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"The Musquakas of Tama County" Essay from The Annals of Iowa, 1870

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Courtesy of University of Iowa Libraries and Archives, Doe, John, "The Musquakas of Tama County," The Annals of Iowa, 1870

Description 

This article appeared in The Annals of Iowa in 1870. The removal of American Indians west of the Mississippi had begun 40 years earlier. Not all of the Meskwaki left Iowa to settle in Tama County. The author, John Doe, visited the Meskwaki in Tama County in 1855. Two years later, the Meskwaki purchased the land described in the article.

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Source-Dependent Questions

  • What picture do the writer’s words paint of the land the Meskwaki were removed from? Justify your answer with textual evidence.
  • What did the Meskwaki do after they purchased land on the Iowa River?
  • Using evidence from the text, describe the relationship the Meskwaki had with white settlers.
  • Why does the author say soldiers were present near the Meskwaki settlement? What does that imply about the relations between the American Indians and the U.S. government? 

Citation Information 

Doe, John, "The Musquakas of Tama County," The Annals of Iowa, 1870. Courtesy of University of Iowa Libraries and Archives