For ages 3-9. . The boy belongs to the Sauk tribe, the last Native Americans to live east of the Mississippi River. He learns survival skills from other tribal members. He witnesses the introduction of horses and the influx of white men using steel traps instead of wood and rawhide snares to cature fur-bearing animals. These are life-changing events for the tribe. According to Sauk custom, the boy leaves the village alone to seek a vision which allows him to enter adulthood with a new name-Black Sparrow Hawk.