The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma is the center of a Sovereign Nation located in Perkins, OK with inherent powers of self-government recognized as such by treaties and legislation. In the Iowa language, we call ourselves Baxoje (Bah Kho-je), meaning, “People of the Grey Snow.” The story of our name has been handed down from generation to generation. It was told that at one time the Iowa Tribe was 1,100 strong, meaning the warriors or men numbered that many. When men had to leave our village, upon their return, they looked down from a rise and they saw that our village had been burned. At this point, we had lost some of the translation to the story – it could have been another tribe or others that had burned it. But it appeared as though the village was covered with “Grey Snow,” even though the winter season was not upon us. For you see, the ashes had settled over the village site and all that was visible to the warriors were the burned remnants of what used to be our homes. Other versions of this story have been printed, but this is the one that we have been told.