Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
1991
Abstract
One aftermath of European colonization of the eastern United States was the westward migration of many eastern Indian tribes. Among the hundreds of tribes that uprooted themselves and sought new lands were the Mesquakie, more commonly referred to as the Fox or Sauk and Fox, who migrated from the area around Green Bay, Wisconsin, into eastern Iowa in the late 1700s and adapted so well to their new home that they took unique steps to become permanent residents. In 1846, under pressure of Iowa statehood, their tribe sold their land in Iowa and moved to Kansas, but in 1856 the Mesquakie, disliking Kansas and fearing another removal, returned to Iowa, purchased eighty acres of land, and established a permanent home for themselves and their descendants. Art of the Red Earth People describes Mesquakie art from the time of their first arrival in Iowa to the present day.
Comments
Published in GREAT PLAINS QUARTERLY 11:3 (Summer 1991). Copyright © 1991 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln.