Peace Medal from the U.S. to the Sauk and Fox. This is the frontside of the coin, featuring President James Polk

Backside of the coin presented to Chief Keokuk. This side says “Peace” and “Friendship”

The coin presented above has a massive amount of significance in reference to Native American history due to the fact that it is a symbol of consolation that seems to be “kind” to an outside observer, but in reality is massively underwhelming to the Native Americans  who received the “peace offering”. The first thing I noticed was the pouch that was attached to the coin. It seemed somewhat worn, yet the wear of time didn’t look like it harmed the bag too much. Embroided on the bag are many beads, some forming shapes, and others dotting the bag’s outline. The coin has a portrait of President James K. Polk, as is graciously engraved on the coin, along with the year 1845. The backside of this coin shows two arms shaking hands, with a tomahawk and a pick crossing above them. Engraved on the backside are the words “Peace” and “Friendship”. This coin represents gratuity towards the Sauk and Fox clan’s leader, Chief Keokuk, for peacefully relocating his clans after the Black Hawk War of 1832. Chief Keokuk took over the role of Sauk leader after his predecessor, Black Hawk, surrendered to the United States government after being on the run from various militia for around five months.

This peace medal tells a story of struggle and loss for the Native peoples. The Black Hawk War of 1832 was a struggle between a group of Native Americans, lead by Sauk leader Black Hawk, against the United States government. Black Hawk and his people moved into the state of Illinois from Iowa Indian territory in April 1832 with seemingly harmless intentions. U.S. officials, however, decided that Black Hawk’s united front of indigenous people, nicknamed the “British Band”, had sinister plans, and sent a militia to combat them. Important battles like the Battle of Stillman’s Run were won by Black Hawk’s tribes, but the U.S. troops, commanded by General Henry Atkinson, forced Hawk to surrender in the month of August after chasing him into southern Wisconsin. After losing the Black Hawk War of 1832, the Sauk and Fox were forced to leave the lands their ancestors had laid upon for hundreds of years prior, lands that are now recognized as Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma,. Knowing that they had no choice but to relocate themselves, Chief Keokuk of the Sauk and Fox clans, wanting no more death or destruction, quietly moved his people to appease the American government. In return, the government gave the Chief Keokuk a consolation prize of a medal.
This broadens the narrative of both the history of the Native Americans and the Americans by silently telling the story of how nearly every Native American-American government conflict ended: the Natives would be forced off their land, and America would give them a consolation prize of sorts. In this case, it was a medal for creating “peace” between the Sauk/Fox clans and America.