Blackbird Bend is the name for areas in western Iowa along the Missouri River in Monona County, Iowa that have been claimed by the Omaha tribe of Nebraska and Iowa near Onawa, Iowa. The area is named for Chief Blackbird, an Omaha leader of the late 18th century. After lengthy court battles and several standoffs beginning in the 1960s, much of the area has been recognized as part Omaha tribal lands. [1] The Blackbird Bend Casino is located on this reclaimed territory. [2]
Omaha is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about 10 mi (15 km) north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 40th-most populous city, Omaha had a population of 486,051 as of the 2020 census. It is the anchor of the eight-county Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area, which extends into Iowa and is the 58th-largest metro area in the United States, with a population of 967,604. Furthermore, the greater Omaha–Council Bluffs–Fremont combined statistical area had 1,004,771 residents in 2020.
Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 census, making it the state's tenth most populous city, and the most populous city in Southwest Iowa. The Omaha metropolitan region of which Council Bluffs is a part, is the 58th largest in the United States, with an estimated population of 983,969 (2023). It is located on the east bank of the Missouri River, across from Omaha, Nebraska. Until about 1853 Council Bluffs was known as Kanesville. Kanesville was the historic starting point of the Mormon Trail. Kanesville is also the northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trails because there was a steam-powered boat which ferried the settlers' wagons and cattle across the Missouri River. In 1869, the first transcontinental railroad to California was connected to the existing U.S. rail network at Council Bluffs.
Thurston County is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 6,773. Its county seat is Pender.
Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 26,598. Its county seat and largest city is Plattsmouth. The county was formed in 1855, and was named for General Lewis Cass, an American military officer, politician, and statesman.
Carter Lake is a city in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. A suburb of Omaha, Nebraska, it sits surrounding the south and west sides of the region's major airport, Eppley Airfield. It is separated from the rest of Iowa by the Missouri River, effectively making it an exclave. The population was 3,791 at the 2020 census.
Bettendorf is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. It is the 15th largest city of Iowa and the third-largest city in the "Quad Cities". It is part of the Davenport–Moline–Rock Island, IA-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 39,102 at the 2020 census.
The Iowa, also known as Ioway, and the Bah-Kho-Je or Báxoje, are a Native American Siouan people. Today, they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska.
The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska are a federally recognized Midwestern Native American tribe who reside on the Omaha Reservation in northeastern Nebraska and western Iowa, United States. There were 5,427 enrolled members as of 2012. The Omaha Reservation lies primarily in the southern part of Thurston County and northeastern Cuming County, Nebraska, but small parts extend into the northeast corner of Burt County and across the Missouri River into Monona County, Iowa. Its total land area is 307.03 sq mi (795.2 km2) and the reservation population, including non-Native residents, was 4,526 in the 2020 census. Its largest community is Pender.
Chief Blackbird was the leader of the Omaha Native American Indian tribe who commanded the trade routes used by Spanish, French, British and later American traders until the late 18th century. He was one of the first of the Plains Indian chiefs to trade with white explorers and also believed to be the first of the Plains Indian chiefs to openly question white encroachment. Blackbird used trade as a means to prosperity for his people and as a way to ensure white explorers were aware that they were the guests. The Omaha were not warlike people, yet they were the first on the Great Plains to have mastered equestrianism around 1770 and were at one point, while Chief Blackbird was alive, the most powerful Indian tribe in the Great Plains.
Carter Lake is a shallow oxbow lake in Nebraska and Iowa, located next to Omaha, and marks one of the only spots the Iowa-Nebraska border is not on the Missouri River. Soon after its formation the lake was called the East Omaha Lake, and then Lake Nakoma. The city of Carter Lake, Iowa, takes its name from the lake. The lake was formed from the Saratoga Bend in the Missouri River.
Saratoga Springs, Nebraska Territory, or Saratoga, was a boom and bust town founded in 1856 that thrived for several years. During its short period of influence the town grew quickly, outpacing other local settlements in the area including Omaha and Florence, and briefly considered as a candidate for the Nebraska Territorial capitol. Saratoga was annexed into Omaha in 1887, and has been regarded a neighborhood in North Omaha since then.
The neighborhoods of Omaha are a diverse collection of community areas and specific enclaves. They are spread throughout the Omaha metro area, and are all on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River.
Tourism in Omaha, Nebraska, United States offers visitors history, sports, nature and cultural experiences. Its principal tourist attractions are the Henry Doorly Zoo and the College World Series (CWS). A 2003 study by a Creighton University economist estimated that the CWS added $33.8 million to the city's economy that year. With 1.1 million visitors annually, the Henry Doorly Zoo is Nebraska's most popular tourist attraction. In 2007 Omaha hosted the USA Roller Sports National Championships, along with 10,000 people who auditioned for the American Idol television show at Qwest Center Omaha.
Gambling in Omaha, Nebraska has been significant throughout the city's history. From its founding in the 1850s through the 1930s, the city was known as a "wide-open" town, meaning that gambling of all sorts was accepted either openly or in closed quarters. By the mid-20th century, Omaha reportedly had more illicit gambling per capita than any other city in the nation. From the 1930s through the 1970s, the city's gambling was controlled by an Italian criminal element.
Abbott Drive is a roadway mostly in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, but passes briefly through Carter Lake, Iowa. It is the easternmost link in Omaha's Park and Boulevard System that connects the eastern edge of Creighton University and North Downtown Omaha or NoDo to Carter Lake, Iowa, Eppley Airfield to John J Pershing Drive on the eastern end of Florence, Nebraska. Considered "Omaha's gateway", the drive includes a distinctive "string of pearls" lighting feature.
Horseshoe Council Bluffs is a casino and former greyhound racing track in Council Bluffs, Iowa, near Omaha, Nebraska. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment. It has 60,000 sq ft (5,600 m2) of gaming space with 1,438 slot machines, 63 table games, a William Hill racebook, and a WSOP poker room. Accommodations are offered at an adjoining Hilton Garden Inn, and the nearby Country Inns & Suites, Holiday Inn Express and SpringHill Suites.
Several Native American tribes hold or have held territory within the lands that are now the state of Iowa.
The Gibson Bend of the Missouri River is a meander located in Pottawattamie County, Iowa and Douglas County, Nebraska, located at 41°11′15″N95°55′15″W. The Gibson neighborhood is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska abutting the Gibson Bend.
The 2011 flooding event on the Missouri River in the United States was triggered by record snowfall in Rocky Mountains of Montana and Wyoming along with near-record spring rainfall in central and eastern Montana. All six major dams along the Missouri River released record amounts of water to prevent overflow which led to flooding threatening several towns and cities along the river from Montana to Missouri; in particular Bismarck, North Dakota; Pierre, South Dakota; Dakota Dunes, South Dakota; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Sioux City, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Saint Joseph, Missouri; Kansas City, Missouri; Jefferson City, Missouri, and St. Louis, Missouri. Many smaller towns were also at risk, suffering the same fate as the larger cities if not worse. According to the National Weather Service, in the second half of the month of May 2011, almost a year's worth of rain fell over the upper Missouri River basin. Extremely heavy rainfall in conjunction with an estimated 212 percent of normal snowpack in the Rocky Mountains contributed to this flooding event.
Blackbird Hill, about three miles south of Macy, Nebraska, also known as Big Elk Hill, is a historic site which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
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