The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1910-10-20
HOW THE STATE OF IOWA GOT
IT'S NAME.

HOW THE STATE OF IOWA GOI
IT'S NAME.
Comes From the Indians and the
Word Iowa Means '8rhis is the
Il Place"
T.. F. Andrews in the Des Molnes
Register and Leader tells how Iowa
was named He writes as follows:
H., The Sank and Fox tribes, as near
as can be learned from their tradl-
tions, originally came from CANADA;
that they descended from the great
Chippewa nation, which was OF AL
gonkin origin. In their migration
westward around the lakes, tlghtlng
the French, the Sioux and other In
dams to Fox river, in 1880, the Sauks
had become so decimated and weak
ened, that for mutual protection,
union with the Foxes was formed,
which existed for nearly a century.
Under the compact there was TO pc
two chiefs, one of war, of lighting,
the other of civil affairs, but in all
matters respecting the sale OF lana,
the two divisions must act together.
When they finally settled in the
Rock river section, the principal
Sank village was on the point OF land
at the forks of Rock river with the
Mississippi, about four miles below
Rock Island. They at once began
subjugating other tribes on the south
to add to their grounds for winter
hunting. They not only drove away
their implacable enemy, the Sioux,
but a strong federation OF other
tribes, and became immensely pros
porous In that village Black Hawk
was born in 1867, at what is now
Rock Island. His father, PaW-he-se,
J son of Na-mah-ke, or Thunder, was
the war chief under the union COM
pact. Black Hawk was not porn
chief, but at the age OF 10, having
shown great bravery in killing and
scalping several Osages he was made
! "brave," but could not paint nor
wear a feather. When 10 years old,
; his father was killed when lighting
the Cherokees, and Black Hawk be-
came his successor ContempoIa.
neous with him was keokuk, chlel
of the civil, or peace division.
In 1880 a treaty was made by the
United States and the confederation
under which the Indians sold their
land and agreed to move to the west
side of the Mississippi river. Black
Hawk refused to sign the treaty,
claiming that his people did not get
what their land was worth; that 1t
did not agree with the treaty OF 1904.
He became angry and went away for
two years, then returned, peace
was arranged, he agreed to the treaty
and crossed the Mississippi at the
point where Davenport now is, which
he said was "Kiowa." He very soon
went to the warpath westward, broke
up band of Sioux and drove them
across ("Kiowa") river.
At Fort Armstrong was Antoine LIE
Claire the official interpreter OF the
Sauks, Foxes and other tribes Tor
} about twenty-five years. His wire
was the daughter of Sank chief,
4 A-yo-qua (the kettle.) He spoke the
different Indian dialects and had
great influence over the Sauks and
Foxes, and their esteem for him was
y such Keokuk gave a section of his
land to his wife; the Sank and FOX
. compact gave him another section on
which is now the city OF LIE Clalre'
the Pottawattamies gave him a sec
) ton on which is now the city OF MO
line. In 1888 he was appointed to
settle all matters OF difference pc
) tween whites and Indians respecting
land purchased of the Sauks and
Foxes of the Mississippi from Dubu-
) que to Burlington.
AS the years passed interest in
creased in the effort to get the true
) meaning of the word "Kiowa' and
in 1860, Theodore S. Parvin, the FAR
famed antiquarian and pioneer OF
\ | - o1r
state, wrote to Mr.. LIE Claire, ask
ing the definition of the word. The
reply was: "a tribe of Indians were
, in search of home. or hunting-ln
fact, wandering-and when they
reached a point they admired, and
) was all they wished, they said, 'kio-
wa-this is the place.
On a reservation in Oklahoma is
) the remnant of tribe of Kiowa In
dams. | once asked a full blooded,
we'll educated member of the mean
) ling of the word, and he said he UNI
derstood it was equivalent to here,
the place. but it had become obso-
) lete with his tribe from the univer-
sal use of the word, without the k. .
When the Sauks and Foxes were
) removed from the eastern part of the
q SLdIe W lHS ISoSl elIlOll III v GIL 1'ui "
en- county, they frequently came to
> Fort Des Moines when they were
. hunting game along the rivers to ex-
change pelts for food at the fur
, trading post. Taylor Pierce, who
) was chief clerk of the trading post,
once told me that sometimes he ask
, ed them where they were going, and
; the answer would be pucka-chee ego
III n ny
Moines) sepo (river.) From it's mouth
, to it's source they called Des Moines
! river Kesauk. At other times their
answer would be 'Puch-a-chee kioWa
: Asepolo sepo' meaning they were go
) ing up the Racoon river, Asepolo
meaning raccOon; or 1T might be,
. .tPl1ch -anhna l1inMa A HIN All y