The In ‘zhúje ‘waxóbe/Sacred Red Rock Project, a coalition including the Kaw Nation, the City of Lawrence, Kansas, the University of Kansas, Spencer Museum of Art, and the Kanza Heritage Society, has announced a $5 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to fund the relocation of the Indigenous community’s sacred monument.

The grant will fund a two-and-a-half-year project to move the 28-ton rock to Kaw Nation land near Council Grove, Kansas, and will provide resources for an interpretive plan and infrastructure development for visitors. In ‘zhúje ‘waxóbe was moved to Robinson Park in Lawrence in 1929 to be part of a monument to the city’s settler pioneers. In 2021, the city agreed to the unconditional return of the rock to the Kaw people.

“The Kaw Nation is grateful and humbled to receive generous support from the Mellon Foundation for the return of our sacred ancestor In ‘zhúje ‘waxóbe,” said Kaw Nation vice-chair James Pepper Henry.

“The [City of Lawrence] is excited by…the opportunity [this grant] affords us to continue the process of returning In ‘zhúje ‘waxóbe to the Kaw Nation,” said Lawrence mayor Courtney Shipley. “We are pleased to partner with the University of Kansas and Lawrence community members in this process of reconciliation and relationship building with the Kaw Nation.”

(Photo credit: Dave Loewenstein)