By 1900, Euro-American settlers had claimed nearly all of Iowa’s 36 million acres as farmland. The original Iowa people, the Ioways, had signed treaties to accommodate the expansion and had been relocated to a small reservation in southeast Nebraska where they became increasingly impoverished. White Cloud, chief of the tribe, decided to raise funds by touring with other Ioway in London in 1844-45, meeting with British dignitaries. While there, the entourage dressed in formal regalia and were engaged by George Catlin to perform in his studio and elsewhere for donations, part of which was donated to European hospitals. White Cloud was awarded a gold medal by the king.
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