Between 1832 and 1842 the U.S. government forced the Mississippi Mesquakies to cede their lands and move to a reservation in east central Kansas. After nearly ten years of living on the reservation, a group of Mesquakies separated from the Sac and Fox and returned to Iowa, where they purchased land in Tama County. The members pooled money from annuity payments, the sale of their horses, and the sale of personal items to acquire the property. More land has been purchased since that time. Building on their strong traditions¡ªthey once controlled a major waterway during westward U.S. expansion and survived near extinction¡ªthe Mesquakies have retaken their name and reclaimed their proud heritage. During those long years of battle, forced communion with the Sauks, removal, and oppression on the reservation, the Mesquakies fiercely maintained their culture and their spiritual beliefs. Since then a culture nearly destroyed has, like the phoenix, emerged from the ashes intact and in every way entirely Mesquakie.