A Copy of a Communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in Relation to the Purchase of Additional Lands for the Use of the Sac and Fox Indians of the Mississippi in Iowa

“The object of the Indians in seeking to buy these tracts is to get rid of a number of objectionable neighbors…” -pg. 2.

This interesting collection of correspondence and maps was primarily compiled by C.F. Larrabee, Acting Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, and originally published in 1907 as part of a Congressional report. The contents discuss the acquisition, on behalf of the local Sac and Fox, of approximately 265 acres across five different tracts of land in central Iowa. Payment would come from the tribal funds managed by the U.S. government and add some valuable timber land to the reservation, as well as the ability to expel undesirable renters from the property.

Two maps are included, both by the Norris Peters Company of Washington, D.C. The first is a full-sheet image titled Indian Lands in Tama County, Iowa. The second, a fold-out measuring approximately, presents a large-scale overview of Indian Village, Toledo, and Tama Townships. In addition to showing the proposed land for purchase, both maps show the Meskwaki Industrial School. The facility was one of numerous boarding schools operated by the B.I.A. to encourage indigenous children to abandon their cultural heritage and assimilate into Western lifestyles.

Sources: Iowa PBS; Meskwaki Nation; Native News Online;