The Meskwaki of Iowa

The Meskwaki are officially known by the U.S. government as the Sac and Fox of the Mississippi in Iowa. They are the only resident Native Nation in Iowa. The Meskwaki, along with their allied Sac Nation, ceded their lands in Iowa through a series of treaties in the 1830s and 1840s.  They were forced to reservation lands in Kansas in 1846, but some never left Iowa.

A group of Meskwaki from Kansas returned to Iowa in 1857 and petitioned then Iowa Governor Grimes to allow them to purchase 80 acres of land along the Iowa River in Tama County. This request was granted. Thus began a settlement that today comprises over 2000 acres near Tama, Iowa where nearly 1000 Meskwaki live.

Mamiwanige (1839–1919) was the last hereditary leader of the Meskwaki (Sac and Fox) in Iowa. Upon his death in 1881, Pushetonequa was installed as chief by the chief’s council and was later recognized by the Office of Indian Affairs. In order to seat Pushetonequa, Mamiwanige’s sons were passed over because they were considered too young. Pushetonequa led the tribe during a time of change as the U.S. government wanted the tribe to assimilate. He faced detractors and supporters during his thirty-eight years of leadership as the tribe struggled to maintain its sovereignty.  He was born at South Amana, Iowa County at Poweshiek’s village in 1839 and died in 1919.

Young Bear (1868–1945) was a son of Pushetonequa. He was born in 1868 at a winter camp along the Raccoon River. After Pushetonequa’s death in 1919 the federal government refused to recognize a successor. The Meskwaki tribal council continued to handle tribal affairs under the leadership of Young Bear. Edgar Harlan and Young Bear traveled to Chicago in December 1929 and rented rooms at the Wellington Hotel for themselves and Christian Petersen. Petersen’s room became a makeshift studio for holding portrait sittings of both Young Bear and Harlan.

In 1927 Edgar Harlan was asked by the Des Moines Superintendent of Schools to develop a special course for teachers to learn about Native American life. Harlan invited teachers to the Des Moines historical museum each week to look at Native American collections. On several occasions they went to his farm near Altoona, Iowa where he brought people from the Meskwaki Settlement of Tama to meet with the teachers and to discuss traditional lifeways.

Harlan was assisted by his on-staff educator, Halla Rhode (1883–1941).  One of the teachers, Bessie Coon (1891–1942), was a third-grade teacher at Hubbell Elementary in Des Moines. Rhode and Coon developed a friendship and decided to write a children’s book together. They needed an illustrator, and through Harlan’s association with Christian Petersen, they found their artist. Cha-Ki-Shi was published in 1936. Cha-Ki-Shi was a young girl from the Meskwaki Nation and it followed her life through the cycle of activities for a year.  Cha-Ki-She means “A little bear in a den with room only for itself.”

Petersen, along with Rhode and Coon, visited the Meskwaki settlement to make sketches. Rhode also introduced him to her museum co-worker, Jonas Poweshiek, and his father Frank. Frank developed a living history exhibit of a Meskwaki village on Harlan’s farm where he gave demonstrations of Meskwaki crafts and culture.

Petersen’s illustrations for the book numbered 53, but only 15 were actually printed in the book. The publisher, Scribner and Sons, wrote a letter to Rhode and Coon and were concerned that Petersen’s use of soft crayon might not reproduce well. The publisher offered to pay Petersen $150 to redraw some of the illustrations. Look at the drawings in this exhibition and see if they could have been the inspiration for then future Fountain of the Four Seasons sculptures.

German Silver Armlet Bracelet

On loan from the State Historical Museum of Iowa.

German silver, etched design of diamonds with scalloped edges, flower design inside the diamond. Piece of cotton fabric threaded through one of four holes. This bracelet was illustrated by Christian Petersen for the Cha-Ki-Shi book.