The Wyandot Nation of Kansas is an
self-identifying tribe and
nonprofit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
headquartered in
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...
.
[ They identify as being Wyandot.
]
History
An 1855 treaty attempted to dissolve the Wyandot tribe, but not all members agreed to leave the tribe by accepting United States citizenship. A contingent of these members was given land in an 1867 treaty with the United States government, which now forms the federally recognized Wyandotte Nation
The Wyandotte Nation is a Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Native American tribe headquartered in northeastern Oklahoma. They are descendants of the Wyandot people, Wendat Confederacy and Native Americans with territory near ...
, but a smaller contingent of members of the Wyandot Tribe remained in Kansas and attempted to remain eligible for membership in the tribe.
Huron Cemetery
In 1907, Lyda Conley, a descent of a Wyandot member, sued to prevent the sale of the Huron Indian Cemetery, a case which reached the Supreme Court. While Conley lost this case, and other cases brought by the members of the Wyandot Nation of Kansas to prevent the sale of the cemetery were unsuccessful, U.S. Congress, led by Charles Curtis
Charles Curtis (January 25, 1860 – February 8, 1936) was the 31st vice president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 under President Herbert Hoover. He was the Senate Majority Leader from 1924 to 1929. An enrolled member of the Kaw Natio ...
(Kaw/Osage/Prairie Potawatomi), repealed the law authorizing the sale of the cemetery.
In 1994, Leaford Bearskin, chief of the Wyandotte Nation, proposed the idea of using the disputed cemetery land for a casino.
In 1998, the Wyandot Nation of Kansas and the Wyandotte Nation signed an agreement to preserve the cemetery as a cemetery and permanently prohibit the use of the land for a casino.
Petition for recognition
On May 12, 1994, Janith English of Prairie Village, Kansas
Prairie Village is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and located within the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 22,957.
History
After the successful development of the Coun ...
, sent a letter of intent to petition the federal government for recognition; however, a completed petition was never submitted.
In 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has special appellate jurisdiction over certain categories of cases in the U.S. federa ...
rejected the argument by the Wyandot Nation of Kansas' argument that they already were a federally recognized tribe in the lawsuit ''Wyandot Nation of Kansas v. United States''.
Nonprofit organization
In 2020, the group chartered the Wyandotte Nation of Kansas, a nonprofit organization based in Kansas City, Kansas.[
]
Notable members
* Richard Zane Smith
References
External links
* {{official website, https://www.wyandot.org/wyandotKS/
Unrecognized tribes in the United States
Cultural organizations based in Kansas
Non-profit organizations based in Kansas City, Kansas
2020 establishments in Kansas
Organizations established in 2020