Meskwaki Anthology
Keysor, Angela, Emergence of a Distinct Legal Identity From the Forces of Assimilation: The Mesquakie Indians and the Fight for Citizenship, 1842-1912, student paper for Professor Malcolm Rohrbough, University of Iowa, December 2002. Copyright © 2002. All Rights Reserved. Cannot be used without written permission.
Emergence of a Distinct Legal Identity From the Forces of Assimilation: The Mesquakie Indians and the Fight for Citizenship, 1842-1912
“The
purpose of this Association is to take such steps as are necessary to determine
and fix, as far as possible, the legal status of the Indians and to promote
education and civilization among them.”
– Horace M. Rebok, U.S. Indian Agent to the Mesquakie of Iowa and organizer of the Indian Rights Association
of Iowa, 1895
“My
friend, the Mesquakies have always been friends to the white people, but they
will not accept your school. You may
come and kill us, but we will not give you our children. I will say no more.”
– Chief Push-E-Toneke-Qua, Head Chief of the
Mesquakie, 1896
Citizenship
and attaining formal legal identity have been time-honored topics within
historical scholarship.[1] Citizenship as a concept is critical because it reflects “a
distinctive form of social classification that colors personal standing in any
community.”[2] To be a “citizen” of a state or nation implies that one fully
enjoys the rights and privileges afforded to recognized members of the state or
national communities. In the American
context, these rights have traditionally included voting, property ownership,
the right to avail oneself of legal processes, and the right to make autonomous
decisions about one’s welfare. Many
legal historians have examined issues of citizenship through legislative
enactments and judicial pronouncements.
These sources offer clear dates and specific words to locate the
conferral of citizenship on a segment of the population. Therefore, according to many historical
texts “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof” were full citizens of both their respective state and the
United States in 1868.[3] In the same vein, the point at which many Native Americans
received the status of “full citizen” is commonly viewed as 1887 with the
passage of the Dawes Severalty Act.
This Act accorded citizen status to all Native Americans who were given
allotments from reservation land.[4] This intense focus on statutes and specific dates fails to take
into account the complex negotiations and arduous efforts inherent in the fight
for citizenship rights on a practical, local level.
An
examination of the Mesquakie Indians and their fight to be accorded legal
autonomy during the 19th century reveals the power of individual
legal claims over abstract legal principles, the inadvertent effects of
assimilationist efforts, and ultimately the complexity of realizing the fruits
of citizenship on a practical level.
This study diverges from other historical examinations which focus on
either citizenship or Native Americans.
Instead of scrutinizing legal pronouncements which supposedly “dictate”
who should enjoy the status of citizen, the present examination focuses on the
actual lived experiences of those referenced within these enactments. An in-depth investigation of the Mesquakie
indicates that legal pronouncements alone do not provide an accurate historical
portrayal of when and how the status of “citizen” is conferred and is
practically fulfilled. Another
departure that this study takes from many others is its focus on Federal
efforts at Native American education and assimilation. In general, historical studies of forced
Native American education during the 19th century have focused on
how Indian students dealt with psychological pressures and physical abuse from
white teachers and administrators and the non-legal social implications of this
education.[5] Although the present analysis focuses on the Indian Industrial
School for Mesquakie Children, it uses the school as a site for examining
issues of citizenship and legal autonomy.
By using Indian schools in this non-traditional way, this study reveals
a unique and complex route to Mesquakie citizenship; a degree of legal autonomy
is achieved by the Mesquakie through the public presentation of individual
situations of abuse originally intended to assimilate the Mesquakie into
white culture.
The
Mesquakie Indians[6] have maintained an
autonomous and distinct tribal identity for hundreds of years. The earliest American Fur Company ledgers
still existent, circa 1650, indicate that the Mesquakie people considered
themselves to be an independent entity.
Credit accounts and trade dispersal records from this time period
indicate that “the people of Meskwakia” were active in both commercial activity
and in identifying themselves as part of a distinct group. This clear self-identification of the
Mesquakie continued to be recorded in commercial records and ledgers as the
Mesquakie moved from the lower Michigan peninsula to the Wolf River region in
Wisconsin during the 1650's and 1660's and eventually settled in present day
Iowa along the Mississippi River around 1783.[7]
Despite
this continual assertion of self-identity, throughout the 19th century
the United States continued to view the Mesquakie as non-citizens until the
Mesquakie successfully pursued education litigation. During the 1800's, the Mesquakie entered into contracts and
purchased land; actions that characterize legally recognized citizens. Despite these autonomous acts, the United
States did not formally recognize the Mesquakie as autonomous citizens. Instead, the United States haphazardly
grouped the Mesquakie Nation under the unrelated tribes of the Sac and Fox, and
refused to acknowledge Mesquakie held land titles. Although the Mesquakie tribe could not gain formal recognition of
their legal status through use of contracts or land ownership, an unexpected
route to citizenship emerged with litigation concerning assimilationist
education efforts.
In
order to fully recognize and understand this intricate and complex display of
forces which led to formal recognition of Mesquakie legal identity three
distinct struggles for legal identity and citizenship must be explored: the
struggle for tribal recognition pursuant to the Treaty of 1842 and the fight to
be accorded legal title to land via the Land Purchase of 1854 as background to
the successful effort to realize legal autonomy in education despite the
assimilationist efforts of the Indian Training School between 1894 and
1912.
Tribal
Identity and the Treaty of 1842
The Treaty of 1842 proved to be a site for
Mesquakie demands for legal autonomy.
By 1842, the Mesquakie Indians were feeling the pressure of white
settlers’ desire for the land the Mesquakie resided on along the Iowa River in
the Iowa Territory. The Sac and Fox
Indian tribes, located just to the North of the Mesquakies, also experienced
these same demands from white inhabitants.
Government agents entered Iowa territory to attempt to negotiate a
treaty with the Mesquakie and the Sac and Foxes in early 1842. The treaty was to ensure that the Indians
would leave Iowa territory in return for a monetary settlement. After months of negotiation, the Treaty of 1842
was executed on October 11, 1842 and was assented to by the United States
government, the Mesquakie, and the Sac and Foxes.[8] Chief Poweshiek signed the agreement as a representative of the
Mesquakie.[9]
The
body of the treaty possessed one glaring inconsistency; the Mesquakie were
never identified or named. By the terms
of the 1842 treaty, those tribes whose representatives had signed the treaty
were to cede all land that they possessed in Iowa to the federal government. Further, these Indian groups were to move
across the Missouri River into Kansas where they would reside on a government
reservation. In return, $800,000.00 was
to be held in the Federal treasury for the benefit of the tribes.[10] The semi-annual interest from this sum of money was to be paid to
each individual Indian on a semi-annual basis.
This interest payment became known as the “annuity payment”.[11] The federal representatives spent much attention to the
provisions regarding the relocation of the Indian signees and the method of annuity
payments. What these federal agents did
not spend time addressing was who the specific parties to this contract
were. Instead of recognizing the
Mesquakie as a legally distinct group, the federal drafters haphazardly
included the Mesquakie under the general heading of “the Sac and Fox of Iowa”.[12] Despite this significant oversight, the Mesquakie complied with
the terms of the contract that their representatives had signed. However, the Mesquakie soon discovered that
this irregularity in nomenclature was not a minor technicality.
Upon
arriving at the Kansas reservation, the Mesquakie soon learned that because
their group was not officially recognized by name within the 1842 Treaty, no
Mesquakie would be paid the annuity payment promised, and no Mesquakie would be
counted in the federal census. The Iowa
State Attorney General succinctly summed up the situation of the Mesquakie
during this time by stating, “From 1846 to 1856 the Musquakies lived with no
recognition by the United States or the State of Iowa.”[13] As annuity payments were disbursed on the Kansas Reservation,
only those Native Americans that could prove themselves to be a Sac or Fox were
paid; the Mesquakie were ignored.
Further, the 1853 census did not include a count of the Mesquakie people
because according to Indian Agent B.A. James, “they do not exist according to
the Treaty.”[14]
The
Mesquakie fought for legal recognition of their identity within the Treaty of
1842, although this contract and the federal agents who executed the agreement
acted as though the Mesquakie were non-existent. Historical records vaguely reference unsuccessful attempts by the
Mesquakie to establish a unique, individual identity as a party to the Treaty
of 1842. Mesquakie leaders attempted to
convince federal representatives that they should be recognized within the
Treaty and therefore be granted the benefits of semi-annual payments.[15] Despite these pleas, federal agents insisted that the Mesquakie
be identified as “Sac and Fox”; the “only Indian group that had resided in the
Iowa territory”.[16] The Mesquakie attempted to convince the federal government that
as a group, they should be uniquely identified and be accorded legal autonomy
in a contractual context. Government
officials, viewing all Native Americans from Iowa as one indistinct group, “the
Sac and Foxes”, ignored these attempts.
Land Ownership
and the Land Purchase of 1856
Despite the failure of the Mesquakie to
achieve legal identity in contractual relations, the Land Purchase of 1856
generated claims to legal autonomy based on land ownership. Many Mesquakie became disillusioned with
life in Kansas and began to re-settle themselves in Iowa, along the Iowa River
in Tama County. In 1856, about 80
Mesquakie journeyed from Kansas to settle in a temporary village variously
known as Indian Village township and/or Butlerville, Iowa.[17] Historical documents indicate that in the spring of 1857, an
attempt was made by the Mesquakie to make their living situation more
permanent. During this time, a Mesquakie
Indian met with Isaac Butler, a local farmer, to discuss the purchase of a
portion of Butler’s land. After
approximately three meetings, Butler and the Mesquakie representative came to
an agreement. Butler was to sell 80
acres of land to the Mesquakie for $1,000.00 in cash.[18] Butler’s sons, Philip and David traveled to Toledo to execute the
official land deed on July 13, 1857.
The Mesquakie, in return, brought $1,000.00 in the form of gold to be delivered
to Butler.[19]
This
may appear to be an ordinary land sale between two citizens of the state of
Iowa. However, the failure of legal
authorities to recognize Mesquakie legal identity actually made this
transaction a sale between a citizen of Iowa and a ward of the state. Despite the fact that the Mesquakie were
capable of striking a deal with Isaac Butler and had the wherewithal to produce
$1,000.00 in gold to complete the exchange, the government continued to view
the Mesquakie people as “children” with the government as “parent”. When state authorities discovered the
bargain made between the Mesquakie and Butler, Governor James W. Grimes decided
that as Governor, he should hold official title to the 80 acres. As an official of the state of Iowa, Grimes
stated that he would hold this land in trust for the Mesquakie, to avoid any
mismanagement or unwise disposition of the land.[20] Although the Mesquakie were not completely ignored as in the
Treaty of 1842, they were not given autonomous legal identity in the realm of
property ownership. Instead, the Mesquakie
were treated as children in need of the supervision of a paternal
government.
This
attitude of paternalism is reflected in the fluctuation of terms used to refer
to the Mesquakie land: reservation and settlement. The Mesquakie have always insisted that the land that they
purchased with their own resources was a settlement. The term “settlement” represented Mesquakie land ownership and
autonomy.[21] Legal authorities would refer to the Mesquakie land haphazardly
as both a reservation and a settlement.
Official correspondence written between Indian agents and the Department
of Interior contain continual references to the Mesquakie territory as a
“reservation” or as “reservation land”.[22] The use of “reservation” in this context inferred governmental
control over the Mesquakie and their land.
The government’s fluctuating use of “reservation” and “settlement” to
refer to Mesquakie land signifies an ambivalence toward Mesquakie autonomy. Although the technical requirements of a
land purchase were fulfilled by the Mesquakie (negotiation of contract, offer,
acceptance, and consideration), legal authorities denied formal recognition of
Mesquakie autonomy to complete these tasks.
The
Mesquakie sought to remedy this variant use of terms by protesting to the
state government of Iowa. Various
references occur in manuscripts and correspondence indicating that the Mesquakie
personally visited state officials in Iowa City and drafted correspondence
to the Governor and his representatives.
[23]
Despite their protracted efforts, there is no indication that Mesquakie
efforts to be recognized as full land owners was met with any type of official
response. The refusal of the legal
authorities to acknowledge the land rights of the Mesquakie, not only resulted
in lack of a legal identity for land ownership, but also contributed to a
feeling of insecurity among the Mesquakie people.
[24]
If the land that the Mesquakie had purchased on their own
was not in their name, then what would prevent the government from forcing
the Mesquakie to remove themselves to a distant reservation? An unidentified Mesquakie sums up this frustration
by reportedly stating to an Iowa City legal official, “When a white man wants
to buy land, you don’t ask him why, you just take his money. We have money.”
[25]
Educational
Autonomy and the Indian Training School in Toledo, Iowa, 1894-1912
The Mesquakie were denied legal recognition
in the areas of naming within a contract and being named as sole owners of
property. Governmental refusal to
recognize the Mesquakie as a distinct group and as a body that could enjoy the
full rights of property ownership was met with Mesquakie protest; to no
avail. However, there was one area in
which the Mesquakie were granted legal autonomy: education.
Education Efforts Among the Mesquakie Prior to 1894
Almost
from the moment that the Mesquakie re-settled themselves in Tama County,
missionaries and government representatives attempted to establish schools
among the Mesquakie. It was the
attitude of the government that if the Mesquakie were allowed to remain as they
were, “they would prefer to continue as slovenly, lazy, and bestial” and “the
one great obstacle to their improvement morally, and intellectually is in their
persistent refusal to school themselves, or permit their children to attend
school.”[26] With this attitude, a group of Quakers attempted to establish an
Indian school in 1856 with limited success.
The Mesquakie refused to send their children to the Quaker school and as
a result, the Quakers left the Mesquakie settlement in early 1857.[27] The Quakers were followed by a Presbyterian missionary couple;
Minister Duvall and his wife. Although
the Mesquakie were said to have had “patient tolerance” for the Presbyterian
mission and school, few students attended the school. It was reported that Mrs. Duvall rang the school bell every
morning for a month before she saw any sign of Mesquakie life.[28] In 1872, a president of a Lutheran college from Ohio sent a
delegation to “improve” the Mesquakie people.
The Lutheran missionaries constructed a small house on the settlement to
serve as a tool shop and office. The
Indian agent at this time, Reverend A. R. Howbert made attempts to hold Sunday
religious services for the Mesquakie.
However all of Howbert’s attempts failed.[29]
Just
as Reverend Howbert’s missionary zeal was waning, the U.S. Government’s
interest in educating and assimilating the Mesquakie increased. In 1875, Thomas S. Free was appointed
Mesquakie Indian agent and supervised the construction of a two-story government
school. Mr. A.B. Somers was employed as
instructor of the school and lived on the second floor of the government
building. The Mesquakie treated the
school with disdain, just as they had rejected previous education attempts from
religious groups. The Mesquakie
believed that the school was a threat to their way of life and reportedly
refused to send their children to the school.
Mesquakie elders refused to even walk past the school building. Somers grew weary of his responsibilities as
instructor with no pupils. Miss Allie
B. Busby and Miss Anna Skea replaced Somers in 1883, however the two women met
with the same lack of success as their predecessor. Although there was no regular attendance at the school it
continued to be officially open until 1890.[30]
Establishment of The Indian Training School in Toledo, Iowa
With
the appointment of W. R. Lesser as Mesquakie Indian Agent in 1890 came a renewed
sense of the importance of assimilating the Mesquakie through education.
Lesser believed that to truly advocate education and civilization among
the Mesquakie, attendance at government schools must be forced; not voluntary.
[31]
Because the Mesquakie were always given the option of not sending
their children to school, they were allowed to “maintain their savage and
lazy character”.
[32]
The Mesquakie were not compelled to attend religious and/or federal
governmental schools in the past due to the fact that the land these schools
were on was owned by the Mesquakie in the trust of the State of Iowa. Lesser and other prominent individuals in the
Tama area began to consider lobbying the Federal Government to take control
of a portion of this land. If the
federal authorities had jurisdiction over land which contained an Indian School,
then these authorities could also legally use coercive force on this land
to ensure the attendance and compliance of Mesquakie children. Because efforts at Indian education were rooted
in the Federal Goverment through its representatives of the Indian Agent and
School Superintendent, leading advocates of Indian education believed that
federal jurisdiction over a portion of land in or continguous to the Mesquakie
settlement was imperative.
[33]
In
1894, those who believed in forced Indian assimilation and the need to create
direct federal jurisdiction over a Mesquakie school created a formal lobbying
organization, The Indian Rights Association of Iowa. According to the papers of organization, the Indian Rights
Association of Iowa was organized to “take such steps as are necessary to
determine and fix, as far as possible, the legal status of the Indians and to
promote education and civilization among them.”[34] The first step to this assimilation goal was to obtain sole
federal jurisdiction over an Indian school for the Mesquakie. In 1896, these lobbying efforts paid off
when Mesquakie land was transferred from the Governor of Iowa to the Secretary
of the Interior by Congressional enactment.[35]
As
the Indian Rights Association of Iowa sent delegates to Washington to lobby for
direct federal jurisdiction, the group also put forth great effort to secure an
appropriation from Congress for the establishment of a boarding school. Dr. Fellows of Fayette, Iowa and Judge
Caldwell of Toledo, Iowa met with Senator Allison at his home in Dubuque in the
fall of 1895. Senator Allison proved to
be enthusiastic about the Indian school plans.
As a result, Allison sponsored
the activities of a delegation from the Indian Rights Association of Iowa in
Washington D. C. With Allison’s support
the Rights Association received a Congressional appropriation of $35,000.00 to
construct and administer a Mesquakie Indian School. Plans were immediately made for the school with a view for
“providing a home for the
farmer and family, teacher and family, and other employees, besides giving
ample room for school industrial purposes.
I think it very desirable that a home be established on the Indian land
so that it will be a practical illustration every day to the Indians. The school will be sufficiently large for all
the children of school age that would be liable to attend at one time. It could be utilized as a small boarding
school.”[36]
These
plans for constructing an Industrial School were implemented in 1897, and
culminated with the completion of the Dormitory building on December 31,
1897. The United States awarded the
contract to build the Industrial School to the firm of Banzhof & Reimer of
Marshalltown, Iowa for $19,130.00.[37] The school was to be located “[38]on a tract of land
comprising 70 acres, lying immediately west of and adjoining the corporation of
the city of Toledo, in Tama County, Iowa.”
The main building, the Dormitory, was comprised of a basement and two
stories.[39] The basement housed a boiler room, a coal room, a cellar, and two
playrooms measuring 28 feet by 37 feet.
The first floor served as the primary location for daily classes and
instruction. In addition to two school
rooms devoted to instruction, the first floor also contained separate boys and
girls’ sitting rooms, boys and girls’ bathrooms, six employee rooms, a kitchen,
and the dining room. The primary
function of the second floor was to provide students with dorm
accommodations. There were two
dormitory rooms, each measuring 28 feet by 55 feet, which housed the female and
male students separately.[40] Superintendent George Nellis felt confident that this Dormitory
building could comfortably house approximately 110 students. Nellis also reasoned that given the modern
architecture and prominent stature of the Dormitory building, the Mesquakie
would be so impressed that they would wholeheartedly send their children to the
school and the maximum number of students would soon be reached.[41]
Superintendent
Nellis and Indian Agent Horace Rebok oversaw the construction of three
additional buildings which were in close proximity to the Dormitory building
which were completed on September 15, 1898.
A barn, a laundry, and a shop/warehouse building were erected to
emphasize and accommodate the industrial education the Mesquakie children were
expected to learn. Each of these
buildings were two stories in height and each was segregated by gender. The barn and the shop/warehouse building
were to be solely for male pupils.[42] Assisting in the management of cultivation, learning the skills
of a carpenter, and understanding how to fix shoes were viewed as critical
skills needed for male Mesquakie to survive in a white world.[43] The laundry building was to be the sole domain of female
students.[44] Here, Mesquakie girls would wash and iron clothing on the first
floor, and then be promoted to the second floor to learn the art of
sewing. Nellis and Rebok made further
requests for a hog building, a poultry barn, and an ice house which were never
completed. However, the incorporation
of the three buildings discussed above not only served as a crucial source of
practical education for Mesquakie children, but also served as sites of crucial
labor which would enable the Industrial School to run at minimal cost.[45] With the construction of the dormitory, the barn, the laundry,
and the shop/warehouse building completed, the date was set for the opening of
the Industrial School: September 1, 1898.
Reaction to the Industrial School
Despite
their elaborate plans and the expensive construction which took place over a
two year period, The Indian Rights Association of Iowa, the School
Superintendent, and the Indian Agent, Horace Rebok were forced to confront the
fact that the Mesquakie did not want the school and had no intention of
attending the school. In a Department
of Interior letter dated January 3, 1895, the ordered reaction to Mesquakie
resistance was made clear:
“This Office has now under
preparation plans for a day school building at your agency. It now appears from your letter that the
Indians object to this school building.
The Indians have nothing to say in the matter. You will therefore make the situation known to the Indians and
report at once to this Office.”[46]
To
combat Mesquaki resistance, Indian Agent Horace M. Rebok first solicited the
services of a “fellow” Native American to talk to the Mesquakie about the
benefits of a white education. Rebok
addressed a letter to Dr. A.L. Riggs principal of the Santee Training School in
Nebraska asking for the
“services of an Indian to
come to Toledo to deliver a public address.
What we need at this place is a stirring up of local sentiment in favor
of the Indian, and I know of no better means than to bring an Indian here who
is able to tell our people what education and civilization can do for the
Indian. Have you any one at your agency
whom you could send? What would be the
cost of securing him, and when could he come?”[47]
A.L. Riggs, Superintendent of the Santee Training School
responded by suggesting that Rebok contact Dr. Charles A. Eastman and request
that Eastman travel to Toledo, Iowa to talk to both the surrounding white
community and the Mesquakie about the benefits of white education. Eastman was a former student of Santee who,
according to Riggs, exemplified the benefits of white education. Eastman “went through college at Dartmouth
and studied medicine at Boston.”
[48]
Rebok quickly wrote to Eastman in Minnesota and arranged for Eastman
to speak on Saturday, June 1, 1895 to the communities of Tama, Toledo and
Montour and also to the Mesquakie for a fee of fifty dollars.
[49]
Eastman faithfully performed his duties at the lecturn, but to Agent
Rebok’s dismay, the Mesquakie did not appear to be affected by Eastman’s rousing
speech on the benefits of “civilization”.
In fact, “only a handful” of Mesquakie appeared at the designated time
to hear a “fellow Indian” speak about the advantages of the Industrial School.
[50]
Agent
Horace Rebok was not one to be discouraged and decided that if Eastman’s
persuasion would not convince the Mesquakies, then direct psychological and
physical coercion may prove more effective.
Immediately after the departure of Dr. Eastman, Agent Rebok and the
Industrial School Superintendent George Nellis continued to make daily and
almost nightly visits to Mesquakie homes.
Accompanied by three police officers, Rebok and Nellis forced Mesquakie
families to listen to his arguments about the benefits of white education. Rebok emphasized to the Mesquakie that
should parents refuse to send their children to the school, they would
cause irreparable damage to their
children’s futures. Although, Rebok and
Nellis were persistent in these forced visits, there was no significant change
in Mesquakie attitude. The Mesquakie
attitudes to these visits reportedly ranged from cold politeness to visible anger.[51]
After
examining these two failed attempts at converting the Mesquakie into willing
participants in “civilizations”, Rebok concluded that the problem with these
prior actions had been a focus on the Mesquakie generally. Rebok, upon reflection, assumed that “all
Mesquakie follow the orders of their chief”, and therefore sought to apply
psychological pressure on the Mesquakie Chief and his Interpreter.[52] Agent Rebok first arranged to have a closed council meeting with
Superintendent Nellis, Chief Push-E-To-Neke-Qua (political head of the
Mesquakie), Chief Push-E-To-Neke-Qua’s Interpreter, and three policemen.[53] According to Nellis, “no other Indians had been invited for the
reason that it was thought the key to the situation lay mainly in the attitude of
the chief, and that he might be more easily influenced if unaccompanied by
others.”[54] Agent Rebok stood and spoke directly to Chief Push-E-To-Neke-
Qua. Rebok emphasized the “deplorable
conditions” within the Mesquakie community, especially among the children and
pointed out “the benefits derived from attendance at the school.”[55] Rebok ended his speech by stating that Chief Push-E-To-Neke-Qua
held great responsibility for Mesquakie welfare and as a result that “it was
his duty to have the children of the tribe put into the school, and that to do
otherwise would be a crime against his people.”[56] According to Nellis, Chief Push-E-To-Neke-Qua listened in silence
until Rebok concluded, then “quickly rising and advancing into the center of
the room, his eyes flashing and his voice trembling with emotion”[57] said:
“My friend, the Musquakies
have always been friends to the white people, but they will not accept your
school. You may come and kill us, but
we will not give you our children. I
will say no more.”[58]
Rebok
refused to end his pursuit of Chief Push-E-To-Neke-Qua and his Interpreter with
this failed council. Rebok was soon
rewarded for his persistence. The
morning after the disappointing council meeting, Agent Rebok met with the
Interpreter and “informed him that if he wished to retain his official position
he must not only cease all opposition to the school, but work earnestly in its
favor.”[59] Reportedly, the Interpreter “from that day on has been a loyal
and efficient helper.”[60] Although these are the only words/actions of Rebok that are
recorded within existent records, Superintendent Nellis mentions that the
Interpreter was held at the Agent’s residence “nearly all day”.[61] What happened during these lengthy hours is not known. Despite this, one can conclude that if this
Interpreter was not persuaded to support the school through forced day and
night visits and through veiled threats at the failed council meeting,
something other than Rebok’s recorded verbal persuasion may have taken place. With the capitulation of the Interpreter,
Rebok saw an opportunity to encourage Chief Push-E-To-Neke-Qua to follow
suit. Unlike the Interpreter, Rebok was
not able to convince the Chief of the value of “civilization” in one day. After three to four months of “constant
work” however, Rebok was pleased to announce in a letter that:
“on the 14th of December, the chief in open council
accepted the school and granted permission to the people to send their
children, and the same day sent his own boy.
He some time later sent a daughter and four grandchildren.”[62]
Unfortunately, historical records do not indicate
what actions constituted the “constant work” of Rebok. Recorded reactions from other Mesquakie
indicate that many felt as though Chief Push- E-To-Neke-Qua was a “money chief
and thought that he had been paid off”.[63] Regardless of the Chief’s motivations to change his position on
the Industrial School, Agent Rebok achieved his goal of “convincing” two
leaders of the Mesquakie that the Industrial School was beneficial and should
be attended by the Mesquakie children.
Rebok now felt confident that “the rest of the Mesquakie will follow in
short order.”[64]
The
vast majority of the Mesquakie did not follow Rebok’s plan. Although the Industrial school slowly
obtained students and reached a high attendance level of 50 pupils in 1899,
historical documents indicate that generally the Mesquakie remained strongly
opposed to the Industrial School.
Superintendent George Nellis even admits at the end of his 1899 Report
to the Indian Rights Association of Iowa that even though “parents and friends
of the approximately 50 students make frequent visits to the school and on
closing day over one hundred of them took dinner with the children in the
grove, the great majority of these people however are bitterly opposed to
education, and it will be some time before the school can be filled by
voluntary attendance.”[65] Nellis, within this same report, also describes an incident which
more clearly illustrates Mesquakie distrust and distaste for the Industrial
School. According to Nellis, “two
girls, one a daughter of the head chief, became very unruly and were causing
their parents a great deal of annoyance.”[66] As a result, the head chief reported the matter to Agent Rebok
and asked that the girls be apprehended by the police and punished. In response, Rebok took custody of the two
girls and enrolled them as students in the Industrial School. The retention of the girls at the school
caused a great uproar among the Mesquakie and the head chief and his wife
demanded their immediate release.
According to Nellis, the head chief and his wife indicated that “they
were perfectly willing that the girls be put into jail for any time he (Agent
Rebok) might deem best, but that under no circumstances would they consent to
their remaining in the school.”[67] Despite the parents’ pleas, Rebok refused to release the
girls. Shortly thereafter, the girls
ran away from the school and failed to be apprehended.[68] This vignette, which describes parents’ pleas to place their
daughter into jail for an indeterminate amount of time as a viable alternative
to placing their child as a student at the Industrial School, conveys the
ill-will the Mesquakie people held for the Industrial School. Fortunately, the letters, correspondence,
and reports generated by Superintendent Nellis and Agent Rebok are not the only
sources which record the actions taken by the administrators of the Industrial
School and the actions of the Mesquakie.
A series of legal cases filed by individual Mesquakie between 1899 and
1901 reveal circumstances at the Industrial School that Nellis and Rebok fail
to mention within their accounts.
Education Litigation and the Attainment of Citizenship
Given the past history of failed Mesquakie attempts to attain legal
autonomy in the traditional legal realms of treaty identity and land title, it
would be easy to assume that success in this area would definitely not occur in
a forced education context; especially given the protracted efforts of men like
Nellis and Rebok. As counter-intuitive
as it may appear however, the harsh assimilationist efforts of Nellis and Rebok
created individual situations which encouraged the Federal District Court for
the Northern District of Iowa to announce that the Mesquakie people possessed
legal autonomy and citizenship rights over education decisions. The Mesquakie legal presentation of concrete
factual situations and faces of individuals who were directly affected by those
situations proved to be far superior to past claims of abstract tribal legal
rights to contractual identity and land title.
The Mesquakie won the fight for citizenship in the realm of education
for all Mesquakie people by arguing not on behalf of the Mesquakie as a whole
(as with the Treaty of 1842 and the Land Purchase of 1856), but as discrete
individuals. This interesting route to
citizenship recognition bears further analysis.[69] Three distinct cases filed by the Mesquakie will be examined in
depth. Each of these cases involves a
Mesquakie who was injured in some way by the assimilationist policies of the
administrators of the Industrial School.
Each of these cases also includes legal recognition of Mesquakie
autonomy in the realm of educational choice.
Two of these cases involve attempts to quiet Mesquakie leaders who
voiced opposition to the Industrial School.
The remaining case involves
actual students and the rights of their Mesquakie parents. Examined together, these three cases mark
the first enunciation of Mesquakie citizenship on a local, practical
level. These cases also demonstrate the
unique way the Mesquakie reached this acknowledgement.
Silencing Prominent Mesquakie Members’ Opposition to the Industrial School
Agent
Rebok thought that he would silence Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa by causing his arrest
on manufactured charges of fraud. What
Rebok did not count on was Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah- Qua-Twa obtaining legal representation
and suing Rebok for his malicious prosecution.
As the Industrial School was being constructed and Dr. Charles Eastman
was talking to the Mesquakie about the advantages of “white civilization”,
Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa was one of the most vocal opponents of the Industrial
School. Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa was a
prominent member of the Mesquakie tribe and is recorded as a prominent member
of Mesquakie tribal council meetings.[70] Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa was so influential in Mesquakie policy that
a photograph of his winter home was included within Superintendent Nellis’
yearly report for 1898.[71] The only other photograph that Nellis included in his yearly
reports was a depiction of Head Chief Push-E- To-Neke-Qua. Agent Rebok mentions Mak-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa
in his correspondence as “one whom I would like to impress strongly with the
value of civilization”.[72] Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua- Twa would feel the Rebok’s “impression” in the
fall of 1897.
As
the opening of the school on September 1, 1897 neared, Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa
remained a strong vocal opponent of Agent Rebok’s education policies. Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua- Twa was concerned not only
for the well-being of the Mesquakie tribe, but also for his son who could
potentially be sent to the School.[73] Agent Rebok decided to cease any attempt to persuade
Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa through verbal persuasion and instead effected his arrest
and imprisonment. Shortly after September 1, 1897, Agent Rebok called on local
authorities to arrest Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa for allegedly taking twice the
annuity amount he was owed which “constituted fraud on the United States”.[74] Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa was immediately arrested was indicted by the
grand jury of the Federal District Court at Fort Dodge, Iowa. During Ma-Ka- Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa’s trial, he was
greatly prejudiced because he could not read or speak English, and Agent Rebok
was accepted by the court as an official Mesquakie translator. Ma-Ka-Ta- Wah-Qua-Twa alleged in 1901 that
unbeknownst to him, Rebok had instructed the Court that Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa
did not wish to be represented by legal counsel; that Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah- Qua-Twa desired
to represent himself. Further, Agent
Rebok informed the Court that Ma-Ka-Ta- Wah-Qua-Twa wished to plead guilty to
all charges of fraud; despite Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa’s ignorance of this. As a result of Agent Rebok’s
misrepresentations, Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa was found guilty and was sentenced “by
the Court to imprisonment in the penitentiary at Anamosa for the period of two
years.”[75]
When
Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa was released from prison in 1899, he quickly retained J.W.
Lamb and William G. Clark as legal counsel and sued Agent Rebok for “malicious
prosecution”.[76] Although the case did not end favorably for Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa,
the Court’s dicta did state that the Mesquakie did have legal autonomy to voice
dissent concerning federal education policies.
Through legal counsel, Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa presented his version of the
fraud trial. Not only did
Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa present oral evidence through his attorney, but he also
presented documents which clearly demonstrated that he did not take more than
his rightful share of the prescribed annuity payment.[77] In response to this evidence, Agent Rebok’s counsel did not offer
any competing factual evidence.
Instead, Rebok claimed that the case should be immediately dismissed
because it violated the applicable statue of limitations, by one week.[78] District Judge Shiras, speaking for the Federal District Court
for the Northern District of Iowa, stated within his decision that “Agent Rebok
did violate the law”.[79] Shiras also stated that “as a Mesquakie, Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa
does have the autonomy to speak out against federal policy”.[80] However, Shiras dismissed the case due to the fact that
“the petition in
this case clearly shows that the arrest of the plaintiff and all acts done by
the defendant therewith took place more than two years before the present
action was begun, and therefore the bar of the statute is complete. Upon this ground, therefore,...the suit is
dismissed.”[81]
The significance of
Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa v. Rebok is not in its final decision in
favor of Rebok. Instead it should be
focused on because it is one of the first cases where a federal judge states
that the Mesquakie have autonomy to voice divergent opinions in the realm of
education. Judge Shiras’ dicta
concerning Mesquakie autonomy is solidified and broadened in other cases.
Rebok
found himself in court again in 1900.
The primary issue in this case not only involved opposition to the
Industrial School by a prominent Mesquakie, but also centered around the issue
of whether the Mesquakie possessed the autonomy to practice traditional medical
beliefs. The individual suing Rebok was
a Mesquakie medicine man named Y-Ta-Tah-Wah who alleged that Rebok falsely
arrested and imprisoned him for “practicing medicine without a license”.[82] Y-Ta-Tah-Wah claimed that the real reason Rebok arrested him was
due to Y-Ta- Tah-Wah’s open opposition to the methods of the Industrial School
doctor, Dr. Samuel Thompson of Toledo, Iowa.[83] Y-Ta-Tah-Wah’s legal counsel claimed that Agent Rebok was not
interested in upholding the state of Iowa’s professional standards, but instead
used medical licensing laws as a cover to quieting Y-Ta-Tah-Wah’s opposition to
the Industrial School and to erode the “savage” medical practices of the
Mesquakie.[84]
The
genesis of this lawsuit began in 1898 when there was heated debate between the
Mesquakie and Agent Rebok over how to properly treat those infected with
smallpox. Y-Ta- Tah-Wah, as a leading
Mesquakie medicine man, strongly advocated that traditional tribal methods be
used to alleviate the suffering of smallpox victims and prevent further
infection. Y- Ta-Tah-Wah encouraged the
isolation of those afflicted with smallpox and found herbal remedies and
incantations to be highly beneficial to ease suffering.[85] Traditionally, those Mesquakie who fell ill with disease
generally separated themselves from the rest of the community to heal. Another significant element in the Mesquakie
understanding of health was the use of sacred objects to alleviate suffering. Although no replicas or drawings exist to
provide a visual depiction of these objects, written accounts indicated that
these special tokens took the form of vast bowls and vase-like, cylindrical
structures.[86] These sacred items were housed in the Head Chief’s residence and
were deemed to be directly connected with the Great Spirit.[87] The concepts of separation of the sick, use of herbal remedies,
and incorporation of sacred objects had traditionally characterized Mesquakie
medical practice.
The
Industrial School doctor, Samuel Thompson, advocated a more “civilized”
protocol to curb small pox infection; a position that Agent Rebok strongly
supported and sought to enforce upon the Mesquakie. Thompson’s “civilized” methodology included gathering all of the
sick into one place and utilizing fumigants and acid to rid both human bodies
and homes of the small pox contamination.
Clearly, the concept of placing all of those infected with disease in
one location was at odds with traditional Mesquakie practice. Despite this difference, Thompson and Rebok
sought Mesquakie consent to construct a small hospital as a central receptacle
for those who were ill. Despite several
attempts by Thompson and Rebok to “rationalize about the benefits of a sick
house” with the Mesquakie, Mesquakie opposition to plans for a hospital remained
strong.[88] Rebok, never one to give up on assimilationist policies, then
sought to place physical constraints on the Mesquakie to secure their
consent. During the winter of 1899,
Rebok established a strict quarantine of the Settlement. According to an observer, “the roads were
patrolled by whitemen and any Mesquaki trying to get out was stopped.”[89] Rebok believed that if he could prevent the Mesquakie from
traveling to their traditional winter camps, the Settlement community would
re-think its opposition to a hospital.
Despite the road blocks and armed police officers, the Mesquakie refused
to assent to a “sick building”. A
building was erected under protest in late 1899. However, “only a few Mesquakie were persuaded to even go into the
building.”[90] Thompson and Rebok’s plans for a central hospital failed due to
Mesquakie resistance.
The
other component of Thompson’s health care plan, fumigation and acid treatment,
was implemented; albeit with force. The
Mesquakie Settlement experienced a smallpox scare in 1899 and as a result,
Thompson sought to fumigate all Mesquakie residences and submerge all Mesquakie
residents into a solution of corrosive sublimate acid to eliminate the small
pox contagion. Recognizing from past
experience that Mesquakie resistance would probably not be overcome by a few
choice words, Rebok utilized “an army unit to force the Mesquakie to submit to
disinfection.”[91] Unnamed governmental officials proceeded to disinfect the
Settlement through fumigation. As the
fumigation process occurred, traditional sacred medicinal objects were
destroyed and obliterated. Those
objects that remained were destroyed by the Mesquakie due to the harmful
effects that the gas was said to have on the spiritual character of these
vessels.[92] Inanimate spiritual items were not the only focus of the Rebok’s
disinfection. The Mesquakie people and
their dogs were forcibly submerged in a solution of corrosive sublimate acid
for disinfection. The process began
with the Mesquakie being led into tents to be washed in the acid. Several Mesquakie attempted to escape the
submerging process. Tribal historian,
Jonathan Lantz Buffalo states that,
“one Mesquakie, Black
Sunfish, ran away and had to be caught by the Indian police. One medicine man did not want to be
submerged and claimed that he did not have smallpox. After walking away, an Indian officer was sent after him.”[93]
Mesquakie dogs were also rounded up and “throughly
submerged ina solution of corrosive sublimate, almost strong enough to take
their hair off”.[94]
During
this period of conflict between white and Mesquakie medicinal practices, Y-Ta-
Tah-Wah became the most vocal opponent of Dr. Thompson and Agent Rebok. Agent Rebok sought to quiet Y-Ta-Tah-Wah
just as he had silenced
Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa, through arrest and imprisonment. According to Y-Ta-Tah-Wah’s legal petition,
Agent Rebok instituted charges of “practicing medicine without having obtained
a license”[95]. These charges quickly led to a brief trial, the result of which
placed Y-Ta-Tah-Wah in prison for an undisclosed amount of time.[96] While incarcerated, Y-Ta-Tah-Wah retained legal counsel and filed
a lawsuit against Rebok for false arrest and imprisonment. Y-Ta-Tah-Wah argued that his role and duty
of “medicine man” within the Mesquakie tribe should not be subjected to laws
governing medical practice outside of the Mesquakie community. The basis of Y-Ta-Tah-Wah’s claim was that
as a Mesquakie, he had the autonomy and right to practice Mesquakie culture;
including traditional medicinal practices.
Rebok’s defense to this claim was based on the assertion that “tribal
Indians are not deemed to be citizens in such sense as to enable them to bring
suit in federal court.”[97] Rebok’s defense also claimed that the Mesquakie had no autonomy
to practice traditional medicine.
Instead, the Mesquakie must be governed by Iowa State statutes which
mandate requirements for “civilized medicine”.[98] Upon considering these arguments, District Judge Shiras found for
the plaintiff, Y-Ta-Tah-Wah, on all counts.
Specifically, Shiras affirmed the status of the Mesquakie as citizens by
stating that, “the tribal Indian has always been recognized as a proper suitor
before the federal tribunals.”[99] Shiras then asserted that Rebok, by “undertaking to subject the
Indians to the provisions of the state laws regulating the practice of medicine
therein, committed a trespass on his person (Y-Ta-Tah-Wah).”[100] Shiras ultimately held that to police the traditional practice
of Mesquaki medicine by laws intended to regulate white medicine was a trespass
not only on the actions of specific medicine men, but also an illegal intrusion
into Mesquakie autonomy.[101] This legal recognition of tribal autonomy in the realm of
medicine required that the Northern District Court accede that the Mesquakie
possessed citizenship rights.
Deciding Who is the Proper Guardian for Mesquakie Children
The final case involve disputes between Indian Agents and the parents
of Mesquakie children forced to attend the Industrial School. Whereas the cases of Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa
and Y-Ta-Tah-Wah focused on the right to voice opposition to school authorities
and the viability of Mesquakie autonomy in the realm of traditional medicine,
the case of James Peters provides judicial recognition of Mesquakie autonomy in
the realm of parenthood and domestic decision-making. The final result of these remaining cases not only signaled a
victory for legal recognition of Mesquakie citizenship, but also sounded a
death knell for the Industrial School.
In
the spring of 1901, William G. Malin replaced Horace M. Rebok as Indian Agent
for the Mesquakie Settlement. Although
the name and person of the agent may have changed, the tactics used to enforce
assimilationist policies and quelch dissent persisted. One of Malin’s first official acts as Indian
agent was to obtain guardianship rights over 15 to 20 Mesquakie children who
were attending the Industrial School.
Malin expressed a desire to maintain attendance through replacing Mesquakie
parental rights and authority with his own.
By obtaining legal guardianship of approximately 20 Mesquakie children,
Malin possessed the legal right to decide whether or not the children should be
retained at the school. The District
Court of Tama County, Iowa granted Malin’s guardianship position and appointed
him legal guardian over approximately 20 Mesquakie children; thereby nullifying
any legal rights the natural parents possessed concerning their children’s
welfare.[102]
Although
the Tama Court granted Malin the legal authority to retain these Mesquakie
children at the School, this authority did not prevent two of these children
from running away to their natural families.
One night in the late spring of 1901, two Mesquakie children “ran away
from the school, going to their homes”
[103]
within the Settlement. The natural mother of one of the children reportedly
feared that her child would be “recaptured and forcibly returned to the school.”
[104]
To prevent this from occurring, the mother was determined to take
her daughter, Ma- sqa-see, away from the Settlement and from Agent Malin. In order to effect her daughter’s escape, the
unnamed Mesquakie mother made plans with a fellow Mesquakie, James Peters.
Peters was to drive a wagon which would hide the Mesquakie mother and
her daughter. Peters was also to serve as an interpreter
for the parent and child.
[105]
The trio was successful in transporting Ma-sqa-see to Poweshiek
county in western Iowa. Word spread
rapidly throughout the Mesquakie Settlement about the sudden departure of
Peters, the mother, and Ma-sqa-see. One
pair of ears that was listening to this news belonged to William Malin. Upon Peters return to the Mesquakie Settlement,
he was immediately arrested by Malin and “charged with the crime of enticing
away a child under 15 years from the Indian reservation and keeping her in
hiding.”
[106]
Peters was ultimately found to be not guilty of Malin’s charges;
however Peters had charges of his own to pursue. Peters was imprisoned within the Tama county
jail for nine days to assure his presence at trial. When Peters stood trial for “enticing”, the presiding judge immediately
dismissed all charges against Peters as “unfounded”.
[107]
Peters then filed charges against Agent Malin for false imprisonment.
These charges and their factual grounding would be the basis for the
District Court to recognize Mesquakie parental autonomy and citizenship rights.
The
Peters case, similar to the Y-Ta-Tah-Wah case, centered on the issue of
autonomy and citizenship. Peters
claimed that his arrest at the hands of Malin was unjustified and illegal. Specifically, Peters claimed that despite
the Tama Court’s pronouncement of Malin’s guardianship rights, Malin could not
and did not have parental rights over Ma-sqa-see. Only her blood mother possessed these parental, guardianship
rights. Therefore, Peters was merely
acting in accordance with Ma-sqa-see’s true guardian, her mother.[108] Malin countered Peters argument by stating that he “acted in
harmony with the desire and authority of the government” in obtaining legal
guardianship of Ma-sqa-see. Further,
Malin insisted that all of his actions in this case were “in the best interests
of said child, as guardian of her person, and as the agent of the tribe,
representing the United States government.”[109] The District Court was forced to decide whether the welfare
Mesquakie children should be subject to the autonomous decisions of their
natural parents or placed in control of a federal Indian agent. The Court decided in favor of autonomy and
citizenship. The Court announced that
the Mesquakie Indians “are within the plane of the ordinary laws of the state
regulating the domestic affairs of its citizens.”[110] Because the Mesquakie were held to possess the same citizenship
rights within the domestic realm as other Iowa citizens, guardianship of
Ma-sqa-see rightfully belonged to her mother.
The Court went on to state that if Malin’s position was upheld,
“inextricable confusion
would result in the administration of the domestic affairs of the Indians. It is apparent then that their tribal
condition will be speedily broken up, not in pursuance of the acts of the
national government. Thus, removing the
children from the immediate control of their parents and relatives, and
removing them from the reservation where their families resided, was an act
without law to support it, and conferred upon the defendant (Malin) no
authority whatever over the persons of the Indian children.”[111]
Through these brief pronouncements, the District
Court announced that the Mesquakie enjoyed citizenship rights in the realm of
parenting and child welfare.
Conclusion
Despite Mesquakie continual assertion of self-identity, throughout the
19th century the United States continued to view the Mesquakie as an
undifferentiated grouping of Indians who required special supervision as wards
of the state. During the 1800's, the
Mesquakies entered into contracts and purchased land; actions that characterize
legally recognized citizens. Despite
these autonomous acts, the United States did not formally recognize the
Mesquakie as an independent body.
Instead, the United States haphazardly grouped the Mesquakie Nation
under the unrelated tribes of the Sac and Fox, and refused to acknowledge
Mesquakie- held land titles. Although
the Mesquakie tribe could not gain formal recognition of their legal status
through use of contracts or land ownership, an unexpected route to this
recognition emerged in the 1890's. In
1894, The Indian Rights Association of Iowa was formed based on the common
belief of its members that drastic assimilation of the Mesquakie could be
achieved through education. As a
result, The Indian Training School of Toledo, Iowa was established in 1896. The harsh policies employed by the Training
School set into motion a series of lawsuits.
These legal actions were initiated by individual Mesquakies against the
local Indian Agent and white Superintendent of the School. Unlike prior group efforts of
self-identification in the areas of contract law and property titles,
individual Mesquakies were successful in defending their group autonomy and
independent legal status in the realm of education. The United States continued to view the Mesquakie as sources of
“parental concern” when agreements or land ownership was at issue. However, after the Training School
litigation the Mesquakie were viewed as authoritative “parents” when domestic
issues such as education arose. In the
area of schooling, the United States recognized the Mesquakie as possessors of an independent and autonomous legal
identity and power which could not be circumvented by outsiders.
This examination is significant because it outlines the abstract and
complex forces which produced an autonomous legal identity for a marginalized
ethnic/racial group. While specific
constitutional amendments or legislative pronouncements may generally address
broad concepts of citizenship and legal authority, they do not reveal the
actual route followed by disadvantaged groups to achieve the promise of this
authority.[112] An example of a broad enunciation of citizenship can be found
within the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. This amendment states, “All persons born or naturalized
in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of
the United States and of the State in which they reside.” Although this pronouncement appears quite
clear, its passage in 1868 did not instantaneously change the local recognition
of certain groups as citizens/non-citizens.
Although this amendment technically applies to the Mesquakie, the
Mesquakie tribe was not recognized as a distinct group and was prohibited from
purchasing land after 1868; evidence that a legislative pronouncement does not
necessarily lead to tangible modifications of status on a local level. Another legislative enactment which
technically accorded certain Native Americans citizenship status was the
General Allotment Act of 1887, otherwise known as the Dawes Severalty Act.[113] The purpose of this Act was to allot portions of reservation land
to individual Indians in order to promote the “virtues” of private land
ownership.[114] Titles to the allotted land were to remain under the trust of the
United States for twenty-five years.
After this time, the land title would be conveyed to the Indian allottee
in fee simple; free of all encumbrances.
A further provision of the Act announced that upon receiving allotments,
the Indian allottees became United States citizens.[115] The language of the Dawes Severalty Act clearly enunciates a
policy of private land ownership and citizenship. However, this legislative
promise was not realized by Native Americans.
The original amounts of land to be parceled out to residents of
reservations were cut in half by a subsequent legislative act.[116] Further, because the title of the allotted land was held by the
United States in trust for the Indian allottees, the United States had the
power to lease the allotted land or dictate its sale to others. The United States did utilize this power
which caused a dramatic decrease in the amount of Native American held land;
from 138 million acres in 1887 to 48 million acres by 1934.[117] Finally, the Dawes Act contained no specific criteria as to what
quality of land the allottees should receive.
As a result, approximately 20 million acres of arid land was distributed
for Indians to cultivate.[118] Although the Mesquakie were not directly affected by the Dawes
Act due to their purchase of the land they resided on[119], this 1887 enactment further
illustrates the need to examine the workings of citizenship beyond the confines
of legislative and other legal pronouncements.
The
forces which actually contributed to the formal acknowledgment of Mesquakie
legal autonomy are not straight forward or obvious. The very forces which were intended to effect complete
assimilation, actually presented an opportunity for the Mesquakie to realize
formal acknowledgment of their identity.
The sheer power of assimilationist efforts to eradicate unique Mesquakie
identity actually provided the factual scenarios that individual Mesquakies
could utilize to fight for realization of an autonomous legal identity.
Another
point of significance is the fact that Mesquakie legal recognition was achieved
via individual Mesquakie legal action and not the Mesquakie Nation acting as a
unit. When the Mesquakies protested the
lack of legal recognition they, as a group, received in treaties and land
agreements, the formal legal authorities wholly ignored these protests. The Mesquakies were haphazardly combined
with other Indian groups and were viewed as inferior “wards of the state”. However, when individual Mesquakies brought
claims of kidnapping and false imprisonment to the attention of legal
authorities, these individual claims were taken quite seriously. These individual instances of abuse led to a
formal recognition of Mesquakie autonomy.
It appears that the route to successfully escaping broad legal
marginalization, at least in this instance, is not to utilize broad groups and
abstract legal principles as a battleground.
Instead, a “David vs. Goliath” approach proved to be much more
effective. By presenting a single
instance of kidnaping or false imprisonment to the legal authorities, the
Mesquakie effectively presented very
concrete, human suffering which the court found difficult to ignore; unlike
arguments based on intangible legal principles. As a result, the legal authorities not only made pronouncements
specifically tailored to the abuse presented before them, but also set the
groundwork for the acknowledgment of general legal recognition of the
Mesquakie.[120]
Finally,
this study is critical because it is the first to examine the recognition of
Native American legal identity through the lens of education. The historical scholarship which has
addressed Indian education during the late 19th century and early 20th
century, has largely focused on the psychological pressures of Indian students
and non-legal social implications of this education.[121] These studies are imperative in that they provide an account of
the actual experiences of students and instructors within the confines of
Indian schools. Many of these studies
also highlight possible origins for current problems faced today in Native
American education programs. Although
Indian schools should be studied in their own right, they can also be used as a
historical site or locus for examining other issues affecting Native
Americans. By using Indian schools in
this way, unusual and rare insight can be gained into areas unexpectedly
affected by education. If a historian
only focused on the Mesquakie Indian Training School or solely emphasized group
legal identity through the usual routes of treaties and land agreements, the
effect that Mesquakie education had on emerging Mesquakie legal identity would
be ignored. However, by using the
Training School as a lens through which to view other issues, such as legal
autonomy, a richer, more complex, and more realistic picture of Mesquakie
identity comes to light. This unique
perspective allows one to see the irony and truth in the following organizing
purpose of the Indian Rights Association of Iowa:
“The
purpose of this Association is to take such steps as are necessary to determine
and fix, as far as possible, the legal status of the Indians and to promote
education and civilization among them.”
– Horace M. Rebok, U.S. Indian Agent to the Mesquakie of Iowa and organizer of the Indian Rights Association
of Iowa, 1895
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Sources
Grinnell College Archives,
Grinnell, Iowa
Horace M. Rebok, “A History
of the Indian Training School, Toledo, Iowa”, Iowa Room, Grinnell College
Archives, Grinnell, Iowa.
Mesquakie Collection, Iowa Room, Grinnell College Archives,
Grinnell, Iowa.
Mesquakie Letters
located in Iowa Room, Grinnell College Archives, Grinnell, Iowa.
Superintendent’s Report
written by Superintendent George Nellis, 1898, Iowa Room, Grinnell College,
Grinnell, Iowa.
Superintendent’s Report
written by Superintendent George Nellis, 1899, Iowa Room, Grinnell College,
Grinnell, Iowa.
State Historical Society of Iowa,
Iowa City, Iowa
Buffalo, Johnathan Lantz,
“Mesquaki Family” in Box BL 65, Folder 15, Mesquakie Collection, State Historical
Society of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
Buffalo, Johnathan Lantz,
“Mesquaki Oral History” dated April 10, 1977, Mesquakie Collection, Box BL 21,
Folder 3, State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
Buffalo, Johnathan Lantz,
Miscellaneous/Manuscript, Mesquakie Collection, Box MSS, Folder: Manuscript,
State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
Butler, David, Letter
entitled “Old Indian Town” dated August 18, 1905, Mesquakie Collection, Box BL
21, Folder 19, State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Correspondence from Agents
Street, Peters, and Malin to Department of Interior, Mesquakie Collection, Box
BL 26, Folder 6, State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
Hollen, J.H., Manuscript
dated 1866, Mesquakie Collection, Box BL 21, Folder 10, State Historical
Society of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
Kaufmann, Jean, “History of
the Mesquakie Indians, also known as the Sac and Fox of Iowa written by George
Young Bear, As Told to Men”, Mesquakie Collection, Box BL 65, Folder 19, State
Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
“Legal Status of Musquakies:
From the Attorney General’s Report to Governor Cummins”, 1905, Mesquakie
Collection, Box BL 21, Folder 19, State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City,
Iowa.
Young Bear, George, “History
of the Sac and Fox Tribes, Tama, Iowa”, Mesquakie Collection, Box BL 65, Folder
11, State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
Secondary Sources
Bloom, John, To Show What an Indian Can Do: Sports
at Native American Boarding Schools, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
Press, 2000.
Child, Brenda J., Boarding
School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900-1940, Lincoln: University of
Nebraska Press, 1998.
Coleman, Michael C., American
Indian Children at School, 1850-1930, Jackson, Miss.: University Press of Mississippi, 1993.
Cott, Nancy F., “Marriage and
Women’s Citizenship in the United States, 1830-1934" in The
American Historical Review, Volume 103, Issue 5, December, 1998, 1440-
1474.
Foner, Eric, A Short
History of Reconstruction, 1863-1877, New York: Harper & Row
Publishers, 1990.
Getches, David H. and
Charles F. Wilkinson, Cases and Materials on Federal Indian Law, Second
Edition, St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Co., 1986.
Grant, Agnes, No End To
Grief: Indian Residential Schools in Canada, Toronto: Pemmican
Publications, Inc., 1996.
Hagan, William T., “Private
Property, the Indian’s Door to Civilization” in Ethnohistory, Volume 3,
Issue 2, Spring 1956, 126-137.
Kerber, Linda K., No Constitutional Right To Be Ladies:
Women and the Obligations of Citizenship, New
York: Hill and Wang, 1998.
Kurtz, Royce Delbert,
“Economic and Political History of the Sauk and Mesquakie: 1780's-1845",
Ph.D. diss., University of Iowa, 1986.
Mihesuah, Devon A., Cultivating
the Rosebuds: The Education of Women at the Cherokee Female Seminary, 1851-1909,
Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1993.
Miller, J. R., Shingwauk’s
Vision: A History of Native Residential Schools, Toronto: University of
Toronto Press, 1996.
Norton, Mary Beth, David M.
Katzman and Paul D. Escott, et al., A People & A Nation: A History of the United States, Volume II:
Since 1865, Third Edition, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990.
Potter, David M., History
and American Society: Essays of David M. Potter , New York: Oxford University Press, 1973.
Riney, Scott, The Rapid
City Indian School, 1898-1933, Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma
Press, 1999.
Trennert Jr., Robert A., The Phoenix Indian School: Forced
Assimilation in Arizona, 1891-1935, Norman,
Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988.
Legal Cases
Ma-Ka-Ta-Wah-Qua-Twa v. Rebok, 111 F. 12 (N. D. Iowa, October 24, 1901).
Peters
v. Malin, 111 F. 244 (N. D. Iowa, October 21, 1901).
Y-Ta-Tah-Wah
v. Rebok, 105 F. 257 (N. D. Iowa, December 1, 1900).
Legislative
Enactments
25 U.S.C.A. section 331 (1887), Dawes Severalty Act