Sauk and Meskwaki Nations

The Sauk and Meskwaki nations have shown great resilience in the face of U.S. imperialism. Despite a series of coerced treaties which forced them to cede their lands in Western Illinois to the U.S. government, the two nations are still standing strong and thrive today in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Iowa.

The Sauk and the Meskwaki are two separate nations. Although they share very similar languages they have different cultures and social lifestyles. The Sauk are an Algonquian people indigenous to the Western Great Lakes Region. Historically the Sauk and Meskwaki peoples’ ancestors were from the land that is currently Canada, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska. Through a series of treaties and forced displacement the Sauk now live in the land that is currently Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

The Sauk and Meskwaki nations are organized in a similar fashion. They have their own government, laws, police, and services. In the past, the nations were ruled by two chiefs, the peace chief and the war chief. The peace chief was a hereditary position passed down from father to son, and that person was in charge of diplomatic affairs. The war chief was elected by other warriors and in charge of military affairs.¹ Today each nation is governed by a tribal council that is elected by all the tribal members in the nation.

Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiah [i.e. Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak], or Black Hawk,
a Saukie brave

The Sauk and Meskwaki way of life strives to express the teachings of their ancestors, and to seek the guidance of the Creator in how to live.² Their religious practices include ceremonies like the Drum Dance, partaking in the Native American Church, and Christianity.³ Their native language is also very important to the Sauk, expressing what they value in the world and connecting them to their ancestors.

The Meskwaki are also of Algonquian origin and their spoken language is similar to the Sauk and the Kickapoo. The Meskwaki were called “Renards” (the Fox) by French settlers but have always identified themselves as “Meskwaki.”⁴ Often the Sauk and Meskwaki are clumped together because they frequently allied with one another to fight off settlers. Both nations were forcibly removed from Western Illinois through a series of treaties that ceded their land to the United States government.

Kee-o-kúk, The Watchful Fox, Chief of the Tribe

In 1804, five head men of the Sauk and Meskwaki nations arrived in St. Louis, Misssouri to settle a dispute of the murder of three white settlers by four Sauk hunters. The hunters had encountered white settlers who had been living illegally north of St. Louis along the Cuivre River, on Sauk and Meskwaki land. An altercation ensued and three of the white men were killed. The Sauk and Meskwaki men were sent by the Tribal council to St. Louis to appease the U.S government. William Henry Harrison, Governor of the Indiana Territory, saw his chance to get the men to cede Sauk and Meskwaki lands although these men did not have the authority to do so. Without permission of the Tribal council, the men signed over 50 million acres of Sauk and Meskwaki land to the U.S. Government in the Treaty of St. Louis.⁵ In 1808, Fort Madison was built on the western side of the Mississippi in Iowa to control trade between Indigenous people and settlers. Many Sauk and Meskwaki believed that the treaty of 1804 was nullified because the men who signed the treaty were not qualified to do so.

In 1831, the Corn Treaty was signed between the Sauk and the U.S. Government. The treaty stated that the Sauk must move their homes to the western side of the Mississippi and could not cross to the eastern side without permission from the U.S. Government. By signing the treaty, Black Hawk, a band leader and warrior of the Sauk nation was forced to ratify the treaty of 1804, recognizing his rival Keokuk as a leader. Because of the treaty, the Sauk were unable to plant as many crops as usual leading to food shortages the following winter.

In 1832, there was a severe food shortage for the Sauk and Meskwaki nations. Because of this, Black Hawk, a Sauk war chief, led a band of Sauk, Meskwaki, Ho-Chunks and Kickapoos across the Mississippi river with the intent to reclaim Saukeenuk, a Sauk village, to plant crops. In response to this, Governor Reynolds of the Illinois territory began forming militias of settlers to pursue Black Hawk’s band. The settler militias misinterpreted Black Hawk’s intentions as a threat and exaggerated the number of people in his band. In an attempt to escape bloodshed, the band traveled northward crossing the Mississippi and were attacked by Illinois militia men. Black Hawk’s forces were outnumbered and were forced to surrender after the massacre at Bad Axe. According to the official report 150 Indigenous people were killed but it is believed as much as double that could have been murdered since they fired on women, children and people in boats.⁶ After the Black Hawk war, the U.S. government combined the Sauk and Meskwaki as the “Sac and Fox Confederacy” to make treaty signing easier.

In 1845, through a series of treaties and forced removal, the Sauk and Meskwaki were displaced to a reservation in Kansas. Some chose to remain hidden and stay in Western Illinois and Iowa while others traveled between the two for the next couple of years. On July 15, 1856, the State of Iowa enacted a law that would allow the Meskwaki to formally purchase “back” their land. The following year the Meskwaki purchased their first 80 acres of land in Tama County, Iowa.⁷ They were the first Native Nation to purchase land after the federal Indian Removal Act of 1830.⁸ Over the years, the nation slowly purchased their land back allowing the Meskwaki people to live more independently from the U.S. Government.

The Sauk and Meskwaki live on a settlement in Tama, Iowa. It is important to note, it is not a reservation: “It is private purchased property, a sovereign nation.”⁹ Today the Sauk and the Meskwaki are the only federally recognized nation in Iowa. They continue to fight bravely for their way of life and have shown great resilience in the face of severe oppression.

By Milo Camaya

---

¹ “Meskwaki Culture,” IDCA, February 25, 2021. Accessed May 26, 2021. https://iowaculture.gov/history/education/educator-resources/primary-source-sets/meskwaki-culture

² “Who we Are” (Sac and Fox Nation: 2021.) Accessed May 26, 2021. https://www.sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov/about/

³ “Who We Are” (Sac and Fox Nation: 2021.) Accessed May 26, 2021.

⁴ Jonathan L. Buffalo, “History” (Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa: 2013). Accessed May 26, 2021. https://www.meskwaki.org/about-us/history/

⁵ “Treaty of St. Louis.” Opened for signature November 3, 1804. Treaty With The Sauk and Foxes. Accessed May 26, 2021. https://www.sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Nov_3_1804.pdf

⁶ J. Gerald Kennedy, introduction to Black Hawk, Life of Black Hawk, or Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak. Dictated by Himself, ed J. Gerald Kennedy, (New York: Penguin Books, 2008), xiii.

⁷ Jonathan L. Buffalo, “History” (Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa: 2013). Accessed May 26, 2021. https://www.meskwaki.org/about-us/history/

⁸ “Fifth General Assembly of the State of Iowa” opened for signature on July 2nd, 1856, Iowa City. Accessed May 26, 2021. https://iowaculture.gov/sites/default/files/primary-sources/pdfs/history-education-pss-native-generalassembly-source_0.pdf

⁹ “Who We Are” (Sac and Fox Nation: 2021).

First image: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiah [i.e. Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak], or Black Hawk, a Saukie brave. " New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 25, 2021. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e1-1ac8-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Second Image: George Catlin, born Wilkes-Barre, PA 1796-died Jersey City, NJ 1872, Keokuk. Kee-o-kúk, The Watchful Fox, Chief of the Tribe. 1835. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America. Accessed May 25, 2021. http://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=record_ID=saam_1985.66.1&repo=DPLA.