In’zhúje’waxóbe: Return of the Sacred Red Rock
Exhibition Overview
This exhibition tells the story of the rematriation of Iⁿ‘zhúje‘waxóbe, or the Sacred Red Rock, from the City of Lawrence, Kansas, to Kaw Nation through artwork created by local artists and Kaw tribal citizens. The Sacred Red Rock is a 28-ton red Siouxan quartzite boulder that holds immense cultural and spiritual significance for the Kanza people of the Kaw Nation. The Rock originally sat at the confluence of the Kaw River and Shunganunga Creek near Tecumseh, Kansas, after being deposited by glaciers. When the U.S. government forced the Kanza off their land in 1873, they were separated from the Sacred Red Rock. In 1929, the boulder was taken and moved to Lawrence, Kansas, as part of the city’s 75th-anniversary celebration and remained there for nearly 100 years. While efforts to rematriate Iⁿ‘zhúje‘waxóbe go back to the 1990s, it wasn’t until 2021 that the Lawrence City Commission voted unanimously to issue a formal apology to Kaw Nation and assist with the return. In June of 2024, the project celebrated the rematriation of the Sacred Red Rock in its new home at Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park, which is on land owned by Kaw Nation near Council Grove, Kansas. Sacred Red Rock is curated by Sydney Pursel alongside an advisory committee of Kaw Nation citizens.
