All the counties of Iowa were given their names by the Iowa Territorial Legislature, long before they were physically organized. Many of the counties were named for past presidents, explorers or other historical figures. Many were named for Indian chiefs or for tribes of the immediate area. Appanoose County, Iowa derived its name from Chief Appanoose, because he was an important Indian chief who had his camp along a nearby stream at one time.
Famous Sac and Fox
Famous Sac and Fox
Chief Appanoose – Chief Appanoose (Meskwaki or Fox) became famous when he traveled tothe East Coast in 1837 with the other Indian chiefs. It was on that trip, during a visit to the Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston, that Appanoose delivered what has been described as one of the most famous orations ever delivered by an Indian chief. When the Indians were required to leave Central Iowa in 1843, Chief Appanoose led his tribe to a Sauk and Fox reservation in the territory of Kansas.
Blackhawk – Famous Sauk chief who led a war against the U.S. for his homeland in Illinois in 1832. His autobiography was published in 1872. Black Hawk said, “How smooth must be the languages of the whites. When they can make the right look wrong and wrong look right”.
Saginaw Grant (born 1936) -Actor known for his roles in Breaking Bad and The Lone Ranger.
Keokuk (1767-1848) – Sauk chief who was noted for his policy of cooperation with the U.S. government which led to the Black Hawk war. Keokuk is the only Native American ever honored with a bronze bust in the U.S. Capital. His likeness has also appeared on American Currency.
Ke-shes-wa – Fox chief
Mokohoko – Leader when the removal of the Sac and Foxes from Kansas took place in 1869. Mokohoko and some 200 followers refused to go to Oklahoma.
Charles Robidoux – “Charlie” was the Chairman for the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri from 1920 until his death in 1973.
Jim Thorpe (1888–1953) – Athlete who won gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. He was named the world’s greatest athlete in 1950.
Wapello – Meskwaki chief, also featured in McKenney and Hall
Anthony “Tony” Wapp – A great Sac and Fox Indian basketball star that traveled with Vic Hanson’s All Americans, the original New York Celtics, Jim Thorpe’s Indians, Olsen’s Terrible Swedes, and House of David. His basketball career extended from 1929 until 1937.
Ray Young Bear, Meskwaki writer and poet
Sac & Fox (Sauk) Tribes:
Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa
Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska
Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma
Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe, Washington