Your fundamental problem is that in the real world, by the 1830s, various Native American tribes had been moving into and out of the upper Midwest since the fur trade became a thing - meaning, since the late 17th and 18th centuries. In various places, groups trying to corner the fur market drove out pre-existing groups; then, after the 1780s, multiple groups were shoved westwards by Americans and moved into or passed through the region, only to be displaced by later groups and then the Americans. Identifying the "real" natives of the region is pretty much impossible.
Given your brief description, I'd suggest picking one of the more historically powerful groups in or near the region, and saying that it had established and kept control of the area since [choose a date].
I know a bit about the Native Americans who lived along the Missouri River, though mostly in Nebraska (the west bank of the river). Wikipedia tells me that the Omaha moved to the Missouri Valley from the Ohio Valley in the 17th century, thanks to pressure from the Haudenosaunee (more commonly known as the Iroqouis*). I remember the Omaha language was offered as a course at the University of Nebraska, so there might be material online to help you.
The Otoe were another tribe in the Missouri Valley.
(I also recall that in the 17th century, escaped horses made it across the Great Plains, there was a giant change in Plains cultures once they domesticated horses, so it might be impossible to disentangle that from the ripple effect of settlers out east.)
* I don't know if this would have happened in your universe; the Haudenosaunee were east enough that they would have been interacting with European settlers at that point.
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Iowa is not exactly next door to the Great Lakes, so that's unusual!
Have you investigated this page at all? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indians_of_Iowa
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Given your brief description, I'd suggest picking one of the more historically powerful groups in or near the region, and saying that it had established and kept control of the area since [choose a date].
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The Otoe were another tribe in the Missouri Valley.
(I also recall that in the 17th century, escaped horses made it across the Great Plains, there was a giant change in Plains cultures once they domesticated horses, so it might be impossible to disentangle that from the ripple effect of settlers out east.)
* I don't know if this would have happened in your universe; the Haudenosaunee were east enough that they would have been interacting with European settlers at that point.
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In that case, he definitely should not be raised by Europeans.
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