photo by: Mike Yoder

Kaw Nation Tribal vice-chair Jim Pepper Henry speaks during a ceremony in Watson Park to mark the return of the red prayer rock, Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe, from the City of Lawrence to the Kaw Nation on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023.

For many who have been working for years to return Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe to the Kaw Nation, Tuesday was an example of “rematriation,” a return back to Mother Earth, in action.

Tuesday was when Kaw Nation leaders, the governor, Lawrence officials and others gathered in Watson Park, 727 Kentucky St., to celebrate the return of Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe — which is pronounced “EE(n) ZHOO-jay wah-HO-bay” and literally means “sacred red rock” — to the tribe. As the Journal-World has reported, a project team has been working to arrange the prayer rock’s return.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe, a sacred prayer rock of the Kanza people, is pictured on July 23, 2023, at Robinson Park.

Some of the latest steps in that process, such as removing the 28-ton red quartzite boulder from the base where it has rested for nearly 100 years in Robinson Park and removing the plaque on it that honored Lawrence’s white settlers, were especially moving to witness for project team members like Sydney Pursel, a member of the Iowa tribe.

“I will never forget these milestones and also the relative ease — though logistical nightmare — of this rematriation,” Pursel, a curator with the University of Kansas’ Spencer Museum of Art, said during Tuesday’s event. “It has not been a contentious process, with local governments, the university and the community all working together to do the right thing.”

It was truly a joint effort, Kaw Nation Chair Kim Jenkins said Tuesday, and the result of several years of conversation and collaboration. Now, Jenkins said Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe will be going to Allegawaho Heritage Memorial Park in Council Grove, which is owned by the Kaw Nation. The rock originally sat at the confluence of the Kansas River and Shunganunga Creek in Tecumseh before being moved in 1929 to Lawrence. Geologists have said that the boulder was carried to Kansas from the area of the Dakotas on a glacier hundreds of thousands of years ago.

photo by: Mike Yoder

From left, Brittany Dias, Tulsa, Okla., a member of the Kaw Nation; her son Oliver Eckstein, 6; and her daughter Aria Eckstein, 11, attend an event marking the return of the red prayer rock, Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe, from the City of Lawrence to the Kaw Nation on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, in Watson Park.

James Pepper Henry, the vice chairman of the Kaw Nation, called the prayer rock’s return a reunion with the Kaw’s “grandfather” well over a century in the making.

“We have been separated from our grandfather for more than 150 years, and we look forward to being reacquainted — and I know Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe has lots of stories to share with us,” Pepper Henry said. The 150 years refers to when the Kaw people were forced out of Kansas.

photo by: Mike Yoder

James Pepper Henry, vice chairman of the Kaw Nation, far right, leads Kaw Nation dancers and the public in a friendship dance in Watson Park on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, to mark the return of the red prayer rock from the City of Lawrence to the Kaw Nation.

Gov. Laura Kelly also was in attendance and gave remarks during Tuesday’s events, using some of that time to recognize Kansas as Indigenous land and to acknowledge that returning Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe should be just one of many efforts to build better relationships with the Kaw Nation across the state.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Gov. Laura Kelly is presented with a gift from the Kaw Nation at an event commemorating the return of Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023.

“While today’s return is a significant step forward in the relationship between the Kaw Nation and the City of Lawrence, it alone is not enough,” Kelly said. “It must be part of a broader, statewide effort to respect the significance of sacred places and support tribal cultures.”

She said that effort already includes some statewide initiatives, like allowing for in-state tuition at Kansas Board of Regents institutions for members of Kansas’ four federally recognized Indigenous tribes and a commitment to strengthening public education curriculum and ensuring it “accurately teaches about history.”

Lawrence Mayor Lisa Larsen also read in its entirety the Lawrence City Commission and Douglas County’s 2021 joint resolution offering a formal apology to the Kaw Nation for appropriating and defacing the prayer rock. Larsen also presented Jenkins and Pepper Henry with some gifts: a beaded medallion depicting the City of Lawrence logo created by artist Robin Shield, a member of the Apsáalooke (Crow) nation, and a bundle of South Dakota sage blessed by Ron Brave, a member of the Lakota Tribe.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Lawrence Mayor Lisa Larsen addresses Kaw Nation tribal leaders and a large crowd in Watson Park during an event to commemorate the return of Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe from the City of Lawrence to the Kaw Nation Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023.

Following the remarks, members of the public also heard an honor song by Native American drum group Indian Avenue and were able to take part in a friendship dance together with Kaw Nation dancers.

photo by: Mike Yoder

The Native American drum group Indian Avenue performs an honor song at a ceremony in Watson Park to commemorate the return of Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe to the Kaw Nation Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023.

During a news conference following the public celebration, Jenkins said it was “moving” to play a part in history.

“It was very touching, and once the rock is back at its rightful place among our tribe, I think it’ll be a closing but yet an opening,” Jenkins said.

Pepper Henry called Tuesday’s events an exercise in the Kaw Nation’s sovereignty, the tribe’s right to determine its own destiny.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Members of the Kaw Nation and the Lawrence community take part in a friendship dance in Watson Park to mark the return of the red prayer rock, Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe, from the City of Lawrence to the Kaw Nation on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023.

He said later that the City of Lawrence’s apology back in 2021 was especially important because it differed from gestures like land acknowledgements, which he said often don’t extend beyond words.

“What’s unique about this and very significant is this apology came with action,” Pepper Henry said. “These land acknowledgements don’t have action behind them. They’re hollow words. There was action. The City Commission made a commitment to the Kaw people.”

Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe will be loaded and moved Wednesday to Council Grove, where it will be placed in a storage facility until it’s ready to be installed in its new home in Allegawaho Heritage Memorial Park. Before the move, members of the Kaw Nation will take part in private ceremonies with Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe, which members of the public are asked not to view or attend.

photo by: Mike Yoder

A crowd seated beneath a tent at Watson Park listens to speakers with the City of Lawrence and the Kaw Nation during an event commemorating the return of Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023.