Taimah (1790-1830; var. ''Taiomah'', ''Tama'', ''Taima'', ''Tiamah'', ''Fai-inah'', ''Ty-ee-ma'', lit. "sudden crash of thunder" or "thunder") was a

Meskwaki The Meskwaki (sometimes spelled Mesquaki), also known by the European exonyms Fox Indians or the Fox, are a Native American people. They have been closely linked to the Sauk people of the same language family. In the Meskwaki language, th ...

(Fox) leader in the early 19th century in present-day Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois. He was often called Chief Tama in historical accounts and was one of the signatories of an 1824 treaty in Washington, DC ceding land to the United States.

Life

Taimah was born into a

family in their historic territory in present-day Wisconsin. His name was spelled by many variations in historic records. ''Ty-ee-ma'' in Meskwaki means "sudden crash of thunder" or "thunder." He grew up in the Meskwaki culture, when they came under increasing pressure from United States encroachment. He became noted among Americans for saving the life of the United States Indian agent at

Prairie du Chien Prairie du Chien () is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821. Often referred to as Wisconsin's second oldest city, Prairie du Chien was esta ...

, Wisconsin, by warning him of an assassination attempt. The Meskwaki had long occupied territory around the Great Lakes, in Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois, moving into Iowa. After the Meskwaki migrated from Wisconsin, Taimah became the principal leader of one of their villages near what later developed as Burlington, Iowa. He also maintained a village near Gladstone, Illinois in the 1820s. Caleb Atwater mistakenly credited Taimah with being the leader of

Quashquame Quashquame (alt: "Quawsquawma, Quashquami, Quashquammee, Quash-Qua-Mie, Quash-kaume, Quash-quam-ma", meaning "Jumping Fish") (c. 1764 – c . 1832) was a Sauk chief; he was the principal signer of the 1804 treaty that ceded Sauk land to the Unit ...

's village, but he was this chief's son-in-law. In 1820 Taimah was interviewed by Jedidiah Morse at

Fort Armstrong A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

in Illinois. Morse was gathering information from tribes as an agent for the US Department of War, which then had jurisdiction over Native Americans. Morse wrote of Taimah: Taimah signed the 1824 treaty in Washington, DC by which the Meskwaki ceded much of their land in Wisconsin to the United States. He died in 1830. Taimah is buried near what developed as Kingston, about 1/4 mile from the Mississippi River, in a small patch of land in the middle of a corn field. A stone bearing his name is located about 20 rods west. Never having been plowed, this land is covered in trees, and foliage. The gravesite is on private property, and is not open to visitors. Des Moines County Highway 99 runs near this site.

Legacy

*He was the namesake of the city of Tama, and

Tama County, Iowa Tama County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,135. Its county seat is Toledo. The county was formed on February 17, 1843 and named for Taimah, a leader of the Meskwaki Indians. Geogr ...

. The city is located near the

Meskwaki Settlement The Meskwaki Settlement is an unincorporated community in Tama County, Iowa, United States, west of Tama. It encompasses the reservation lands of the Meskwaki Nation (federally recognized as the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa), on ...

, founded in 1857 when the Meskwaki were allowed to buy land in the state. Taimah's son was Appanoose;''Annals of Iowa'' (1903) Vol. 6, p. 203 he also became a chief. Appanoose County, Iowa was named for him.

References

{{Reflist 1790 births 1830 deaths Native American history of Iowa Native American leaders 19th-century Native Americans Native American people from Wisconsin