The
Meskwaki (sometimes spelled
Mesquakie) are a
Native American people often known to Anglo-Americans as the
Fox tribe. They have been closely linked to the
Sauk people of the same language family. In the
Meskwaki language, the Meskwaki call themselves
Meshkwahkihaki, which means "the Red-Earths," related to their creation story. Historically their homelands were in the
Great Lakes region. The tribe coalesced in the
St. Lawrence River Valley in present-day
Ontario,
Canada. Under French colonial pressures, it migrated to the southern side of the Great Lakes to territory that much later was organized by European Americans as the states of
Michigan,
Wisconsin,
Illinois, and
Iowa.