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Visitors Guide to the
Chief Keokuk
Monument
Rand Park
Keokuk, Iowa
 Chief
Keokuk (Kiyo`kaga, 'one who moves about alert', photo left) was
a member of the Sauk tribe in the Middle Mississippi River
Valley
and
was noted for his policy of cooperation with the U.S. government
during the Black Hawk War of 1832. Keokuk was young when he
became a member of the Sauk council and rose to prominence
command through ability and force of character and his lodge
became a center for social and political affairs. Popular among
the people of his tribe Keokuk used diplomacy to become a
leading councilor in the Sauk assembly. Keokuk played a role in
the Black Hawk War of 1832. This conflict between elements of
the Sauk and Fox tribes and the Americans was the result of a
dispute over an 1804 treaty between the Sauk and Fox and the
United States. In Article 2 of this treaty the Sauk and Fox
agreed to cede to the United States all of their lands east of
the Mississippi and some of claims west of it in exchange for
thousand dollars in goods from the United States every year. The
feeling of many Sauk and Fox was that the treaty was signed by
minor chiefs and had not been authorized by the Sauk and Fox
tribal councils to negotiate a land cession. In 1832 Sauk and
Fox Indians under the leadership of Black Hawk left the Iowa
territory and returned to their homes across the Mississippi
River in northern Illinois. In response to Black Hawk’s action
the Americans organized a force that was ultimately composed of
federal troops along with militia companies raised from the
states of Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri and the territories.
After a series of battles in northern Illinois and Wisconsin
Black Hawk’s forces were finally defeated at the Battle of Bad
Axe in present day Wisconsin. |
Keokuk remained loyal to the Americans who had made him their
principal contact among the Sac and Fox people and rewarded him
with gifts. Keokuk was also a leading figure for the native
tribes during the negotiations to end the war which ceded six
million acres of land in what is now the state of Iowa. Two
areas were held back as special awards. One was these areas was
a four hundred square mile strip surrounding the village of
Keokuk was a reward for his neutrality during the conflict. The
Sauk did not keep the land for long. In 1845 Keokuk and the Sauk
were relocated to Kansas where Keokuk died of dysentery in 1848 |
In 1883 the remains of Keokuk were removed from Kansas where
they were reinterred in the newly created Rand Park in the city
that bears Keokuk’s name. Rand Park is located on the bluff
overlooking the Mississippi with a panoramic view of the river.
The statue on the Chief Keokuk gravesite was dedicated in 1913,
replacing the previous stone top of the monument. Legend has it
that the idea for the statue came after some mischief makers
stole a wooden cigar store Indian and placed it on the monument.
The statue was created by noted Iowa sculptor Nellie Walker. |
.
During the conflict .
I
Visiting the
Chief Keokuk Monument
Visiting Hours
Dawn to dusk
everyday
There is no charge to visit the Chief Keokuk
Monument.
Location:
The Chief Keokuk Monument is located in Rand Park
near the
downtown area of Keokuk. Go northeast on N. 17th Street from Main Street (US-61,
IA-218) about 7 blocks to Rand Park. Continue on 17th Street to River
Road, which overlooks the Mississippi River, and take a right.
 Learn more about the
Keokuk
area.
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