35,000 to 50,000 people.

His ledger book offers insight into the rituals Black Hawk would have performed as a medicine man of the Sans Arc Lakota.

[5] Black Hawk lived with his family in the southernmost part of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation known as the Cherry Creek District.

Nothing is known about Black Hawk's death but due to the last known date of his existence it is suspected that he died in the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890 on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

The beasts that are especially wakan are buffalo, horses, elks, wolves, weasels, bears, mountain lions, prairie dogs, ferrets, foxes, beavers, and otters.

[1]: 145  Knowing that ritual practices were outlawed at time Black Hawk created his drawings gives us even further insight into his comprehensive account of Lakota life.

The Indian Trader William Edward Canton commissioned Black Hawk to create a series of drawings during the winter of 1880-1881.

A statement by Caton's daughter and bound into the volume states that Black Hawk was a "Chief Medicine men" [sic] and "was in great straits" in the winter of 1880–1881 with "several squaws and numerous children dependent upon him.

After Black Hawk gave Canton the drawings he arranged them and had them bound in Minneapolis using a hand-bookbinding technique still used by specialists today.

[7] While spirit quests were usually a solitary activity, Black Hawk's drawings serve to share his vision with other members of the community.

The "Thunder Beings" depicted in Black Hawk's book of drawings are a compilation of attributes from a horse, buffalo and eagle.

"[1]: 26  The caption informs us that Black Hawk intended to depict himself as a Thunder Being after a transformation he underwent during a vision quest.

Catherine Berlo, the foremost scholar on Black Hawk, refers to the images depicting "buffalo transformation ceremonies" as representing the core of his spiritual vision.

[1]: 45  To signal this transformation to the viewer Black Hawk gave the participants hooves instead of feet and shows animal tracks behind them.

Black Hawk also drew scenes of life in the Sans Arc's neighboring tribe and rivals the Crow Indians.

Catherine Berlo has been able to determine through analyzing the figures war attire that Black Hawk probably belonged to a group of Lakota warriors known as the Miwatani Society recognizable by their red capes and feathers.

"[11] Perhaps in providing such a comprehensive account of the animals Black Hawk viewed on the Great Plains he was attempting to share some of their beauty and power with Canton.

Gayle Byrne, Director of Goodwill Industries reached out to leaders of the Oglala tribe and the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation for instruction regarding the provenance of the book.

Francis Yellow, a contemporary Lakota artist wrote a poem entitled Cetan Sapa Tatehila (Black Hawk's Love).

In the poem Yellow writes "Cetan Sapa's love made real on paper across time beyond death with pencil and crayon and something that's moving unseen.