(Redirected from Mesquakie Indian Settlement)
OPEN DAILY 6A - 10P 1494 HIGHWAY 30 TAMA, IOWA 52339 (641)484-9341. Here at Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel, we believe in offering a large variety of quality food, always fresh, and always mouth-watering. Check out our menus, and choose from one of five amazing restaurants. Comments from TripAdvisor ® guests: “Luscious seafood buffet.” “Best French onion soup a person could ask for.”. Gaming, live entertainment, restaurants, spa, hotel and much more at Meskwaki. Plan your trip today! The fun just keeps getting better at Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel in Tama, Iowa.The casino offers over 1,350 slots to choose from, 21 table games, 550 seat Bingo Parlor and live Poker Room.The hotel offers over 400 comfortable all Non-Smoking luxury rooms, full service spa, whirlpool, indoor pool, fitness center and gift shop. Top this off with six different dining choices to make this your. Meskwaki Casino is a Native American casino and hotel located in Tama, Iowa. It is owned and operated by the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, and opened in 1992. The casino consists of 67,000 square feet (6,200 m 2) of gaming space, filled by tables for stud poker, blackjack, craps, baccarat, roulette, hold 'em, and others.
Coordinates: 41°58′51″N92°39′01″W / 41.98083°N 92.65028°WCoordinates: 41°58′51″N92°39′01″W / 41.98083°N 92.65028°W | |
Country | United States |
---|---|
State | Iowa |
County | Tama |
Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
Area code(s) | 641 |
'Mesquakie Indians responsible for the establishment of the Mesquakie Settlement,' 1857 photograph. | |
Total population | |
---|---|
Enrolled members: 1300 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
United StatesIowa | |
Languages | |
English, Meskwaki | |
Religion | |
Traditional religion (incl. syncretistic forms) | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Sac, Kickapoo |
The Meskwaki Settlement is an unincorporated community in Tama County, Iowa, United States, west of Tama.[1] This was part of the historic territory of the Meskwaki, an Algonquian people. (They were known to English colonists and Americans as the Fox.) Since 1857, when Meskwaki bought land here, it has been home to a sizable community of Meskwaki Indians. They are enrolled in the federally recognized Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, one of three Sac and Fox tribes in the United States. The others are located in Oklahoma and Kansas.
Government[edit]
The Nation operates a tribal school, tribal courts, public works department, and police force. The settlement includes more than 8,000 acres (32 km2). There are about 1,300 members of this Meskwaki Tribe, of whom about 800 live on the settlement; non-tribal members, including spouses, also live on the settlement.[2][3]
The Meskwaki Casino Resort is located on the Settlement and generates revenue for the welfare of the tribe.[4] The settlement includes land in parts of Indian Village Township, Toledo Township, Tama Township, and Columbia Township. The tribe holds a large pow-wow there each year.[5]
History[edit]
The Meskwaki traded with French colonists of the Illinois Country but were forced west by competition in the 18th-century fur trade and later United States development pressures. In the early decades of the 19th century, the Meskawki and Sac were being forced to cede land in Iowa and nearby areas to the United States and to move west of the Mississippi River. The Iowa state legislature passed a law to allow them to buy land, which they did in 1857. Over the following 150 years, the Meskwaki gradually expanded the settlement by purchasing nearby lands. As the settlement was never formally incorporated as a city it has no official name, and was commonly called 'Indian Town' into the 20th century. The anthropologist Duren Ward suggested the settlement be named 'Meskwakia,'[6] but this name never caught on. The total lands owned by the tribe is called 'Meskwakenuk' by the Meskwaki tribal government.[7]In the 21st century, there are three other federally recognized Sac and Fox tribes, who have independent reservations and governments in present-day states of Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska.
Education[edit]
The community is within the South Tama County Community School District.[8]
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There is also the Sac and Fox Tribe-operated Meskwaki Settlement School (MSS),[9] a PK-12 school. It was formed in 1938 as a merger of two Native American day schools. Typically settlement students attend the tribal school or South Tama County High School.[10]
Notable Meskwaki[edit]
- Ray Young Bear, writer[11]
References[edit]
- ^Elias Ellefson, 'What it Means to be a Meskwaki': Ray Young Bear interview, Des Moines Register, 4 September 1994
- ^Official site of the Meskwaki Nation
- ^Meskwaki Settlement SchoolArchived 2009-04-24 at the Wayback Machine website
- ^Meskwaki Casino Bingo Hotel
- ^Meskwaki Annual Pow Wow AssociationArchived 2008-10-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^Ward, Duren (1906). 'Meskwakia'. Iowa Journal of History and Politics. 4 (2): 178–189.
- ^[meskwakenuk.maps.arcgis.com 'Meskwaki Nation GIS'] Check
|url=
value (help). ArcGIS. Retrieved 30 June 2017. - ^'District'. South Tama County Community School District. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
The district [..] serves the communities of [..] the Meskwaki Settlement, [..]
- ^'Home'. Meskwaki Settlement School. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
The Meskwaki Settlement School is located in the Meskwaki Nation (about four miles west of Tama) and is a property of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa.
- ^'The Meskwaki Settlement School'. Iowa Pathways. Iowa PBS. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
- ^Elias Ellefson, 'What it Means to be a Meskwaki': Ray Young Bear interview, Des Moines Register, 4 September 1994
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Meskwaki_Settlement,_Iowa&oldid=1001236702'
It’s time to put down your worries for a little while and just enjoy those around you and what the Meskwaki’s have been doing for over 100 years… DANCING and CELEBRATING.
– Meskwaki Nation
Where East Meets West
The Meskwaki Annual Powwow is the only one of its kind in Iowa and is held annually on the only Indian Settlement in the state. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 the 2020 Meskwaki Annual powwow has been canceled. Please plan for 106th Annual Powwow to occur August 12-15, 2021.
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This cultural event is meant to unite the community and brings together families and friends for four days of laughter, dancing, singing, remembering and just reuniting and reconnecting. Each year, relatives and friends come back to the Meskwaki community from all over the country and even the world. Find out more about the event held annually in August on their website.
Visit the Meskwaki Annual Powwow Associations website HERE!
2020’s Powwow Special Edition MNT
2019’s Powwow Program Brochure
2018’s Powwow Program Brochure
2017’s Powwow Program Brochure
2016’s Powwow Program Brochure
Origins of the Powwow
The Meskwaki Annual Powwow originated from traditional religious and social beliefs of the Meskwaki Tribe. The modern day Meskwaki Powwow is derived from the Green Corn Dance and other social events of the tribe in its early years. The “Green Corn Dance“ was an annual event that took place during the harvesting of crops, generally in August or occasionally in September if the corn crop matured late.
Gathering together, the tribe’s event was held during harvest where some of the crop would be cooked for the feasting that took place and the rest would be boiled and dried. The dried corn would then be place in sacks and buried in deep pits located in the summer homes of the tribe.
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The dancing and feasting that accompanied the harvest normally lasted two to three weeks. At times, it would be interspersed with horse racing, gambling and ball playing (games like Lacrosse, etc.) as well. After all the festivities were done, the families would scatter and go their separate ways, returning to their winter hunting grounds.
Each spring, the tribe would return to the village to repair their summer homes, (known as wickiups) and plant new crops. The tribe, living in one village during summer months, would plant and harvest from one large field with each family planting and harvesting from their own portion of the field. When August came, the harvest and Green Corn Dance would take place. This was the seasonal way of life for the Meskwaki.
Each spring, the tribe would return to the village to repair their summer homes, (known as wickiups) and plant new crops. The tribe, living in one village during summer months, would plant and harvest from one large field with each family planting and harvesting from their own portion of the field. When August came, the harvest and Green Corn Dance would take place. This was the seasonal way of life for the Meskwaki.
Then in the winter of 1901-1902, a smallpox epidemic broke out through the village and took the lives of about 45 people. That spring, the federal government stepped in and burned the Meskwaki village to the ground; building more permanent structures in their place. Because the government built the houses scattered throughout the Settlement and not confined to a single area, each family began planting and harvesting near their homes and in their own time frames instead of in one common area.
This new living situation eliminated the need for a common harvest, but the tribe still craved times for social gatherings. From 1902-1912, an event that came to be known as “Field Days” began taking the place of the “Green Corn Dance” and was established at the location near the old village site. “Field Days” lasted about a week with dancing, games and horse racing. It was a social gathering without the harvest.
This new living situation eliminated the need for a common harvest, but the tribe still craved times for social gatherings. From 1902-1912, an event that came to be known as “Field Days” began taking the place of the “Green Corn Dance” and was established at the location near the old village site. “Field Days” lasted about a week with dancing, games and horse racing. It was a social gathering without the harvest.
Because of the festive atmosphere and the Meskwaki friendships occurring with the outside world, more and more white visitors began attending “Field Days”. The Meskwaki’s realized the event had the possibility of becoming a major commercial enterprise, so the Chief appointed 15 men who planned the 1913 celebration. These men changed the name of the event to “Powwow” and it has been held in its current location ever since.
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Today, the Meskwaki Annual Powwow is the only one of its kind in Iowa. It is a four day event used to celebrate the end of summer. As the color and intrigue of it all has drawn the most attention from the outside world, the Meskwaki Annual Powwow features dancing, singing, handcrafts, food, games and fun. Although dance styles and content have evolved over the years, the Meskwaki still consider the event a time of reaffirmation and hope, of kinship and friendship, and of celebration. They are thankful for the opportunity to share a part of who they are as Meskwaki with you. Most importantly, they hope you walk away with open minds and open hearts to be able to respect and learn from different cultures such as theirs.