Native American tribe seeking return of prayer rock

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – A Native American tribe is seeking the return of a prayer rock that was transformed into a monument honoring Kansas settlers.

Before the Kaw people were forcibly moved from Kansas to what is now Oklahoma in 1873, they held ceremonies and gathering before the 23-ton boulder known as the “Big Red Rock.”

As Lawrence prepared for its 75th anniversary in 1929, the rock was moved to a park in town.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that a letter from the Kaw Nation says the intent is to bring the rock to Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park in Council Grove.

The long-range goal is to develop the site into a place where people can learn about the state’s original inhabitants

According to the City of Lawrence website, one-acre Robinson Park in Lawrence is the home to what is known as Founder’s Rock. It is a large chunk of Sioux quartz that bears the names of the 143 founders who came to Lawrence from Massachusetts in August and Sept. 1854.

It is speculated that 40,000 to 100,000 years ago, the rock was moved by glacial ice movement from Montana but most likely South Dakota. From that time until 1929, the rock rested on the banks of the Shunganunga Creek just east of Topeka where the creek joins the Kaw River.

In an article in the Topeka State Journal on Sept. 7, 1929, it was suggested to move the rock to the Statehouse grounds in Topeka because of its geological importance and that it was held in spiritual reverence by the Kanza Indians.

Before Topekans could act, a man from Lawrence, with the aid of the Santa Fe Railway 200-ton crane, moved the rock by rail and placed it in Robinson Park.