The Meskwaki, the only tribe based in Iowa, has a rich history

The Meskwaki people were some of the very first to call Iowa home.

Even when the government forced the tribe to leave the state, sending the Meskwaki people to Kansas in 1845, some stayed hidden in Iowa. According to the Meskwaki Nation’s website, “ancestors longed to reclaim their Iowa woodland homeland” — and they did.

Over the next few years, many Meskwaki people returned to the state and, In 1857, the Meskwaki bought 80 acres of land in Iowa. For years afterward, more and more people found their way home, and the Meskwaki Nation thrived.

While many Indigenous tribes were forced to live on reservations, which were strictly governed by federal authorities and not the tribes themselves, the Meskwaki people were able to live more independently on their private land.

“Because their ancestors had the tenacity and foresight to purchase their land, the Meskwaki Settlement is not an Indian Reservation,” the Nation’s history reads. “It was not set apart from the public domain and reserved for Indians. It is private purchased property, a sovereign nation.”

The Meskwaki went on to own more than 8,000 acres of land in Tama, Marshall and Palo Alto counties. They have their own laws, constitution, police and court system.

Drake Keahna, 10, of the Meskwaki Settlement, makes a face as his mother adjusts his headdress before a ceremonial dance at the 94th Annual Meskwaki Indian Powwow in 2008. (The Gazette)

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The tribe is the only one with headquarters in Iowa and, according to its website, has more than 1,000 members. Many of them are kids — a very important group if the Meskwaki way of life is to continue.

Almost every year at the Meskwaki Powwow, young people join in a variety of dances. According to Gazette archives, older Meskwaki members hope the powow and other celebrations help kids learn Meskwaki traditions and the language of the tribe.