Cultural Preservation

The Iowa Tribe was fortunate enough to have been awarded an ANA grant which we entitled cultural enrichment. The grant covered a number of activities. One important aspect of the grant was the construction of traditional Ioway homes, including long houses and bark houses. The grant was written to urge this construction in a traditional manner rather than using tools. Adjacent to the houses, a traditional garden was planted with corn, beans, and squash. Our attempt was to do all of our work without modern technology, including using a garden hose to water the garden. An antler rake and a bison scapula were used as tools. Members came away with an increased respect for our ancestors, and a greater appreciation of the challenges they faced. If a crop failed due to lack of water in a nearby stream and a lack of rain or a home was not completed prior to the onset of winter, this is precisely what the ancestors would have faced. The construction activities served as a great learning tool, particularly for the younger generations. In the depicted photo below of a framed bark house, the particular development was used that year for the naming of young children as they received their ‘Indian Name’.