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What's the story behind
agriculture in Iowa?
The land that now comprises Iowa had been occupied first by various nomadic tribes of the Paleo-Indian period perhaps as long as 12,000 years ago. They had come to this area to hunt large game animals, the mammoth and the bison, which roamed the area. They were succeeded by nomadic hunters of the archaic period of 8,500 years ago, who, in turn, gave way to the Woodland Indians.
Approximately eighteen different Indian nations lived in Iowa during the past few hundred years, but the Ioway Indians gave their name to the state. The Ioway were part of the Oneota Indian Culture, which combined prairie and woodlands characteristics and relied on both gardening and hunting for food. The Ioway were admired for their gardening skills, and historical evidence indicates they grew corn, beans, pumpkins and squash.
Many Ioway villages have been excavated in Northeast and Northwest Iowa. If you would like to see what an Ioway village might have looked like you can visit one at the Iowa Living History Farms in Des Moines, Iowa. Other tribes associated with Iowa were the Sauk, Meskwaki and Winnebago Indians. Though in 1845 the Meskwaki Indians were moved to Kansas, by 1856 a band purchased land near Tama, Iowa and reside on the Meskwaki Settlement still today.
Story courtesy Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
Date: 6/18/04
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