Page 24 - DesMoinesRiver

The Meskwaki and the Sauk are Algonkian
speakers who trace their origins far to the east.
Like most woodland peoples, they traditionally
practiced a seasonal residence pattern moving
around a large territory as resources became
available. During the winter they broke into small
family groups and spread out, living in numerous
small hunting camps in sheltered woodland ar-
eas. At the end of the winter the men set out to
hunt beaver and bear and the women, children,
and elders moved to sugar camps to collect sap
and process a year’s supply of maple sugar. The
groups reunited at larger summer villages in
time to start spring planting. These villages were
usually situated near rivers so that the people
had access to fish, migrating water fowl, and
rich agricultural soil and water for their gardens. trading relationships with the British and began
During the summer, the women raised a variety
of crops and gathered wild plants, while the men
hunted and fished.
Oral tradition holds that the Meskwaki origi-
nated far to the east in present-day Quebec.
Throughout the prehistoric period they gradually
migrated westward through New York and Ohio
and then northward into the Great Lakes region
around Lakes Michigan and Superior. They
were living in Michigan in 1634 when the French
arrived (Buffalo 2013; Foster 2009:13–14). They
remained in this region until about 1650 when
the Chippewa, Ottawa, and the Neutrals at-
tacked them at Detroit. The Meskwaki moved to
the eastern shore of Lake Michigan but repeated
attacks eventually drove them into Wisconsin
24 A River of Unrivaled Advantages—Life Along the Lower Des Moines River
where they established a series of villages along
the Fox and Wolf rivers (Buffalo 2013). The larg-
est of these villages, known as “the Grand Vil-
lage of the Meskwaki”, was located on the south
shore of Big Lake Butte des Morts. Archaeolo-
gists have identified the remains of this village as the west side of the Mississippi in eastern Iowa
the Bell Site (47WN9).
As French fur traders moved west, the Meskwa-
ki felt threatened because the French traders
were providing arms to their enemies, the
Dakota and Chippewa (Hodge 1912:473; Mason
1986:385). The French were similarly disturbed
by Meskwaki refusal to settle near French out-
posts and missions and submit to their control
of trade. The Meskwaki maintained their own
to disrupt French trade routes, making com-
mercial river travel hazardous for them. The
French would not tolerate this competition and
resolved to eliminate the Meskwaki (Peterson
and Artz 2006:32; Foster 2009:13). Thus began
a long series of wars referred to collectively
as the French-Fox wars that began in 1712 and
lasted until 1730. The French nearly succeeded in
annihilating them, repeatedly laying siege to and
burning the main Meskwaki village at the Bell
Site. In 1730, the main group of Meskwaki fled
southward taking shelter near Arrowsmith, in
central Illinois. They were pursued and over 600
Meskwaki men, women, and children died in the
siege of this settlement; only 50–60 people es-
caped (Stelle 1992; Peterson and Artz 2006:33).
The Meskwaki took refuge with the Sauk and
both groups moved into the Mississippi valley in
Illinois and Iowa. This was the territory of the
Ioway who initially receive them in friendship
(Foster 2009:13). Meskwaki bands settled along
with principal settlements at the lead mines near
Dubuque, Prairie du Chien, and points north
of Rock Island (Peterson and Artz 2006:35).
Their hunting bands often ranged far to the
west in search of bison and other game. Place
names all over Iowa document the presence
of the Meskwaki in the state. Names such as
Poweshiek, Wapello, Tama, and Appanoose all
recognize famous Meskwaki leaders.
Some Meskwaki lived along the lower Des
Moines River valley during the 1830s and 1840s,
although the area’s native population of this
period was overwhelmingly Sauk. In 1846 the
U.S. Government dispossessed the Meskwaki
and Sauk of all their lands in Iowa, removing
them to a reservation in Kansas. Some Meskwaki
remained in Iowa, camping along Iowa’s interior
rivers. In 1857 they devised a plan to return of-
ficially to Iowa. Pooling their resources to raise
money they petitioned the Iowa General Assem-
bly and were granted permission to purchase
land and live along the Iowa River. Today many
Meskwaki continue to live at the Settlement on
their own land in Tama County (Buffalo 2013;
Foster 2009:14).