Who are Fox Indians?

The Fox Indians are a Native American tribe made up of Sac, Asakiwaki (Sauk) and Meshwahkihaki (Mequakie/Fox) people. They are indigenous to the northeastern regions of the present-day United States. In the Algonquin language spoken by the Fox Indians, Asakiwaki means "people of the yellow earth" and Meshkwahkihawi means "people of the red earth." The origin of the word Algonquin is said to come from alligewinenk, which translates to "come together from distant places."

The specific dialects of the Algonquin language that the Fox Indians spoke are called Mesquakie-Sauk. Mesquakie was primarily used by the Meskwaki, or Fox, Indians, and Sauk was spoken mainly by the Asakiwaki, or Sac, tribes. These two dialects are reciprocally understandable. Some linguists regard the Kickapoo language as another separate dialect of Mesquakie-Sauk. This theory is not universally accepted, however, because the Kickapoo language has over time developed tone distinctions which are generally not comprehensible by Mesquakie-Sauk speakers.

Fox Indians made their home around the shores of the Great Lakes, specifically Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, when the first contact by Europeans was made. In 1832, a war broke out between the Sac and Fox Indians and the US. The war became known as the Black Hawk War, and it made tribal leaders Black Hawk and Keokuk cultural icons. One of the results of the Black Hawk War was that many members of the tribes moved out of the region. They wandered through many different locations, including the modern-day states of Iowa, Illinois and Kansas, before eventually settling in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) in the 1870s.

Up until 1937, this American Indian tribe was known as the Sac and Fox Tribe of Indians of the Mississippi River. That year, the tribe established themselves as an organized, federally-recognized tribe. This was made possible, in part, by the enactment of the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1934. The act also brought about an open tribal enrollment available to anyone named in their tribal rolls, along with descendants who have at least one-eighth Sac and Fox blood.

The Fox Indians hold the belief that the Great Spirit chose a fertile valley and the land in its vicinity as the tribe’s home. The spirit reportedly demanded that the Sac and Fox Indians look upon themselves as tribal brothers. Each tribe, however, developed its own unique sacred philosophies. Culture within the tribes is mainly based on reverence for the life within each person, family and community.