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Iowa people

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Iowa
Báxoje
White Cloud, Chief of the Iowa,byGeorge Catlin(1845), National Gallery of Art
Total population
estimated 2,567[1][2]
Regions with significant populations
United States(Kansas,Nebraska,andOklahoma)
Languages
English,formerlyChiwere
Religion
traditional tribal religion,Native American Church,Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Otoe,Missouria,Ho-Chunk,and otherSiouanpeoples
PeopleBáxoje
LanguageBáxoje ich'é,
Hand Talk
CountryBáxoje Máyaⁿ

TheIowa,also known asIoway,and theBah-Kho-JeorBáxoje(English:grey snow;Chiwere:Báxoje ich'é),[3]are aNative AmericanSiouanpeople. Today, they are enrolled in either of twofederally recognized tribes,theIowa Tribe of Oklahomaand theIowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska.

The Iowa,Missouria,andOtoetribes were all once part of theHo-Chunk people,[4]and they are allChiwere language-speaking peoples. They left their ancestral homelands in SouthernWisconsinfor EasternIowa,a state that bears their name. In 1837, the Iowa were moved from Iowa toreservationsinBrown County,Kansas,andRichardson County,Nebraska.Bands of Iowa moved toIndian Territoryin the late 19th century and settled south ofPerkins, Oklahoma,to become the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma.

Etymology

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The Ioway tribe is also known as the Báxoje tribe.[3]Their name has been said to come from the Siouxayuhwa( "sleepy ones." ). Early European explorers often adopted the names of tribes from theethnonymswhich other tribes gave them, not understanding that these differed from what the peoples called themselves. Thus,ayuhwais not an Ioway word. The word Ioway comes from Dakotanayuxbevia Frenchaiouez.[5]Theirautonym(their name for themselves) isBah-Kho-Je,pronounced[b̥aꜜxodʒɛ](alternate spellings:pahotcha,pahucha,báxoje[6]), which translates to "grey snow".[3]Báxojehas been incorrectly translated as "dusted faces" or "dusty nose".[6]

The state ofIowa,where they once lived, was named after this tribe. Their name has been applied to other locations, such asIowa County,Iowa Cityand theIowa River.

Population

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Their estimated 1760 population of 1,100 dropped to 800 and by 1804, a decrease caused mainly bysmallpox,to which they had no naturalimmunity.Their numbers were reduced to 500 by 1900. In 1960, 100 Iowa lived in Kansas and 100 in Oklahoma.

By 1980 their population had recovered to 1,000 (of which only 20 spoke Iowa). In 1990 there were 1,700 people. According to theBureau of Indian Affairs,in 1995 there were 533 individuals living in the Iowa reservations of Kansas and 44 in Nebraska (Horton Agency), while 857 people lived in the Oklahoma Iowa Tribe (Shawnee Agency), amounting to a total of 2,934 people. According to the 2000 census, 1,451 people identified as full-blood Iowa, 76 were of mixed-Indian descent, 688 of mixed-race descent, and 43 of mixed-race and tribe descent, amounting to 2,258 people.

Culture

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Mary Louise White Cloud Rhodd, granddaughter of ChiefJames White Cloud,in Iowa regalia,White Cloud, Kansas,1974

The Iowa have had customs similar to those of the otherSiouan-speakingtribes of theGreat Plains,such as the Omaha, Ponca andOsage.They were a semi-nomadicpeople who had adopted horses for hunting, but they also had an agricultural lifestyle similar to the tribes inhabiting theEastern woodlands.They plantedmaizeand manufacturedalumpipes, which they traded along with furs with theFrenchcolonizers.

Historically, their houses included bark lodges (chakiruthan),tipis,and at times,earth lodges—oven-shaped buildings covered with earth for protection from extremes of temperature and oriented to a cardinal direction. A smoke hole enabled ventilation from a central hearth. During the hunting season or in warfare, they used the portable tipi. Like the Osage or Kansa, Iowa men traditionally shaved their heads and decorated them with deer hide. LikeGreat Plains tribes,they valued three feats during a battle.

History

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Iowa Indians in London and París, by Catlin (1861), National Gallery of Art

In prehistoric times, the Iowa emigrated from theGreat Lakesregion to present-day Iowa. In the 16th century, they moved from theMississippi Riverto the Great Plains, and possibly then separated from the Ho-Chunk tribe.

From the 15th to 18th centuries, they lived in theRed Pipestone Quarryregion (Minnesota). In the early 19th century, the Iowa had reached the banks of thePlatte River,where in 1804Lewis and Clarkvisited their settlements. There they engaged in trading with the French and local tribes, thanks to their advantageous situation regarding the alum deposits.

Between 1820 and 1840, the Iowa ceded their Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri lands to theU.S. government.By 1837 most were relocated to a reservation along the Kansas-Nebraska border, led by their chiefChief Mahaska(Mew-hew-she-kaw,"White Cloud"; archaicIowayMaxúshgapronounced[mõxuʃꜜkɐ];contemporaryMaxúhga). They surrendered the Little Platte territory in Missouri in 1836. Other Missouri lands had been ceded in 1824.

In 1837 they settled in a strip of land in Kansas, south of the Big Nemaha River, along with theSaukand theMeskwaki,tribes with which they had long had friendly relations (though speaking unrelatedAlgonquian languages). Some 45 Iowa fought in theAmerican Civil Warin theUnion Army,among them Chief James White Cloud, grandson ofMahaska.

In 1883 a number of Iowa moved to Indian Territory preferring to live in the older community village way of life. The new reservation was located inLincoln,PayneandLogancounties in theIndian Territory.However, despite their efforts to block allotment, their lands were divided anyway. Today theIowa Reservationin Nebraska and Kansas is approximately 2,100 acres (8.5 km2) in size, and has more than 150 residents.

21st-century

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In 2007, a documentary filmLost Nation: The Ioway(2007; written and directed by Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle) was made, and followed by sequels 2 and 3.[7]

In 2013, Tim Rhodd was elected chairman of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska. The Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska operates the Casino White Cloud atWhite Cloud, Kansas,on theIoway Reservation.[8]

Jacob Keyes is the current tribal chairperson of the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma.[9]The tribes operates the Cimarron Casino in Perkins, Oklahoma,[10]and the Ioway Casino in Chandler, Oklahoma.

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^"Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska."Ioway Cultural Institute.(retrieved 23 Sept 2010)
  2. ^"Pocket Pictorial."Archived2010-04-06 at theWayback MachineOklahoma Indian Affairs Commission.2010: 16. (retrieved 23 Sept 2010)
  3. ^abcMay, John D."Iowa".The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.Retrieved2022-04-30.
  4. ^"Iowa people".Britannica.Retrieved2022-04-30.
  5. ^"Koontz, John E. (2004) Contribution to Siouan listserv thread" (O)maha "(24 March)".Archived fromthe originalon 2009-01-24.Retrieved2008-08-18.
  6. ^abRipley, George; Dana, Charles A., eds. (1879)."Iowas".The American Cyclopædia.
  7. ^"Documentary Featuring DDEEA Author Shawn Peters' Book Previews Online Dec. 29".Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, University of Wisconsin–Madison.2020-12-22.Retrieved2022-04-30.
  8. ^"Quapaw Tribe casino expansion faces opposition from tribes".Indianz.July 20, 2015.Retrieved2022-04-30.
  9. ^"Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma".Tribal Leaders Directory.U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs.Retrieved11 November2023.
  10. ^"Ex-Con Arrested In Cimarron Casino Parking Lot".1600 KUSH.Oilpatch Radio. 2014-10-31.Retrieved2022-04-30.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toIowa (tribe).
Wikisourcehas the text of the 1905New International Encyclopediaarticle "Iowa (tribe)".
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