The Kaw Nation Reclaims a Sacred Stone

Iⁿ‘zhúje‘waxóbe (EE(n) ZHOO-jay wah-HO-bay) or the “Sacred Red Rock” is a twenty-eight-ton red, quartzite boulder of long-held spiritual and cultural significance to the people of the Kaw Nation—a federally recognized Indigenous tribe that conducts its tribal business from a headquarters at Kaw City in northern Oklahoma.

Why, then, was the stone sitting in Robinson Park in Lawrence, Kansas, holding a plaque dedicated “to the pioneers” of Kansas?  

In 1929, as a part of Lawrence’s 75th anniversary, Iⁿ‘zhúje‘waxóbe was desecrated—moved from its natural location at the connecting point of the Shunganunga Creek and the Kansas River to what is now a park named after the state’s first governor, Charles Robinson.  

Affixed to the stone was a plaque that commemorates pioneers, who “in devotion to human freedom came into a wilderness, suffered hardships and faced dangers and death to found this state in righteousness.” The plaque says nothing of the Kanza people of the Kaw Nation, who, by 1873, were expelled from the state that bears their name. 

In 2021, after years of Kaw citizens’ requesting the stone’s return and speaking to its significance as a sacred item of prayer, the City of Lawrence issued a formal apology for the defacing and appropriating of the stone. Thereafter, a broad coalition of groups within the local community, including the Kaw tribal leadership, have worked with the University of Kansas to not only assess damage done to the stone and document its history, but also ensure its safe relocation to land held by the Kaw Nation.  

In 2022, as a part of our Monuments Project Presidential Initiative, Mellon announced a $5 million grant that is facilitating the stone’s relocation to Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park in Council Grove, Kansas—land purchased by the Kaw Nation that represents the core settlement area of the Kanza’s reservation lands in Kansas, prior to their 1873 removal. In addition to relocation, grant funds will build infrastructure and support interpretive programming at the natural site as directed by the Kanza, as well as interpretive programming at the site of the stone’s existing location in Lawrence, Kansas. 

In July and August 2023, the project took an important step forward when the coalition of community groups initiated the return of the stone. Activities included carefully removing the plaque, separating the sacred stone from the constructed base, and transporting the stone via flatbed truck to Council Grove. A public ceremony commemorating the stone’s return was attended by roughly 400 people and included speeches by the Kansas Governor, Laura Kelly; a reading of the resolution and apology by the City of Lawrence Mayor, Lisa Larsen; an exchange of gifts from the City to the Tribe; and speeches by both the Tribal Council Chair, Kim Jenkins, and the Vice-Chair, James Pepper Henry. Kaw Nation participants gathered the next morning at Robinson Park to offer prayers for the stone’s safe relocation. 

According to the Kansas Reflector, Jim Pepper Henry commented that relocation activities are consistent with the wish of the Kaw Nation in the 21st century to “strengthen our ties to our homeland and to educate the citizens of Kansas about our people.”

With ongoing opportunities to document the reparative process between the Kaw Nation and the City of Lawrence, the project partners plan to hold a rematriation ceremony in Council Grove in June 2024.