photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

A crew works to safely transfer Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe from the ground to a truck by crane so it can be transported to Allegawaho Heritage Memorial Park in Council Grove Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023.

More than a year after the prayer rock that stood in Robinson Park was returned to the Kaw Nation, the team behind that effort will be hosting an open house on Thursday to discuss some ideas for the future of the little park downtown.

The focal point of the park, which lies across the street from City Hall, previously was the 28-ton red quartzite boulder called Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe (pronounced “EE(n) ZHOO-jay wah-HO-bay”), which was taken from the Kaw’s traditional homelands nearly a century ago. But last year, the rock was finally removed from Robinson Park and returned to the Kaw Nation, and it was installed in late March of this year at the Kaw’s Allegawaho Heritage Memorial Park just outside of Council Grove.

Dave Loewenstein, a local artist and one of the leaders of the team that helped return the rock, said the team is now working on figuring out what to do with the “absence” in Robinson Park.

“It’s not the same park in many ways,” Loewenstein said.

When the boulder was still in the park, it had a plaque affixed to it that was dedicated to the first white settlers of Lawrence; that plaque is now at the Watkins Museum of History. But the park is still named after a white Kansas settler — Charles Robinson, the first governor of the state of Kansas — and Loewenstein said some Lawrence residents and members of the Kaw tribe have suggested changing the name to something honoring Indigenous people, specifically the Kaw.

Additionally, Loewenstein said the park — which was once called Riverview Park — could have trees cut down to provide a better sight line to the Kansas River.

The open house, which is scheduled from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Carnegie Building, 200 W. Ninth St., will give the public a chance to learn more about these ideas and more. The group will share an update on the current condition of the park — Loewenstein said the landscaping was changed since the prayer rock was removed, including trees, paths and other features — as well as its proposed timeline and process for any potential changes to the park.

Eventually, the group plans to present a proposal to city leaders, which could happen as soon as January. Because the site is a city park, the City Commission would need to approve any changes. But Loewenstein said he and others who worked on the project have a great chance to re-contextualize the park and honor the Indigenous people who first stewarded the land.

“It’s not often we have an opportunity to reflect on our identity as Lawrencians, but also to amend mistakes we made in terms of how we represent ourselves,” Loewenstein said.