Native American tribes in Iowa

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1718 Guillaume Delisle map, showing locations of the Ioway (Aiouez au Pauotez), the Omaha (Maha), the Otoe (Octotata), and the Kaw (Cansez), and the main voyageur trail (Chemin des voyageurs). Iowa 1718.jpg
1718 Guillaume Delisle map, showing locations of the Ioway (Aiouez au Pauotez), the Omaha (Maha), the Otoe (Octotata), and the Kaw (Cansez), and the main voyageur trail (Chemin des voyageurs).

Several Native American tribes hold or have held territory within the lands that are now the state of Iowa. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Iowa, defined by the Missouri River and Big Sioux River on the west and Mississippi River on the east, marks a shift from the Central Plains and the Eastern Woodlands. It fits within the Prairie cultural region; however, this region is seldom used, and the region is more commonly split between Great Plains and Northeastern Woodlands.

Many tribes have migrated through or been forcibly removed through the region.

Today

Today, there are three federally recognized tribes in Iowa: the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.

Precontact era

Chiwere-Siouan speaking tribes

Iowa, 1861 Iowalondonparis.jpg
Iowa, 1861

The precontact Oneota culture may have included Chiwere language–speaking peoples. At the time of contact with European explorers, their range covered most of Iowa. The Ho-Chunk ranged primarily east of the Mississippi in southern Wisconsin, the Ioway/Baxoje ranged in northern Iowa, the Otoe in central and southern Iowa, and the Missouria in far southern Iowa. [4] [5] [6] All these tribes were also active during the historic period.

Dhegihan Siouan–speaking tribes

Moni Chaki, Ponca, 1898 Moni chaki.jpg
Moni Chaki, Ponca, 1898

The following tribes arrived in the late prehistoric period:

The Dhegihan Siouan peoples lived near the Missouri River in the very Late precontact and post-contact periods; they appear to have migrated to the region from the south or southeast. Their origin location is debated. [7] [8]

Other Western Siouan language–speaking tribes

The following tribes also had an early presence in Iowa:

These may be descendants of the Mill Creek culture who flourished from 1100 to 1300 CE and whose territory extended into northwest Iowa. [2] Their territory was wide. The Lewis and Clark expedition reported on Mandan villages on the upper Missouri River.

Dakota Siouan–speakers

The Dakota pushed southward into much of Iowa in the 18th and 19th centuries. They often encountered European-American settlers. [3] In 1840, the translator Isaac Galland noted several Dakota groups in or near Iowa, including Wahpekute, North Sisseton, South Sisseton, East Wahpetonwan, West Wahpetonwan, Yankton, and Mdewakantonwan. [9]

Post-contact

Caddoan speaking–tribes

Iowa, 1798, showing several tribes, including Pawnee (Panis/Panibousa), Iowa (Aiaouez/Aioureoua and Paoute/Paoutaoua), Dakota, and Omaha (Maha); approximate state highlighted. Iowa 1798.jpg
Iowa, 1798, showing several tribes, including Pawnee (Panis/Panibousa), Iowa (Aiaouez/Aioureoua and Paoute/Paoutaoua), Dakota, and Omaha (Maha); approximate state highlighted.
Mandan and Arikara delegation Mandan and Arikara delegation - NARA - 523669.jpg
Mandan and Arikara delegation

These may descend from the Central Plains tradition cultures (ca. 1000–1780 CE) who lived in southwest Iowa, especially around the present-day Glenwood area. The Pawnee (Panis) are shown in southwest Iowa on a 1798 map, although they ranged primarily to the west. [2]

Algonquian speakers

Sauk family, 1899 Sauk Indian family by Frank Rinehart 1899.jpg
Sauk family, 1899

Tribes from the early contact period:

The encroachment of Europeans and long-term conflict among Algonquian and Iroquoian tribes in the east pushed many eastern tribes into the Midwest. Many Meskwaki remained in Iowa, even after Indian Removal in 1846. They established a recognized Settlement. [1] [3]

Iroquoian speakers

The Wyandot (Huron) were Iroquoian speakers from the early post-contact period. Again, the encroachment of Europeans and the long-term conflict between Algonquian and Iroquoian tribes in the east pushed these tribes into the Midwest. [1] [3]

Anishinaabeg

Pierre-Jean De Smet's map of the Council Bluffs, Iowa area, 1839. The area labeled 'Caldwell's Camp' was a Potawatomi village led by Sauganash. This was later developed as Council Bluffs. De Smet Council Bluffs.jpg
Pierre-Jean De Smet's map of the Council Bluffs, Iowa area, 1839. The area labeled 'Caldwell's Camp' was a Potawatomi village led by Sauganash. This was later developed as Council Bluffs.

These tribes moved to Iowa during the historic period:

The forced relocation of tribes in the 19th century from east of the Mississippi led to some eastern tribes living in and near Iowa. Their former territory had been around the Great Lakes. [1] Potawatomi Chief Sauganash founded the village that eventually grew into Council Bluffs. [11]

Southern Plains tribes

Indian settlements and claimed lands in Iowa

Notable Indians who lived in Iowa

Taimah (Chief Tama) Taimah.jpg
Taimah (Chief Tama)

Related Research Articles

The Missouria or Missouri are a Native American tribe that originated in the Great Lakes region of what is now the United States before European contact. The tribe belongs to the Chiwere division of the Siouan language family, together with the Ho-Chunk, Winnebago, Iowa, and Otoe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sioux</span> Native American and First Nations ethnic groups

The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples. Collectively, they are the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, or "Seven Council Fires". The term "Sioux", an exonym from a French transcription ("Nadouessioux") of the Ojibwe term "Nadowessi", can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or to any of the nation's many language dialects.

The Hocągara (Ho-Chungara) or Hocąks (Ho-Chunks) are a Siouan-speaking Native American Nation originally from Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Due to forced emigration in the 19th century, they now constitute two individual tribes; the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. They are most closely related to the Chiwere peoples, and more distantly to the Dhegiha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iowa people</span> Native American Siouan people

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Des Moines River</span> River in Iowa, United States

The Des Moines River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwestern United States that is approximately 525 miles (845 km) long from its farther headwaters. The largest river flowing across the state of Iowa, it rises in southern Minnesota and flows across Iowa from northwest to southeast, passing from the glaciated plains into the unglaciated hills near the capital city of Des Moines, named after the river, in the center of the state. The river continues to flow in a southeastern direction away from Des Moines, later flowing directly into the Mississippi River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Siouan languages</span>

The Western Siouan languages, also called Siouan proper or simply Siouan, are a large language family native to North America. They are closely related to the Catawban languages, sometimes called Eastern Siouan, and together with them constitute the Siouan (Siouan–Catawban) language family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otoe</span> Native American people of the Midwestern United States

The Otoe are a Native American people of the Midwestern United States. The Otoe language, Chiwere, is part of the Siouan family and closely related to that of the related Iowa, Missouria, and Ho-Chunk tribes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahaska (Native American leader)</span>

Mahaska, or White Cloud, (1784–1834) was a chief of the Native American Iowa tribe. His son, also named Mahaska, was better known as Francis White Cloud.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma</span> One of two federally recognized tribes for the Iowa people

The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma is one of two federally recognized tribes for the Iowa people. The other is the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska. Traditionally Iowas spoke the Chiwere language, part of the Siouan language family. Their own name for their tribe is Bahkhoje, meaning, "grey snow," a term inspired by the tribe's traditional winter lodges covered with snow, stained grey from hearth fires.

Chiwere is a Siouan language originally spoken by the Missouria, Otoe, and Iowa peoples, who originated in the Great Lakes region but later moved throughout the Midwest and plains. The language is closely related to Ho-Chunk, also known as Winnebago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dakota people</span> Native American people in the mid northern U.S. and mid southern Canada

The Dakota are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into the Eastern Dakota and the Western Dakota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blood Run Site</span> United States historic place

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaeology of Iowa</span> Aspect of archaeology in the United States

The archaeology of Iowa is the study of the buried remains of human culture within the U.S. state of Iowa from the earliest prehistoric through the late historic periods. When the American Indians first arrived in what is now Iowa more than 13,000 years ago, they were hunters and gatherers living in a Pleistocene glacial landscape. By the time European explorers visited Iowa, American Indians were largely settled farmers with complex economic, social, and political systems. This transformation happened gradually. During the Archaic period American Indians adapted to local environments and ecosystems, slowly becoming more sedentary as populations increased. More than 3,000 years ago, during the Late Archaic period, American Indians in Iowa began utilizing domesticated plants. The subsequent Woodland period saw an increase on the reliance on agriculture and social complexity, with increased use of mounds, ceramics, and specialized subsistence. During the Late Prehistoric period increased use of maize and social changes led to social flourishing and nucleated settlements. The arrival of European trade goods and diseases in the Protohistoric period led to dramatic population shifts and economic and social upheaval, with the arrival of new tribes and early European explorers and traders. During the Historical period European traders and American Indians in Iowa gave way to American settlers and Iowa was transformed into an agricultural state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Native American tribes in Nebraska</span>

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This timeline of South Dakota is a list of events in the history of South Dakota by year.

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The Dhegihan migration and separation was the long journey on foot by the North American Indians in the ancient Hą́ke tribe. During the migration from present-day Illinois/Kentucky and as far as Nebraska, they gradually split up into five groups. Each became an independent and historic tribe. They are the Omaha, Ponca, Kaw or Kansa, Osage and Quapaw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mildred Mott Wedel</span> American archaeologist and ethnologist

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Foster, Lance M. (2009). The Indians of Iowa. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. ISBN   1-58729-817-1.
  2. 1 2 3 Alex, Lynn M. (2000). Iowa's Archaeological Past. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. ISBN   978-0-87745-681-0. Archived from the original on 2009-11-20. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Peterson, Cynthia L. (2009). "Historical Tribes and Early Forts". In W.E. Whittaker (ed.). Frontier Forts of Iowa: Indians, Traders, and Soldiers, 1682–1862. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. pp. 12–29. ISBN   1-58729-882-1. Archived from the original on 2009-08-05. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  4. Mildred Mott (1938) "The Relation of Historic Indian Tribes to Archaeological Manifestations in Iowa", Iowa Journal of History and Politics 36:227-314.
  5. Late Prehistoric Oneota Population Movement into the Central Plains, by Lauren W. Ritterbush and Brad Logan. Plains Anthropologist Vol. 45, No. 173, pp. 257-272, 2000.
  6. "The Milford Site (13DK1): A Postcontact Oneota Village in Northwest Iowa", by Joseph A. Tiffany and Duane Anderson. Plains Anthropologist Vol. 38, No. 145, pp. 283-306, 1993.
  7. Susan C. Vehik, "Dhegiha Origins and Plains Archaeology", Plains Anthropologist Vol. 38, No. 146, pp. 231-52, 1996.
  8. Alfred E. Johnson, "Kansa Origins: An Alternative", Plains Anthropologist Vol. 36, no. 133, pp. 57-65, 1991.
  9. Isaac Galland, 1840, Galland's Iowa Emigrant: Containing a Map, and General Descriptions of Iowa Wm. Jones, Chillicothe
  10. Colin M., Betts. "Rediscovering the Mahouea". Journal of the Iowa Archeological Society . 58: 23–33.
  11. 1 2 Whittaker (2008): "Pierre-Jean De Smet’s Remarkable Map of the Missouri River Valley, 1839: What Did He See in Iowa?", Journal of the Iowa Archeological Society 55:1-13.
  12. Poweshiek
  13. Lance M. Foster The Indians of Iowa 2009. Quote: "The most famous of these maps was presented by Chief No Heart in connection with the treaty of 1837. It showed clearly the antiquity of Ioway villages along most of Iowa's major rivers; the United States decided in favor of the claims of the more numerous and powerful Sioux, Sauk, and Meskwaki."