Nearly two hundred years after signing a treaty that pushed them for their land in Johnson County, the Iowa tribe was gifted seven acres of that very same land. Brian and Erin Melloy have personally owned 90 acres in Solon for several years, but the land has been in their family for over four decades. The couple worked hard to take care of the land, getting rid of invasive plants so native plants could grow instead. "We believe that the trees and all of that are living beings," said Erin Melloy. "My husband and I worked anywhere from three to eight to ten hours a day."They owned 90 acres, 83 of which were sold earlier in 2022 to the Johnson County Conservation Board. Those acres will be known as Two Horse Farm. The remaining seven acres were donated to the Iowa Tribe. "It's symbolically a spiritually significant thing for us after almost 200 years to own a little piece of the land," said Lance Foster, the vice chairman of the Iowa Tribe of Nebraska and Kansas. Foster is also the historic preservation officer for the tribe. He says the tribe was on the land up until 1837, which is when a treaty was signed. "By the time white settlers came into the area — mainly in the 1830s and 1840s — the Iowa tribe had already ceded most of our lands in Iowa," said Foster. As the years went by, Foster says more and more tribes were pushed out of their land. According to Foster, the tribe once had tens of thousands of people. Now, he says they are down to 2,000 people. "We became assimilated in a lot of ways," said Foster. "The ultimate goal of the United States was always assimilation; for us to forget who we were and to be absorbed." The Iowa Tribe of Nebraska and Kansas is now on a reservation of roughly 12,000 acres.Hundreds of miles away from their reservation is the land in Johnson County. However, the distance doesn't make the land feel any less special. "It's a place to stand and look out over the river that was named after my people, which is a very significant and sacred thing," said Foster. According to Foster, the Iowa Tribe of Nebraska and Kansas once reached out to the Johnson County Conservation Board to ask if they could be told when any land would be available. When Brian and Erin Melloy started the selling process, the wish for the land became a possibility. "The Melloys thought that was a great opportunity to get back to the people that have protected this land much longer than we have or before we have," said Brad Freidhof, the conservation program manager for the Johnson County Conservation Board. The board will work closely with the Iowa Tribe to maintain the seven acres. When members of the tribe visit, they can feel at home."In this day and age, it's important to remember our history, right? We can't correct it, but we can try to heal it," said Freidhof. Some could argue seven acres isn't enough, but Foster feels differently. "I think our society is so much about amount," said Foster. "So to me, the fact that we have any is an amazing and sacred thing."