Baxoje Wa'shige- The Ioway People

Another facet of our ancestry is that of the Baxoje, or Ioway people. This page is dedicated to a study of Ioway culture and language for future generations of Weavers

Baxoje Ich'e - Ioway Language

In order to best understand any culture, it is necessary to first be able to understand the way that sh'age hintewi, our ancestors, described and viewed the world. Therefore, we begin with a study of Ioway language.

Getting Started

The most important part of this journey is listening. Start by listening to these recordings of our elders and ancestors speaking the Ioway Language. Some of the recordings can be listened to alongside workbooks that are introduced in the next section! Some of these recordings are of our Otoe-Missouria relatives speaking their dialect.

Lance Foster's Youtube - Lance Foster (or Irogre (Wanije) was a beloved member of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska who spent his life studying and preserving our language and culture. In this YouTube playlist, you can hear him speaking our language as he works through the 1970s Primer Books published by Dr. Lila Wistrand-Robinson (see below). He also has several vocabulary words which he introduces.

The Otoe Child: Annabelle Deita - This is another YouTube series that covers the 1970s Primer Books published by Dr. Lila Wistrand-Robinson. In this recording, a woman is speaking through the primers.

Sh'age Ben Kent Counts to 10 - This recording was cleaned up and edited by tribal member Michelle Weaver and you can listen to Ioway ancestor Ben Kent count to 10 in Baxoje Ich'e.

Smithsonian Recordings - Listen to recordings by Dr. Lila Wistrand-Robinson archived by the Smithsonian.

The following are extracted from the Jimm Goodtracks Language Website. The intention of these recordings is to practice listening to help better understand cadence and simply get used to listening to the language, so we do not provide translations in this section.

Sh'age ich'enye - Elders Speak - Listen to Ioway ancestor Alice Sine reminisce on ikunye, her grandmother and Ioway ancestor Franklin Murray on what it means to him to be Ioway.

Songs and Prayers - Listen to Robert Moore and Sarah Hudson sing and pray.

Joe Young Sr. and Bessie Dupree Young (Otoe-Missouria) - Joe Young Sr. and Bessie Dupree Young were Otoe-Missouria speakers whose contributions to language preservation are imperative to the future of Baxoje Ich'e. Although they speak the Otoe dialect, listening to their words, tones, and cadences can help you learn how to speak the language. This link will take you to a collection of their songs and stories.

Also check out our social media pages for Word of the Week Recordings posted by tribal member David Weaver (paused until further notice).

Literature Review

A good place to start studying the language with the workbooks and linguistic discussions found in this folder. We discuss each of these sources in greater detail below:

Wistrand-Robinson, Lila (1977). Jiwere-Baxoje Wa'shige Ukenye Ich'e

Dr. Lila Wistrand-Robinson spent time interviewing fluent speakers in primarily Oklahoma to produce these workbooks, which are a great place to begin your Baxoje Ich'e journey. Spend time with these documents and listen to the associated recordings in the section above!

Greer, Jill (2016). Baxoje-Jiwere Grammar Sketch. Advances in the study of siouxan languages and linguistics

Dr. Greer has dedicated her life to the study of linguistics and has played a major role in several major efforts to preserve the Ioway language. In this work, she outlines the linguistic elements of the Ioway language, including simple topics such as the formation of sounds to advanced concepts like the verb complex. We encourage you to supplement your study of this document with Youtube videos on basic linguistic concepts so that you can better understand the material discussed!

Whitman, William (1947). Descriptive Grammar of Ioway-Oto. International Journal of American Linguistics

William Whitman produces another linguistic approach that is less thorough and up-to-date, but cited often by both Jimm Goodtracks and Dr. Jill Greer. This is a great supplemental reading if you want to see the sources from which our modern language preservers worked from to help produce their work!

David's Language Lessons (WIP)

Check out this series by tribal member David Weaver, who developed some introductory lessons on the Ioway language to better organize his own learning and help his family better learn the language.

Advanced Study

As you continue to listen and complete the primer workbooks already provided, you will become prepared to study advanced synthesis of words and grammatical concepts. This folder will take you to resources that cover advanced concepts in the language, which are expanded upon below.

"JGT Verb Composition"

Created by Jimm Goodtracks, this document contains a comprehensive introduction to conjugating verbs in Baxoje Ich'e. This is a good starting point for learning the subjective and objective pronouns that form the basis of these conjugations.

"Transitive Verb Conjugations for Regular Verbs"

Created by tribal member David Weaver, this document contains conjugation tables for transitive verbs in an effort to better consolidate the information provided by Mr. Goodtracks' verb composition. Practice with your own conjugation tables!

In addition, check out these study flashcards created by tribal member David Weaver for memorizing verb conjugations! Everyday, write out all of the verb conjugations for a transitive or causative verbs and you can master this complex topic and begin to synthesize your own sentences in our language!

Building Your Vocabulary

Baxoje Sh'age Irogre, Ioway ancestor Lance Foster, wisely emphasized that learning this language is more than memorizing words on flashcards. Out of respect for his wisdom and vision, we have saved resources for learning vocabulary for last. This folder offers sources on words from various places in history, and we provide additional context to each of these sources here so you can better understand the evolution of Baxoje Ich'e and help make more clear regional dialects between Northern and Southern Ioway.

An Elementary Book of the Ioway Language

This book was the first publication of colonizer missionaries William Hamilton and Samuel Irvin in an attempt to better teach our ancestors Christian values to destroy our traditional way of life. This book is generally not a useful tool for language learning, but has a valuable Baxoje-English dictionary for a smattering of words in the beginning of the book. This book was recently edited and updated by tribal member David Weaver to make it more useful for learners.

Jimm Goodtracks Dictionary

The Jimm Goodtracks Dictionary is the culmination of almost 200 years of language preservation efforts beginning with colonizer reverend Moses Merrill. His work took on the mammoth task of recording every instance of a Baxoje word. This is the best source we have for researching Baxoje words, but it isn't without its weaknesses: sometimes not all regional dialects are included and in other cases, someone unfamiliar with the language will be unable to deduce the true translation of a word due to this being a record of words, not a document that is inherently focused on breaking down the participles that make complex words. This is why it is so important to not begin with vocabulary and first learn all of the different parts that come together to form the Ioway language. Tribal member David Weaver took about 5 minutes to use a PDF editor to combine the several documents that originally formed his dictionary for you!

James Owen Dorsey

Colonizer ethnographer James Dorsey produced some of the largest volumes of work in history, much of which was later used to create the Jimm Goodtracks dictionary. We present Dorsey's CHIWERE-ENGLISH VOCABULARY and his Comparative Siouxan Vocabulary, which was recently edited and updated by tribal member David Weaver. Dorsey's work is not a great litmus for deducing dialectal variants and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Flashcards

Also, check out these flashcards created by tribal member David Weaver. These flashcards use multiple orthographies, so it would be wise to engage with other sources before using these.

Miscellaneous Resources

These are resources that can aid in your learning as you go along. First and most importantly, we present Jimm Goodtracks' website which offers translations for some of the recordings provided above and a host of other resources. Also here you can find The First Ioway Reading Book, published by colonizer missionary Reverend Moses Merrill and photocopied by Lance Foster. Tribal member David Weaver has edited and updated this resource to be more useful to researchers. Interested parties should reach out to obtain this version.

General Information

There are several sources that can present general information on Ioway culture, which are provided in detail below. As you journey through this section, make sure to stop and take time with each source to fully absorb the meanings and teachings found within.

YOUR TRIBAL ELDERS - Elders are often times the best source of information regarding our culture. It is important that we acknowledge their wisdom and knowledge and seek them out so that we may learn and pass on that knowledge to our own families one day. As you journey through your study of Ioway culture, reach out to your elders with questions about what you are learning to innervate your learning and gain information that isn't present within the confines of the written word.

Lance Foster's Website - Ioway ancestor Lance Foster created this website as a starting point for people beginning their journey with Baxoje woshka. Within this website, you can find some cultural traditions, stories, and information about clothing and style!

Also check out David's Reading List, which has several books on the Ioway that offer different perspectives on our culture and history.

wekaⁿ

This folder provides a collection of stories concerning many aspects of Baxoje Woshka. Read each of these stories closely and look for the wisdom that they teach! We will cover the contents of each subfolder below.

Baxoje Traditions

This subfolder contains two files that relate sacred stories of the Ioway people.

Traditions of the Iowa Indians- Alanson B. Skinner

Alanson B. Skinner was a renowned colonizer ethnographer who is well-known for recording a great volume on Ioway culture, and is also well-known for collecting most all of our Waruxawe, "Sacred Bundles" and stuffing them in the Milwaukee Public Museum. In this volume, he documents a great collection of sacred Ioway stories. We have used the privileges of university access to online sites to download this document in its entirety for your pleasure.

"Rabbit Frees the People From Muskrat"

This is a story that was transcribed by Jimm Goodtracks and extracted from his website. We have included it here instead of the website itself to make it easier for people to navigate through all the stories that we have compiled so far! Challenge your language learning skills by reading this aloud to your friends and family in Baxoje Ich'e.

Clan Origins from JGT

This subfolder contains files extracted from the Jimm Goodtracks website that relate the origins of six of our Kiraje, "clans." As always, we are grateful to Mr. Goodtracks for his efforts in preserving our culture and history. We include these stories here instead of his website itself to make it easier for people to navigate through all the stories that we have compiled so far!

Miscellaneous Stories and Tribal Member Publications

This subfolder contains two files that were published by tribal members!

McGowan, Sarita (2016). Using Auto-Ethnography to Understand the Fourteen Ioways' Journey of Colonization, Spirituality, and Traditions through Tribal Dance. Pritzer Senior Theses.

Dr. Sarita da Silva-McGowan is a tribal member that retraced the steps of our ancestors by traveling to London as the 14 Ioway leaders once did in hopes that they might be able to better benefit their people by learning more about Europe. Her auto-ethnography is a beautiful and critical contribution to Ioway culture. We encourage you to read her ethnography alongside George Catlins 8 Years in England, Vol. 2, which serves as the original record of our ancestors' trip to Europe (See: Ethnographic Study below).

Weaver, David (2024). Ethics of using the Blood Quantum in Native American Citizenship Determination. Ethical Explorations in Wrongful Discrimination: Law, Business, Education, Politics, and Medicine. Lulu Press.

Tribal member David Weaver published this chapter of a book covering the complex ethical issues surrounding discrimination. He uses this chapter to discuss the harm that the Blood Quantum has caused to Native American communities and the necessity to abandon it in order to protect the future of Native Americans as a cultural and political force in the world.

DO YOU HAVE A PUBLICATION YOU'D LIKE FEATURED? CONTACT US TO HAVE YOUR STORY INCLUDED!

Also, check out the following links:

Baxoje Basics YouTube Series- Tribal members on the rez share their experiences as a Native American, what they are doing in the tribal community, and what it means to them to be an Ioway. Created by tribal member Rebekka Schlichting.

Iowa Tribe Traditions and Interviews- This is a series of interviews conducted by tribal member Rebekka Schlichting highlighting the experiences of our elders. These many interviews with elders are a huge wealth of information on Ioway culture.

Ethnographic Study

This folder provides sources originally created by colonizer ethnographers to record various aspects of Ioway culture with a description of each source included below.

8 Years in England by George Catlin - This photocopied journal details George Catlin's interactions with the 14 Ioway Indians that traveled with him to Europe so that he could showcase them as part of his exhibit on Native American peoples. In it, you can connect with some of our ancestors and leaders and gain a better understanding of their thoughts during the times of colonization. WARNING: because this is coming from the perspective of a colonizer, there can be some things that are difficult to read.

"Baxoje, Jiwere, and Otoe Gentes and Phratries" by James Owen Dorsey - James Owen Dorsey returns with a focus on Ioway culture instead of language. In this document, Dorsey relates the clans that make up Ioway society. This source was later used by colonizer ethnographer Alanson B. Skinner in his works on Ioway culture and society and was recently edited and updated by tribal member David Weaver to make it more useful for tribal members and researchers seeking information on Ioway culture.

"Origin of the Baxoje" by James Owen Dorsey - James Owen Dorsey spent a great deal of time with our ancestors, learning and recording their stories and information about the tribe's history. This is one of many products of his endeavors, in which his Native American informants related the ancient history of the Ioway, Missouria, and Otoe tribes splitting off from the Ho-Chunk. This document was recently edited and updated by tribal member David Weaver to make it more useful for tribal members and researchers seeking information on Ioway culture and history.

"Societies of the Iowa, Kansa, and Ponca" by Alanson B. Skinner - Alanson Skinner returns, this time with a well-recorded focus on the culture of Ioway people and the structure of our historical society. Skinner offers a critical insight to the everyday lives of our ancestors and there are many ways that we can learn from these insights as the Ioway people look for ways to meld our ancient culture with modern society. We strongly encourage you read this before you read Skinner's Ethnology of the Iowa Indians, which is provided in the next section.

Woshka Waxonyita- "Sacred Culture"

This folder contains resources on Woshka Waxonyita hintewi, "our sacred culture." The Ioway belief and doctoring system centered around the clan sacred bundles, which were used to speak with Creator and heal the people of our tribe. Most of the sources provided here focus on these waruxawe in some capacity and are covered in detail below.

"Baxoje religious Implements" by James Owen Dorsey - This document gives a very general overview of the things our ancestors used to worship and heal people. It serves here as an introduction to Ioway material culture to help people be more familiar with some of the things covered in the sources below. This was also recently edited and updated by tribal member David Weaver to make it easier to read and use to learn about Ioway culture!

"Sacred Bundles of the Ioway Indians" by Lance Foster - Tribal ancestor Lance Foster wrote his master's thesis by studying our waruxawe at several different museums and correcting mistakes made by the colonizers that put them there and were responsible for cataloguing them. This is the best source for learning about the physical nature of the waruxawe and ranowe, "sacred pipes" available and should always be a first reference. We also encourage you to read this alongside Alanson Skinner's Ethnology of the Iowa Indians, which Lance cites extensively due to its detailed description of the bundles and their contents.

"Ethnology of the Iowa Indians" by Alanson B. Skinner - Alanson Skinner summarizes his previous work here and specifically emphasizes the physical instruments that make up our sacred culture. He provides detailed descriptions of our sacred bundles and pipes, which was later used and improved upon by tribal ancestor Lance Foster. We strongly encourage that you use this resources as a reference when reading Lance's thesis!

Báxoje Mąnką Washí from "Indian Notes and Monographs" by Alanson B. Skinner - An excerpt of this larger PDF is dedicated to the inner workings of the Ioway Medicine Lodge, a sacred society of the Ioway. Anthropologic researchers may also be interested to compare the Ioway Medicine Lodge to accounts of other tribes' Medicine Lodges contained within!

DISCLAIMER: The resources and analyses provided on this website do not represent the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska nor was it designed with the intention of representing the Ioway community, although we are hopeful that the community finds this collection of resources useful. We will consider all constructive feedback we receive on improving this page but will not respond if that feedback contains derogatory or hateful commentary of any sort, no matter how small. We are not obligated to change this website at the request of the community unless the Tribe endorses this page as an official source for Ioway language and culture. The primary purpose of this page, and website, is to give future generations of Weavers have a place to learn about their rich cultural heritage. If members of the Ioway community take issue with this page, they have every right to ignore it, and they also have the right to disengage with Ich'e Th'idawere Consulting as a whole. Aho!