Mahaska (Native American leader) Mahaska (Native American leader) Mahaska (archaic Ioway "Maxúshga" pronounced ; contemporary "Maxúhga"), or White Cloud, (1784–1834) was a chief of the Native American Iowa tribe. His son, also named Mahaska, was better known as Francis White Cloud. Mahaska was born into the Iowa tribe. He became chief at an early age after killing several enemy Sioux to avenge his father's death by them. Later Mahaska killed a French trader in an argument; he was arrested and imprisoned in St. Louis, Missouri. After he escaped, he led a raid against the Osage. Afterward, he decided that his father's death was finally
Native American identity in the United States "the question of who is 'more' or 'most' Indian may draw people away from common concerns." In some cases, one's opinion about one's self is sufficient to define one as Indian. One can often choose to identify as Indian without outside verification when filling out a census form, a college application, or writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper. A "self-identified Indian" is a person who may not satisfy the legal requirements which define a Native American according to the United States government or a single tribe, but who understands and expresses her own identity as Native American.