It’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a day all about celebrating + honoring our Native American communities.
Though not a federal holiday, many cities + states have made it official. Kansas City has celebrated the day since 2017 + a city council action Thursday declared the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day annually.
Today, we’re talking about Native history in Wyandotte County + where you can learn more.
📍 White Feather Spring
These days, White Feather Spring is a small memorial + mural in KCK’s Argentine neighborhood. But before the land was ceded in the Treaty of May 10, 1854, it was the final resting place of the Shawnee prophet Tenskwatawa.
✍️ The Shawnee originated in and around what’s now Ohio. In the early 1800s, many were removed to northeastern Kansas and then Oklahoma. Reverend Thomas Johnson established a Methodist mission to minister to the tribe — hence, Shawnee Mission.
✍️ Tenskwatawa, younger brother of Shawnee leader Tecumseh, organized Native American resistance in the Midwest. Following his defeat at the Battle of Tippecanoe, Tenskwatawa led a Shawnee migration to Kansas.
✍️ The spring itself is on private property, so you can’t go there. If you’re curious, the KCK Public Library shared this video — complete with library lizard R.U. Reading — for kids to learn about the site.
Today, historians + educators are using this site to teach us all more about the people that tended the land before us. Another good resource to honor the history of Kansas City Native Americans is the Shawnee Indian Mission Historic Site. Regular hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Wed.-Sat. Admission is $5.
Of course, 1 tribe + 1 landmark doesn’t fully represent the diversity of our local Indigenous communities. For more info, check out this guide to local Native American cultural sites. Plus, you can view this handy map showing Indigenous land ownership worldwide.