- American state
The American Indians known as the Iowa originally lived north of the Great Lakes. Sometime before Europeans arrived in the Americas, they migrated southwestward to settle in what are now Iowa state, which was named after them, and southern Minnesota.
- river flowing southeast from northern Iowa to the Mississippi River
- member of an American Indian people originally of Iowa, Missouri, and Minnesota but now of Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Kansas
The Iowas were among the first Native Americans to establish trade relations with Europeans.
The Iowa called themselves Bah-Kho-Je, meaning "gray snow," and were a Siouan people who spoke the Chiwere language.
Some scholars believe the Sioux name for the Iowa—Santee and Yankton Ayúxba and Lakota ayúxwa—literally translate to ‘sleepy ones’. Anthropological linguist Douglas Parks claims this is among several folk etymologies “that have no linguistic basis.”
The American Indians known as the Iowa originally lived north of the Great Lakes. Sometime before Europeans arrived in the Americas, they migrated southwestward to settle in what are now Iowa state, which was named after them, and southern Minnesota.
- the Siouan language spoken by the Iowa people