Indian Culture in Iowa Continues to Flourish

By Tess Lampe

11,000 years ago.

     That’s how long ago humans took their first steps on the territory that is now Iowa. 8,000 years after, the Woodland culture entered Iowa, which was the most dominant culture in Iowa. for about 2,00 years. As time moved along, cultures that were more dependent on agriculture began to replace the Woodland culture, those being Glenwood and Mill Creek in western Iowa and Oneota culture eastern Iowa. Many of these included indigenous people and a large group of villagers near the Mississippi River. When it comes to Oneota culture, those involved in it are believed to be directly ancestral to the Ioway Indians, who were first encountered by European explorers entering Iowa years ago.
     Around the time of the 18th century, Indian tribes within Iowa included the Ioway (located in northern, central, and eastern Iowa), and the Sioux (located in northwest Iowa). After the Sauk and the Mesquakie - two other historic Indian tribes - were pushed out of their homelands in Wisconsin, they resettled in western Illinois and along the Mississippi River in eastern Iowa. This forced removal became the main cause of the Black Hawk War in 1832. Other Indian tribes that settled in Iowa include: Potawatomi, who moved from northeastern Illinois to southwestern Iowa and the Winnebago, who moved from Wisconsin to northeastern Iowa in 1840. When these tribes (with the exception of the Sioux who had previously abandoned their lands) were resettled by the U.S. Government in Kansas and Oklahoma, which occurred in the mid - late 1840s, there was no longer any organized Indian tribes in Iowa by 1850.
     By time 1857 rolled around, part of the Mesquakie tribe decided to come back to Iowa where their tribal representatives purchased land in Tama county along the Iowa River. Many Indian tribes were dependent on the government when they were forced onto land reservations in the 19th century, but the Mesquakie were not. Since then, the Mesquakie tribe have owned and controlled their own lands.
     Even though the Mesquakie tribe today struggle with keeping their identity as a bright culture including entertainment and display art like art, music, poetry, and dance, they are a vibrant reminder to the modern community of Iowa that people “need not surrender their own culture to the dominant culture which surrounds them.” To honor the Mesquakie and the culture that surrounds them today, many colleges and associations have grown to be much more conscious and aware of the present Indian community. Those organizations including the University of Iowa (college), the American Indian Student Association, and the Chicano/Indian American Culture Center, which holds the event of the American Indian Education Conference.

     The Chicano/Indian American Culture Center helps focus on the Indians within not only the University of Iowa, but the university community as a whole. The American Indian Education Conference that took place in October of 1990 focused on the “cultural awareness” of the Indian community.
     The various Indian tribes that have traversed Iowa have made our state what it is since they first established themselves as tribes. Their culture has helped shape how many Iowans live their lives today and many tribes have become a constant reminder of our interesting history.