PRESENT: James Poweshiek, his son William, and John H. Hauberg. Mr. James Poweshiek tells his story in the Indian tongue, and William interprets, and John H. Hauberg writes it down as William tells it.
We all agree that this is a very desirable thing to do--to record the recollections of the Old Timers, Indians as well as among white men, and thus we proceed:
"I was born about the middle of September, 1854 in a building, the style of the indian Summer House built out of bark, which stood 75 yards northeast of the entrance to present Pow Wow grounds in Tama County, Iowa. They had the wick-i-up too, covered with cattail mats, used when they were away from home in Summer or in Winter. They were not permanently located but were moved about. In Summer we had to stay where our fields and gardens were-- except for periods of hunting.
"I had sisters and brothers; [Ma da ne] Mashena (I cannot get these correct-JHH) was my father and Me no qua was my mother. Ke wa og gah--Ki we ya qua-sisters; a brother Na she us kuk- and a sister Chaw chaw go sah all married and had families, away back years ago. I have one sister only, still living, the wife of Whitebreast, the silversmith. Che ka cah was her Indian name.
"My grandfather was Chief Poweshiek at Davenport. Poweshiek County, Iowa was named for him. He died the same year I was born. He was an old man at the time of his death. A hundred years ago he made his last speech at the old State Capitol, at Iowa City. When they had the centennial celebration at Toledo, Ia., that was brought up.
"There are disputes. Different factions, same as among white people. There'a royal blood, for instance. Younbear's father, Chief Pushetonica was an orphan. My father brought him up as a boy. Pushetonica got to be head of the Sauk & Fox in Iowa. He was recognized as a Chief--the last Chief to be so recognized by the U.S. Government. I should have been recognized because I was the oldest on my father's side, but because of the dispute, the quarreling, I let someone else have the headship, so the Government appointed Pushetonica.
"Before this time, there was a chief Wan ne wan e ka who succeeded my grandfather Poweshiek. That was in Kansas. In those days they had head chiefs and sub chiefs, and this man Wan ne wane ka was a sub chief and next in line, but he turned things upside down. My grandfather Poweshiek had been working along progressive lines which the Governmant wanted the indians to do, and here the whole thing starts:
"Wan ne wan e ka opposed education, as quick as he got the title; he opposed farming and living in homes built by the whites. That's where the backwardness of the Tama indians starts. The Government started to build their homes and give them their allotments and even blacksmith shops and a flour mill and schools, and as quick as he found they were taking form he pulled out and left the reservation and came back to the Iowa River, and that too, was the beginning of a sort of parting between the Sauk and the Fox.
"When the tribe was removed to Kansas, my father and some 100 or 200 of the members didn't go but staid in Tama County, Ia. and my father was head of that group. The rest moved to Kansas. Then when Wan ne wan xxx ka got to be chief, he moved the Kansas folks back to rejoin those at Tama. Then when those came back they lost track of a few who staid in Kansas, but, in time, they too came back to Tama. They h had been settled near Manhattan, Kas. There were the Kickapoos, then the Potawatomies and then the Sauk and Fox. Then when they came back to Tama the Government lost track of them, and that's the time they were classed as outlaws because they left the reservation. No, there was no violence.
"After they got back to Tama they wanted their annuity payments but it was not until 1857 when they began to get their annuities again.
"My father's group started with a first purchase of 80 acres. Five men put their names on the purchase of this 80 acre tract, my father's being first on the list. Of the five, the second was Ma daw qua; the third was Kim ne siah; the 4th, Ba ta ko to, and the 5th Wa co mo.
"The 100 or 200 who staid at Tama didn't like the idea of moving, and they didn't like the country in Kansas. They liked Iowa.. After the Government knew, and after the State knew, they gave them permission to buy lands, and they paid in cash.
"In drawing annuities each person went past the Government officer--the chief clerk or the Agent and they were compelled to show sticks a stick for each member of the afmily. Some wise ones put in more sticks and women carried a pillow in place of a papoose and got an ex- tra annuity accordingly. Finally the Agent got wise and made them send in a record of number of names. They gave different names too. Instead of children going by their father's name, they gave it whatever name they liked, and so at that time, from Washington they got instructions to get the names more correctly, but Wan ne wan e ka, he thought the whites were trying to put something over on them, so he was afraid to give in; so the annuities were withheld, pending a checku Also, there were some Winnebagoes, visitors, and they were run in as members of the Fox families by the wise ones.
"The right to purchase lands was given to the Sauk & Fox only, and not to the Potawatomies, Winnebagoes, etc. It was an exclusive right to the Sauk & Fox.
"When drifting back, and way before that, my father died, when I was two years old. Then when the bunch came from Kansas, this Wan ne wan e ka was still chief and the government started to build a school at Toledo, Ia.,--this was after they'd been given permission to come bac to Iowa. Wan ne wan eka was just a young man at that time. They'd built a school--this was seventy years ago, when I was eighteen years old, and they started the indians to wearing shoes and trousers of the white ma, but Wan-ne-wan-e-ka instructed the folks not to send their children, but some of Poweshiek's, including myself, would go to eat and get clothes. At this time they were still wearing leggings and the breachcloth. Now the change started, and they started to wear hats. The annuities at that time were witheld three years, and during that time we had no annuities at all. They were paid only when the indians complied, and taxes accrued on the land they'd bought, and a wealthy man paid the taxes at tax sales and he got a tax title. Our people had meetings at different times, and the government agent directed the indians to pay back taxes or they'd let the man have them.
"Our people got a Chippeway to act as interpreter and went to Washington, D.C., to the Indian office, and there they were told the same thing: Pay back taxes or lose the land. They paid the interpreter $300.00 and had all the expenses of the trip to Washington. Wan-ne-wan-e- ka died before the three years were up, and his passing made it possible to talk sense, and later they got their payments. Wan-ne-wan-e-ka was not succeeded for several years, and during that time they had a standing council to govern the tribe.
"The turning point of the two factions came when the annuities were renewed, in December, 1882 the back taxes of several hundred Dollars had to be paid. Seventy-five Dollars was the per capita payment, on back payments due the indians. Then at the first payment--it was not all paid at once, but in four installments--the taxes were taken out of the first payment- -there were three barrels of money--when one family got paid out they took out $15.00 per capita for back taxes, so each member of a family had to put in $15.00, but the other faction held off again because they didn't want to pay, so there was another case where they split. Those who didn't take their money were Drawbacks and the others were progressive. Some of the Drawbacks held back, three, five, eight and the longest, ten years, and so they got out of paying back taxes. The progressives had paid them, and today they feel that they are the owners of the land because the Drawbacks escaped paying anything. Some of them even feel themselves to be bigger than the progressives are--they still feel that they are the head, but without the Progressives the Drawbacks would have had no other place to go.
"In the old Council they didn't have the white man's method. They did not organize and they kept no writing, like if I marry a Mesquaki woman our child would be automatically enrolled, but if any of the members of the tribe--a woman marries a man of another Nation, the children should be enrolled in their father's tribe. Now we have men married to Mesquakie women and the children are enrolled as Mesquakies.
"Since 1934 we got the right to organize and our people voted to adopt the new organization and that does away with the mixed marriages and the father must be enrolled in the tribe before he can belong, and his children be enrolled as a Mesquakie, but, for example, a Winnebago would have to enroll his children in his own tribe.
"A couple of years after Wan ne wan e ka died they wanted another chief so they approached me to carry on the title. I was eligible. I was married at the time and we had two children. At that time the federal Government was stressing education among the tribe and they's have meetings in Tama. Business men and Government agents got after me because the records showed that my Grandfather had lots to do with selling Iowa lands, and they wanted me to be the head. The lesser chiefs at this time also tried to be chief, They showed through their records that they were in line as successors to Wan ne wan e ka, but the records were against them on account of their not following the Government's orders for betterment of the tribe, so finding out that my father and grandfather tried to follow out the Government's pro- gram, they found out that I was the rightful one, and that I would follow out the Government program.
"In the meantime a series of meetings were being held in the tribe and they knew that the business men and the U.S. Agents were after me, so I was invited to one of the tribal meetings--to a long wick-i-up--the Council wick-i-up; the community house, and after I came in they sat down and the head spokesman of the meeting said they knew that I was trying to get the title and that I was trying to further my own selfish interests, so, after the head speaker got through I got up at one end of the long wick-i-up and I told those present my side of it. I told them it wasn't the way they said, that I was trying to get the title. I told them it wasn't my idea, but that others, our white friends who have good standing in the community came after me, but I declined. If I wanted the title I could have it. All I would have to say was 'All right'. It is all planned and it's up to me, but I don't want it, and for my best interest for my family, I am declining it. Otherwise I'd have to be responsible for the whole tribe. The record will show, however, that I was in line. They offered me $500.00 a year for life. (Personally, says, William, I'd tell him to accept it)
"The real reason the Government wanted me was that I would cooperate with the Government in education, because my grandfather had already accepted all that the Government offered.
"Then Push-e-ton-ica was next. He was not a blood descendant of my grandfather; he was brought up an adopted by my father. He was my adopted brother. It looked to the whites as if he was my full brother and the lesser ones were opposed to Push's getting it. The lesser ones were in line, and Push wasn't. Push-e-ton-ica got $500,00 a year until his death. He was appointed chief.
"We just have a council now. We adopted a constitution and bylaws and we elect councilmen by secret ballots, the nominations having been made in mass meetings. We have seven members of the council, and they elect a chairman, a "Chief of Council" and a lesser one, the vice president, and a secretary, and so on down. Each has a duty: One is enrollment member; one on tax; one on home and health; one on employment, and one book-keeper, the secretary.
"Pushetonica was a progressive. That's why he was appointed or selected".
