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00.0.50rEayn%•H*16 13 • 47 HO ay »*)2 195 117 173 l*»7 *67*59*87he**«1bitw.ed16.n-rnofndahecelirert-'riceofto.vsii-o-\s-ssri-ty:s.orn-rs*s.ore-n-evas'Zie-vccrors-ntas’S-ate.soeredmestic commerce. I Kr- - ■ I hors'1 sltioiTHE TRIBE OF MUSKWAKI.There is a vast fund of misinformation con-i**?* cerning the “Muskwaki Indians of 'lama county, j*tan. Firstly, there ain't no sich animal/’ The name j hin* “V que*In th my Ca withunui Th next Ir.R The Or net s attri CM* of a with o »m* rhlnl of !lt; my « •ler i to m of h |n*ro of Upai4jerl! lt;!lt;*«** of uis slang. like unto Siwash, which is a term of! contempt applied by other Indians who detest | tramps, hoboes and unattached aborigines in gcn-IJJJJJJJ eral. The orthography of the name itself, form-i with erly spelled “Musquaki.” Muskwaka”—and Musquaka” was not settled until Ben and Lew Heins erected in Cedar Rapids a pretentious building which they tamed Muskwaki block.These Indian1 are Sacs and Foxes and the amalgam of the two tribes among themselves, i ™*ut with the whites and possibly with the Winne-bagoes of Woodbury county. There is no reservation in Tama county. The government has no control. The Indians as a community own the land as an estate, buy, sell or mortgage to suit themselves just as the German colonists at the Amanas own their immense and expanding domain. The Muskwaki will regain where he is until it pleases him to move. The United States has no personal jurisdiction. He is not a citizen.He is a nation, a treaty power.That he is non-progressive is an outstanding fact. The Ohio yearly meeting of Friends for several years, f i its own expense, maintainc*’ a farmer among these people. On abandoning the field one of the members of the meeting remarked: “Friend, if thee can induce the entire tribe to use one box of soap, toilet or laundry, in one year, then will we have faith to believe that eventually the religion of Jesus the Christ will take hold upon their souls. As it is we will now withdraw our farmer.”The white people have made one mistake alter another in their attempts to approach these people. John explained the attitude of his people* toward evangelization thus:“All people Tama City C hristian. htihv’Yes. John, all Christian but different churches.”Heap no good. Too many kind. Tohn no understand.The whites sought to compel the Indians to send their children to a school established at some distance from their land. The action was illegal and tyrannical. The establishment of the school was a political job. part of a federal distribution of pork. The Muskwaki cannot be driven. That is why he came hack from Indian Territory and used his annuity to buy land of his own. in a place where he wished to own land, along the Iowa river. The Muskwaki has no liking for alkaline water, semi-arid climate and waterles*-* plains. He wishes to trap and therefore he iv.il trap. He longs to make maple syrup which is the reason why he will make maple syrup. He does not like civilized dress and therefore he wears the blanket. So long as it is more convenient to remove a teepee than to paint a house, patch a roof and scrub a floor he will cling to the teepee.He might be coaxed to go a long way. He cannot be driven an inch in a year. He has plenty of sense but is saving it. apparently, for purposes of his own and for reasons that are none of the business of the w hite man. John knows the white man—has seen him drunk many a time, has seen him cheat other white men. knows that his pretended goodness is often a false alarm—and therefore John continues to put his trust in no one and to follow— \t a distance—the Great Spirit of whom his forefathers have handed down -nmc account. The Muskwaki may in time make progress but he will move along linlt; of his own selection.He is no great problem, there being but 3*1 of him, but as a memento of other ages he is always interesting and sometimes amusing.ShpidL*flUWh.ni.-anThtlv**#him.ore.Thimpnrt*Ho ir*t : Supjhou-t JV«*(wrirIf Jumj Ju lt;!«»h* : nal.N'irrm*ce*dpr*»vTnHujrHue« liU*J kj»ar •an.Ahavf•JiiiIn tlthewux;nut*lea*Th*to wNew
Newspaper Details
The Evening Gazette
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, US
Thu, Oct 05, 1916
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Johnathan B.
IA, USA 20 Apr 2017
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