Jerry Young Bear, Jr.
Meskwaki storyteller
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Jerry
Young Bear was born on the Meskwaki settlement in Tama, Iowa. Raised by
his parents as well as his aunts, uncles, and grandparents, he treasures
the traditions and beliefs of his people and is actively involved in passing
them on to younger members of the tribe. In particular, Young Bear loves
to tell the stories he learned from his elders; these stories relate tribal
values and instill respect for the earth, for animals, for the environment,
and for people.
Meskwaki, literally “the Red Earth People,” are of Algonquin
origin from the Eastern Woodland Culture area. Referred to by the French
as "Les Renards" (the Foxes) as far back as 1666, tribal members
have always identified themselves as “Meskwaki.” In 1735, they
allied with the Sauk to fend off Europeans and other Indian tribes, and
both tribes moved
southward from Wisconsin into Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri. The US Government
moved the Sauk and Meskwaki to a reservation in northeast Kansas in 1845,
but some Meskwaki remained in Iowa. In 1857 the tribe purchased the first
80 acres in Tama County, and ten years later the U.S. Government finally
began paying them annuities, which gave the Meskwaki a formal identity as
the Sac and Fox of Iowa.
Contact: Jerry Young Bear, 641/484-3104, jkybjr@yahoo.com
(for email, put “folklife” in the subject line)