photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

The scared red boulder, pictured Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, is a red quartzite rock that sits in Robinson Park in downtown Lawrence across from City Hall. In 1929, a group of Lawrence officials arranged to take the boulder from the Shunganunga Creek near Tecumseh, where the creek joins with the Kansas River — a site that was sacred to the Kanza tribe.

Those involved with the project to return a sacred prayer rock that was stolen from the homelands of the Kaw Nation will soon provide an update to city leaders.

As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will receive an update on the pending return of In ‘zhúje ‘waxóbe, a 28-ton red quartzite boulder. The boulder was made into a monument to settlers decades ago and has been located since then in Robinson Park, which is across from City Hall in downtown Lawrence.

As part of the meeting, Kaw Nation Vice-Chairman James Pepper Henry and others involved in the project will provide an update to the commission on the project to return In ‘zhúje ‘waxóbe — which is pronounced “EE(n) ZHOO-jay wah-HO-bay” and literally means “sacred red rock” — to the Kaw Nation, according to a city staff memo to the commission. The presentation will include information about the recently announced $5 million grant that the Mellon Foundation awarded the project to relocate In ‘zhúje ‘waxóbe to the Kaw Nation’s Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park, near Council Grove. The grant will also fund an educational public installation for the boulder.

Presentation materials for Tuesday’s meeting include information about the geological history of the boulder, the significance of the boulder to the tribe, and the circumstances of how the boulder was taken and used for the city monument. The boulder previously was located along the Shunganunga Creek near Topeka, and was part of the tribe’s song-prayer ceremonies before the tribe was forcibly relocated to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma in 1873.

The 2.5-year project will be led by members of the Kaw Nation in collaboration with the City of Lawrence, University of Kansas, Spencer Museum of Art, Kanza Heritage Society and others. Jay Johnson and Dave Loewenstein, who have been involved with the project, will also take part in the update to the commission. Johnson is a KU geography professor and director of the KU Center for Indigenous Science, and Loewenstein is a local artist.

The commission previously issued an apology for the city’s appropriation of the boulder and agreed to its unconditional return. In 1929, a group of Lawrence officials and community members arranged to take the boulder from its longtime resting place along the creek, according to newspaper archives reviewed by the Journal-World. The Lawrence group pulled the boulder from the creek using chains and cables and a borrowed crane, and the Santa Fe Railroad was used to get the boulder to Lawrence, heading off a competing campaign by a Topeka man to bring the boulder to the lawn of the Statehouse. The boulder was then fitted with a base and a plaque and made into a monument honoring the city’s founders.

The city memo states that at this time, the cost to the city is unknown, but as the project progresses and projected expenditures become known, city staff will bring the item back for further review. Fees are expected to be less than $20,000, according to the memo.

•In other business, the commission will consider authorizing a contract with Clarion Associates in the amount of $383,650 to provide consulting services for the city’s upcoming update of its land development code. As the Journal-World reported, the code determines what type of buildings can go where in Lawrence, and the update will give city leaders an opportunity to make code changes that will shape the look and function of the city in the coming years. The code guides allowed land uses, building density, parking requirements and various other aspects of development, and has not been updated since 2006.

The Lawrence City Commission will convene at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.