The history of Iowa is deeply intertwined with the Native American tribes who originally inhabited the land. Before the arrival of European settlers and the subsequent formation of the Iowa Territory, these tribes, including the Sacs, Foxes, and Sioux, were the primary occupants of the region. Their presence and conflicts over the fertile land were significant, shaping the cultural and historical landscape of Iowa. As European nations claimed and traded the territory, the rights and sovereignty of these indigenous peoples were largely ignored, leading to numerous treaties and conflicts as the United States sought to acquire land already occupied. This article delves into the complex and often overlooked history of Iowa’s original owners, highlighting their struggles, migrations, and the impact of European colonization on their lives and territories.
Having traced the early history of the great empire lying west of the Mississippi, of which the State of Iowa constitutes a part, from the earliest discovery to the organization of the Territory of Iowa, it becomes necessary to give some history of the Indians of Iowa.
According to the policy of the European nations, possession perfected title to any territory. We have seen that the country west of the Mississippi was first discovered by the Spaniards, but afterward, was visited and occupied by the French. It was ceded by France to Spain, and by Spain back to France again, and then was purchased and occupied by the United States. During all that time, it does not appear to have entered into the heads or hearts of the high contracting parties that the country they bought, sold, and gave away was in the possession of a race of men who, although savage, owned the vast domain before Columbus first crossed the Atlantic. Having purchased the territory, the United States found it still in the possession of its original owners, who had never been dispossessed; and it became necessary to purchase again what had already been bought before, or forcibly eject the occupants; therefore, the history of the Indian nations who occupied Iowa prior to and during its early settlement by the whites, becomes an important chapter in the history of the State that cannot be omitted.
For more than one hundred years after Marquette and Joliet trod the virgin soil of Iowa, not a single settlement had been made or attempted; not even a trading post had been established. The whole country remained in the undisputed possession of the native tribes, who roamed at will over her beautiful and fertile prairies, hunted in her woods, fished in her streams, and often poured out their life-blood in obstinately contested conflicts for supremacy. That this State so aptly styled “The Beautiful Land,” had been the theater of numerous, fierce, and bloody struggles between rival nations for possession of the favored region, long before its settlement by civilized man, there is no room for doubt. In these savage wars, the weaker party, whether aggressive or defensive, was either exterminated or driven from their ancient hunting grounds.
In 1673, when Marquette discovered Iowa, the Illini were a very powerful people, occupying a large portion of the State; but when the country was again visited by the whites, not a remnant of that once powerful tribe remained on the west side of the Mississippi, and Iowa was principally in the possession of the Sacs and Foxes, a warlike tribe which, originally two distinct nations residing in New York and on the waters of the St. Lawrence, had gradually fought their way westward and united, probably after the Foxes had been driven out of the Fox River country in 1746, and crossed the Mississippi. The death of Pontiac, a famous Sac chieftain, was made the pretext for war against the Illini, and a fierce and bloody struggle ensued, which continued until the Illinois were nearly destroyed and their hunting grounds possessed by their victorious foes. The Iowas also occupied a portion of the State for a time, in common with the Sacs, but they, too, were nearly destroyed by the Sacs and Foxes, and, in “The Beautiful Land,” these natives met their equally warlike foes, the Northern Sioux, with whom they maintained a constant warfare for the possession of the country for many years.
When the United States came in possession of the great valley of the Mississippi by the Louisiana Purchase, the Sacs and Foxes and Iowas possessed the entire territory now comprising the State of Iowa. The Sacs and Foxes also occupied most of the State of Illinois.
The Sacs had four principal villages, where most of them resided, viz: Their largest and most important town—if an Indian village may be called such—and from which emanated most of the obstacles and difficulties encountered by the Government in the extinguishment of Indian titles to land in this region, was on Rock River, near Rock Island; another was on the east bank of the Mississippi, near the mouth of Henderson River; the third was at the head of the Des Moines Rapids, near the present site of Montrose; and the fourth was near the mouth of the Upper Iowa.
The Foxes had three principal villages, viz: One on the west side of the Mississippi, six miles above the rapids of Rock River; another about twelve miles from the river, in the rear of the Dubuque lead mines; and the third on Turkey River.
The Iowas, at one time identified with the Sacs of Rock River, had withdrawn from them and become a separate tribe. Their principal village was on the Des Moines River, in Van Buren County, on the site where Iowaville now stands. Here the last great battle between the Sacs and Foxes and the Iowas was fought, in which Black Hawk, then a young man, commanded one division of the attacking forces.
The Sacs and Foxes, prior to the settlement of their village on Rock River, had a fierce conflict with the Winnebagoes, subdued them, and took possession of their lands. Their village on Rock River, at one time, contained upward of sixty lodges and was among the largest Indian villages on the continent. In 1825, the Secretary of War estimated the entire number of the Sacs and Foxes at 4,600 souls. Their village was situated in the immediate vicinity of the upper rapids of the Mississippi, where the beautiful and flourishing towns of Rock Island and Davenport are now situated. The beautiful scenery of the island, the extensive prairies dotted over with groves, the picturesque bluffs along the river banks, the rich and fertile soil producing large crops of corn, squash, and other vegetables with little labor, the abundance of wild fruit, game, fish, and almost everything calculated to make it a delightful spot for an Indian village, had made this place a favorite home of the Sacs and secured for it the strong attachment and veneration of the whole nation.
North of the hunting grounds of the Sacs and Foxes were those of the Sioux, a fierce and warlike nation, who often disputed possession with their rivals in savage and bloody warfare. The possessions of these tribes were mostly located in Minnesota but extended over a portion of Northern and Western Iowa to the Missouri River. Their descent from the north upon the hunting grounds of Iowa frequently brought them into collision with the Sacs and Foxes; and after many a conflict and bloody struggle, a boundary line was established between them by the Government of the United States in a treaty held at Prairie du Chien in 1825. But this, instead of settling the difficulties, caused them to quarrel all the more, in consequence of alleged trespasses upon each other’s side of the line. These contests were kept up and became so unrelenting that, in 1830, the Government bought from the respective tribes of the Sacs and Foxes and the Sioux, a strip of land twenty miles in width on both sides of the line, thus throwing them forty miles apart by creating between them a “neutral ground,” and commanded them to cease their hostilities. Both the Sacs and Foxes and the Sioux, however, were allowed to fish and hunt on this ground unmolested, provided they did not interfere with each other on United States territory. The Sacs and Foxes and the Sioux were deadly enemies, and neither let an opportunity to punish the other pass unimproved.
In April 1852, a fight occurred between the Musquaka band of Sacs and Foxes and a band of Sioux, about six miles above Algona, in Kossuth County, on the west side of the Des Moines River. The Sacs and Foxes were under the leadership of Ko-ko-wah, a subordinate chief, and had gone up from their home in Tama County, by way of Clear Lake, to what was then the “neutral ground.” At Clear Lake, Ko-ko-wah was informed that a party of Sioux were encamped on the west side of the East Fork of the Des Moines, and he determined to attack them. With sixty of his warriors, he started and arrived at a point on the east side of the river, about a mile above the Sioux encampment, in the night, and concealed themselves in a grove, where they were able to discover the position and strength of their hereditary foes. The next morning, after many of the Sioux braves had left their camp on hunting tours, the vindictive Sacs and Foxes crossed the river and suddenly attacked the camp. The conflict was desperate for a short time, but the advantage was with the assailants, and the Sioux were routed. Sixteen of them, including some of their women and children, were killed, and a boy 14 years old was captured. One of the Musquakas was shot in the breast by a squaw as they were rushing into the Sioux’s camp. He started to run away when the same brave squaw shot him through the body at a distance of twenty rods, and he fell dead. Three other Sac braves were killed. But few of the Sioux escaped. The victorious party hurriedly buried their own dead, leaving the dead Sioux above ground, and made their way home with their captive with all possible expedition.
Source: Western Publishing Company, History of western Iowa, its settlement and growth. A comprehensive compilation of progressive events concerning the counties, cities, towns, and villages–biographical sketches of the pioneers and business men, with an authentic history of the state of Iowa, 2 volumes; Sioux City : Western Publishing Company, 1882.