photo by: Mike Yoder

People visit Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe, which means “sacred red rock," in Robinson Park on Saturday, April 1, 2023. Members of the public attended an informational event at the Lawrence Public Library on Saturday that focused on the long-running project to return the sacred boulder to the Kaw Nation. The $5 million, 30-month project is 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.

Leaders of a project to return a sacred boulder to the Kaw Nation told the public more about their work on Saturday at the Lawrence Public Library, and the attendees then walked to Robinson Park to view the rock.

The 28-ton red quartzite boulder, Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe — which is pronounced “EE(n) ZHOO-jay wah-HO-bay” and literally means “sacred red rock” — was stolen from the homelands of the Kaw Nation in 1929 and made into a monument to the settlers of Lawrence. It has been located since then in Robinson Park, which is across from City Hall in downtown Lawrence.

On Saturday, the Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe Project leadership team gave a presentation on the project, which is funded by the Mellon Foundation Monuments Project Initiative. The $5 million, 30-month project is 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 and will relocate the stone to the Kaw Nation’s Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park, near Council Grove. More information about the project is available at www.sacredredrock.com.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Jay T. Johnson, professor of geography an atmospheric science and director of the Center for Indigenous Research, Science, and Technology at the University of Kansas, speaks on Saturday, April 1, 2023, during an informational event at the Lawrence Public Library about the project to return Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe, the sacred boulder in Robinson Park, to the Kaw Nation. The projection behind Johnson shows a site plan for the future home of Iⁿ’zhúje’waxóbe in Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park, near Council Grove.