1718 Guillaume Delisle map, showing locations of the Ioway (Aiouez au Pauotez), the Omaha (Maha), the Otoe (Octotata), and the Kaw (Cansez), and the main voyageur trail (Chemin des voyageurs).
The precontact Oneota culture may have included Chiwere language–speaking peoples. At the time of contact with European explorers, their range covered most of Iowa. The Ho-Chunk ranged primarily east of the Mississippi in southern Wisconsin, the Ioway/Baxoje ranged in northern Iowa, the Otoe in central and southern Iowa, and the Missouria in far southern Iowa.[5][6][7] All these tribes were also active during the historic period.
The Dhegihan Siouan peoples lived near the Missouri River in the very Late precontact and post-contact periods; they appear to have migrated to the region from the south or southeast. Their origin location is debated.[8][9]
Other Western Siouan language–speaking tribes
The following tribes also had an early presence in Iowa:
These may be descendants of the Mill Creek culture who flourished from 1100 to 1300 CE and whose territory extended into northwest Iowa.[2] Their territory was wide. The Lewis and Clark expedition reported on Mandan villages on the upper Missouri River.
The Dakota pushed southward into much of Iowa in the 18th and 19th centuries. They often encountered European-American settlers.[3] In 1840, the translator Isaac Galland noted several Dakota groups in or near Iowa, including Wahpekute, North Sisseton, South Sisseton, East Wahpetonwan, West Wahpetonwan, Yankton, and Mdewakantonwan.[10]
Post-contact
Caddoan speaking–tribes
Iowa, 1798, showing several tribes, including Pawnee (Panis/Panibousa), Iowa (Aiaouez/Aioureoua and Paoute/Paoutaoua), Dakota, and Omaha (Maha); approximate state highlighted.Mandan and Arikara delegation
These may descend from the Central Plains tradition cultures (ca. 1000–1780 CE) who lived in southwest Iowa, especially around the present-day Glenwood area. The Pawnee (Panis) are shown in southwest Iowa on a 1798 map, although they ranged primarily to the west.[2]
The encroachment of Europeans and long-term conflict among Algonquian and Iroquoian tribes in the east pushed many eastern tribes into the Midwest. Many Meskwaki remained in Iowa, even after Indian Removal in 1846. They established a recognized Settlement.[1][3]
Iroquoian speakers
The Wyandot (Huron) were Iroquoian speakers from the early post-contact period. Again, the encroachment of Europeans and the long-term conflict between Algonquian and Iroquoian tribes in the east pushed these tribes into the Midwest.[1][3]
The forced relocation of tribes in the 19th century from east of the Mississippi led to some eastern tribes living in and near Iowa. Their former territory had been around the Great Lakes.[1] Potawatomi Chief Sauganash founded the village that eventually grew into Council Bluffs.[12]
Southern Plains tribes
Plains Apache and Comanche traveled through the region from the 17th century to 19th century.[1]
^Mildred Mott (1938) "The Relation of Historic Indian Tribes to Archaeological Manifestations in Iowa", Iowa Journal of History and Politics 36:227-314.
^Late Prehistoric Oneota Population Movement into the Central Plains, by Lauren W. Ritterbush and Brad Logan. Plains Anthropologist Vol. 45, No. 173, pp. 257-272, 2000.
^"The Milford Site (13DK1): A Postcontact Oneota Village in Northwest Iowa", by Joseph A. Tiffany and Duane Anderson. Plains Anthropologist Vol. 38, No. 145, pp. 283-306, 1993.
^Susan C. Vehik, "Dhegiha Origins and Plains Archaeology", Plains Anthropologist Vol. 38, No. 146, pp. 231-52, 1996.
^Alfred E. Johnson, "Kansa Origins: An Alternative", Plains Anthropologist Vol. 36, no. 133, pp. 57-65, 1991.
^Isaac Galland, 1840, Galland's Iowa Emigrant: Containing a Map, and General Descriptions of Iowa Wm. Jones, Chillicothe
^ abWhittaker (2008): "Pierre-Jean De Smet’s Remarkable Map of the Missouri River Valley, 1839: What Did He See in Iowa?", Journal of the Iowa Archeological Society 55:1-13.
^Lance M. Foster The Indians of Iowa 2009. Quote: "The most famous of these maps was presented by Chief No Heart in connection with the treaty of 1837. It showed clearly the antiquity of Ioway villages along most of Iowa's major rivers; the United States decided in favor of the claims of the more numerous and powerful Sioux, Sauk, and Meskwaki."
