The Native Americans at the Mines of Spain

The Native Americans at the Mines of Spain. . , Mines of Spain Recreation Area , There is evidence of prehistoric Native American cultures, some dating back as many as 8,000 years. Mounds, village sites, rock shelters, trading post sites, and campsites dot the landscape of this region. The Mesquakie (Sac and Fox) were the earliest known historic inhabitants of the Mines of Spain. The "Red Earth" people are believed to have originated on the east coast and are Algonquian by language. They were later forced out of the Great Lakes region by the French and finally settled in this area. Their village was located at the mouth of Catfish Creek. From this site, the Mesquakie carried on a fur trade with French voyagers. They also worked the lead mines for may decades before the Revolutionary War. , 10,000 BC - 8,000 BC , The Paleo-Indian Period. The first humans arrive in the Upper Mississippi Valley , 8,000 BC - 500 BC , The Archaic Period. Hunters and gatherers , 500 BC - 1,000 AD , The Woodland Period. Mound Builders and pottery makers , 1,000 AD - 1,500 AD , Oneota Culture. Farming villages established along the Upper Mississippi Valley , 1700's , The Sauk and Mesquakie arrive in the Dubuque area , 1764 , Beginning of Mesquakie lead mining and log furnace smelting at the Mines of Spain , 1780's , Mesquakie "Kettle Chief" village established at or near the mouth of Catfish Creek , 1788 , Mesquakie give permission to Julien Dubuque to begin mining leadon the Mines of Spain , 1830 - 1832 , Maequakie abandon village on Catfish Creek, but return periodically to mine lead and hunt, 1832 - 1833 , Black Hawk War in progress, 1833 , Black Hawk Treaty opens Mines of Spain to "official" white settlement as the Mesquakie are forced out, 1842 , The Mesquakie and Sauk sell their Iowa land to the United States government and are re-settled in Kansas and Oklahoma , 1856 , Many of the Mesquakie return to Iowa and settle in Tama County where today they operate a successful casino , Fox called themselves the Mesquakie meaning "red earth" people. Early French explorers mistook a clan name (Wagosh meaning fox) for that of the entire tribe and began referring to them as the "Renard" (French for Fox), and the English and Americans continued to error in their own language. , Picture Caption , A 19th Century version of a Native American "wickiup". , Photo contributed by Center of Dubuque History, Loras College