Meskwaki – Prairie Rivers of Iowa

The Iowa Valley Scenic Byway Audio Tour App Now Available

by Jeanie Hau | Jan 16, 2025

The Iowa Valley Scenic Byway Audio Tour has a long history. Created in 2018, byway travelers could call a phone line, listen to Spotify recordings, read a companion booklet, and follow the essential map to find the History, Curiosities, and Rural Stories found in the Iowa Valley.

Enter 2025, and the Audio Tour “App” is ready to direct travelers from their car to the locations at the 40 stops in the 18 plus communities. We are still using the same provider, however Oncell (seen on the brochure) is now Stqry.

To access the App, your phone or tablet only needs a browser as this tour is not yet available on Apple or Google platforms. Simply type in this address in your search engine: http://iowavalleyscenicbyway.stqry.app and open the site. Then use the share icon to save the site to your home screen. Now you can open the site by clicking on the logo icon that is now on your home screen.

When you enter the tour, you begin on the map with the tour stops numbered. Enter into a tour stop and explore the photo gallery, listen to and/or read the audio tour, find more information and directions! Make sure you allow the site access to your location when you are asked so that Google maps can get you there.

Some links that can be found under the “More Information” include but are not limited to the stop’s website or Facebook presence, articles written about the location, links to the town to find events, nearby activities and places to eat (still in development). You can also view historic and current photos and even videos or oral histories. A rolle bolle video can be seen on the Victor stop and a link to the Rolle Bolle booklet. The tour information is in need of an update so there will be changes and additions to the app from time to time and a new brochure will be printed this spring. If you have any additional information or changes, please let me know!! With additional funding, we do hope to have a downloadable app in the future.

From “Green Corn Dance” to “Powwow:” the Meskwaki Nation’s End of Summer Tradition

by Jeanie Hau | Aug 6, 2024

The Meskwaki Nation located in Tama County has celebrated the end of summer every year for over 100 years with the Meskwaki Annual Powwow. Family and friends travel from all over the country every year to participate in the Annual Powwow which features dancing, singing, handcrafts, food, games, and fun. Dance styles and content have evolved over the years but the reminiscing, reconnecting, and celebrating unity remains the focus of the event.

Meskwaki Powwow Facebook page

Before 1900, the Meskwaki Tribe would gather every fall during harvest to celebrate the harvest of the crop with a feast. The village was centrally located and the people would celebrate while making final preparations for the storing of the crop for the coming year. They called this celebration the “Green Corn Dance.”

Then in the early 1900s, the smallpox epidemic ran through the village and the federal government burned the village homes to eradicate the disease. The government then built the settlement houses that were spread out across the land in hopes of preventing future diseases. This caused a separation of the population and the arrival of individual crop lands and various harvest times instead of a central common harvest.

CW Wright State Historical Society Wikiup

CW Wright, State Historical Society of Iowa

Powwow Lincoln Highway 1917 Meskwaki Nation

Meskwaki Powwow Facebook Page

To fill the missing sense of celebratory community, from 1902-1912, the Meskwaki Tribe gathered at the old village site and a new event was created but without the harvest. “Field Days” had replaced the “Green Corn Dance.”

“Field Days” became popular with more and more people from outside the settlement. The Meskwaki realized that they could share their culture with the outside world and possibly provide income for the settlement during this festive event and so in 1913 the Chief appointed 15 men to plan the celebration. These men changed the event name to “Powwow” and moved it to the current Powwow Grounds.

The Meskwaki Annual Powwow is now the largest event of its kind in the nation. It has only been canceled during World War II and during the Covid-19 outbreak of 2020/2021.

Meskwaki Powwow Facebook page

All are invited and encouraged to attend the Meskwaki Annual Powwow with open minds and open hearts to learn from the Meskwaki culture during this festive event. Various games, activities, and food vendors as well as traditional foods are available to all. Powwow etiquette is an important way to show your respect and to ease your comfort in an unfamiliar cultural environment. The celebration begins on Thursday August 8 and last for four days with Grand Entry beginning at 1 pm and 7 pm daily.

Meskwaki Powwow Facebook page

Meskwaki Powwow Facebook page

The Grand Entry can now be livestreamed if you can’t make it in person. New this year is the Bible’s Fatboy Powwow Highway Ride benefiting the Meskwaki Band Florida Trip; grab your cars and bikes and meet at the Meskwaki Travel Plaza 9:30 am Aug 10^th and ride the gravel-to-grounds route. What a way to celebrate the end of summer!

The Meskwaki Powwow Grounds are along both the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway and the Iowa Valley Scenic Byway.

Visit Prairie Rivers of Iowa for more Byway Buzz.