Meskwaki Settlement

United States history

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July 19, 2026

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The Meskwaki Settlement, located near Tama in central Iowa, is the only reservation in the state today. The Meskwaki, also known as the Fox people, are an Algonquian-speaking tribe whose name literally means "red earth (people)".12

In 1857, the Fox and Sauk tribes returned to Iowa to purchase a small reservation, establishing the Meskwaki Settlement. This purchase was a significant act of self-determination, as many Native American tribes had ceded their lands through treaties and purchases in the preceding decades. The Meskwaki Settlement represents a unique instance where Native Americans were able to buy back land for their own reservation, a stark contrast to the broader U.S. policies of allotment and assimilation that aimed to break up tribal lands and force cultural change.13

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Native American
Allotment
…inalienable except through condemnation; the Meskwaki Settlement, as it became known, had grown to more than 7,000 acres (2,800 hectares) by 2000. In a number of other areas, Native individuals simply refused to sign for or otherwise accept their parcels, leaving the property in a sort of bureaucratic limbo.
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…inalienable except through condemnation; the Meskwaki Settlement, as it became known, had grown to more than 7,000 acres (2,800 hectares) by 2000. In a number of other areas, Native individuals simply refused to sign for or otherwise accept their parcels, leaving the property in a sort of bureaucratic limbo.
Read More