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Artist Don Ballou's 1956 painting of the Conley Sisters with Fort Conley in the background and a sign reading "Trespassers Beware"

A view of the entrance to the cemetery in the 1950s from Minnesota Avenue with the former Huron Building in the background

1946 Kansas City Times Article on the Conley Sisters Defense of the Cemetery

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At the time of the Conley Sister's successful defense of the cemetery, an iron gate was located just north of this location. Eliza Conley and her sisters chained the gates together and created a sign that declared "trespassers beware" in addition to their long legal fight and occupation of the cemetery.

Chief Manthe talks about the original boundaries of the cemetery, what has been lost to urban development and vandalism, and the need to protect what remains.

Cemetery Gate and "Trespassers Beware" Sign

In 1855, Wyandot leaders signed a treaty that included granting control of this burial ground to the tribe. In 1867, many Wyandot made the difficult decision to move once again in hopes of painting their way of life, this time relocating to Oklahoma Territory. At the time, Oklahoma Territory was a place where tribal institutions were still recognized and the federal government promised to always recognize Native sovereignty. The relocated Wyandot formed the Wyandot Nation of Oklahoma. Because they retained their tribal institutions, they believed that they also retained rights to the cemetery.By the turn of the 20th century, the area around the cemetery had become prime real estate property. Local businessmen negotiated a deal with the Wyandot Nation of Oklahoma to buy the land. Local citizens and the Wyandot who remained in Kansas fought this sale and future attempts in court. In the early 1900s, this conflict reached all the way to the Supreme Court. Three sisters of partial Wyandot lineage took up the fight. They also made the decision to live at the cemetery in a small shelter, wielding shotguns and demonstrating their resolve to use their weapons against any who would trespass on the cemetery. They maintained this resistance for two years, an action that proved vital to preventing the sale and commercial development of the cemetery. In 1909, one of the sisters, Lyda Conley, argued her case in the Supreme Court. Although the court did not support her case, she became the first Native American woman to argue a case at the nation's highest court.When the members of the Wyandot agreed to termination in the 1950s, a process by which Native American tribes were compensated for agreeing to end their claims and forfeit their recognition of tribal sovereignty, the cemetery was set to be sold by the federal government. However, Native people organized the Wyandot Nation of Kansas, an action that greatly aided the continuing effort to preserve the cemetery. The cemetery's addition to the National Register was controversial, but preservationists and historians persisted, and the site was declared a National Landmark in 2016.

In 1843, over 664 members of the Wyandot Nation traveled from the Lake Huron region and established this cemetery for those who did not survive the difficult journey. A year earlier, the tribe ceded all lands of Michigan and Ohio to the federal government in exchange for lands in Kansas. After they arrived, the survivors found that the land promised to them had already been claimed by others. The small tract of land near the river was too low to bury the 50-100 Wyandot who had died of illness, so the tribe chose this hill to bury their dead. Because of its prime real estate location, over the next century and beyond, developers and city leaders attempted to move the burials to another cemetery. Legal fights ensued, and supporters of the cemetery's preservation prevailed, but only after more than a century of effort. The initial preservation victory was largely the result of Lyda, Helena, and Ida Conley, three women of Wyondot lineage, who armed themselves to protect this land and led a legal challenge that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Thanks to their continued effort and more contemporary support, the cemetery was saved from would-be developers in the early 1900s and urban development plans in the mid-20th century. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. In 1988, the Wyandot Nation of Kansas and the Wyandot Nation of Oklahoma mutually agreed that the remaining cemetery must not be used for other purposes. The preservation fight continued into the 21st century, with preservationists scoring yet another victory when the cemetery became a National Historic Landmark in 2016.

This corner of the cemetery includes the remains of Charles and Maria Garrett, among many other unknown burials. It is important to notice how much of the hill was cut along the west and north edge of this part of the cemetery - an indication of many graves and remains that were removed. across Minnesota Avenue to the north, one will see a mural on the side of an adjacent building. The mural presents the Wyandot Nation's creation story.

Charles and Maria Garrett; Wyandot Origin Story Mural

Eudora is a small Kansas town between Lawrence and Kansas City. Its origins date back to Shawnee chief Paschal Fish and the Eudora Homestead Association, a group of mostly German settlers who purchased nearly eight hundred acres from Chief Paschal for $10,000 in May of 1854. During the land purchasing, Chief Paschal’s only request was for the town to be named after his daughter. A monument dedicated in 2007 within Eudora now portrays this history with statues of Shawnee Chief Paschal Fish and his daughter Eudora Emmons.

This is the final resting place of Eudora Fish Emmons, the namesake of the town of Eudora, a community that is located just west of Kansas City, Kansas. Eudora was the daughter of Shawnee leader Paschal Fish and the wife of Dallas Emmons, who was adopted into the Wyandot tribe. She passed away on April 10, 1877. The grave was unmarked when tribal member Ebenezer O. Zane Sr., worked with reporter and local historian William E. Connelly to complete a survey of the cemetery in 1896.

Eudora Emmons

The Huron Indian Cemetery, or the Wyandot (Wyandotte) National Burying Ground, serves as a sacred final resting place for those of Wyandot descent. Although the Wyandot were originally from the Great Lakes area in Canada and later lived in the northern parts of Michigan and Ohio, the Indian Removal Act of 1830 led to their forced relocation to the Kansas City area. Generations of Wyandot are buried in the cemetery, making this land legally protected under treaties between the tribe and the American government. However, these treaties were regularly violated when the value of real estate created powerful interests, a scenario that appeared to play out in downtown Kansas City. However, the three Conley sisters decided to act to protect the cemetery. Through occupation of the space and through legal measures, the sisters were able to thwart development plans and preserve the burial grounds at several moments in the early 20th century. The grounds, which are under further protection today thanks to their status as a National Landmark, also serve as the final resting place of each of the Conley sisters.Eliza “Lyda” Burton Conley, Ida Conley, and Helena “Lena” Conley were born to Andrew S. Conley and Eliza Zane. The three sisters experienced numerous losses from young ages, with their mother, father, grandmother, and fourth sister all passing away before the sisters’ adulthood. Although experiencing great loss and grief early on, the sisters relied on each other and persevered through their hardships. Lyda and Lena both attended school and also completed some level of college coursework. While all three sisters were important in the fight for and preservation of the cemetery, more information is known about Lyda Conley who led the occupation of the space and the legal fight to protect the burial ground.Lyda attended the Kansas City School of Law, graduating in 1902, and was admitted to both the Missouri Bar and the Kansas Bar by 1910. Although legal means were important to defending the cemetery, physical protection needed to be enforced while legal procedures were underway. Thus, when the cemetery’s protected status was removed in 1906, the Conley sisters moved onto the burial grounds. The sisters erected a hut on the land and waged an armed resistance as they lived at the cemetery. At several points, the sisters demonstrated their intent to use their shotguns to deter anyone from attempting to forcibly take or sell the land.As Lyda expanded her knowledge in law and built her case, the sisters worked together to demonstrate their passion for the burial grounds. The sisters correctly calculated that their actions would attract media attention. Demonstrating the legality and moral justice of their cause, the sisters rallied some degree of public support at a time when many other burial grounds within city centers were lost.In 1907, Lyda began her legal battle to prevent the sale of the land to developers. The case would eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court in 1910. Lyda Conley became the first woman of Native American descent to bring a case in front of the Supreme Court. Although the Supreme Court did not rule in Lyda’s favor, the Conley sisters continued their efforts to protect the land.After the Supreme Court rejected their case, the Conley sisters continued to occupy this land while seeking support from like-minded residents of Kansas and Missouri. By 1912, Charles Curtis, a United States Senator from Kansas who was also of partial Native American lineage proposed a bill that designated the cemetery as a national monument. While that effort was not successful, Curtis's support helped the Conley Sister's cause. By 1916, the grounds received funding for preservation which was led by faculty at the Haskell Institute (Haskell Indian Nations University).Still, the fate of the land was not yet secure and the Conley sisters continued their efforts to protect the burying grounds over the next three decades. At various moments, the three sisters used both physical and legal strategies when they perceived a threat to the land. Their multiple interventions, which included several arrests, deterred would-be developers and saved the Huron Indian Cemetery from destruction several times in the first half of the twentieth century.Lyda Conley passed away on May 28, 1946, leaving both of her sisters to continue to uphold their shared family legacy. Ida Conley passed away on October 6, 1948, and Lena Conley joined her sisters in the afterlife on September 15, 1958, Although the loss of the three leading defenders of this space led to several new attempts by the federal government to sell this land, various Wyandot descendants and historians in the area worked to protect the grounds. The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 3, 1971, and the cemetery became a National Historic Landmark in December of 2016. The cemetery includes the graves of the Conley Sisters, including this inscription on Helena's headstone: “Cursed be the villain that molest their graves.”10

This section of the cemetery contains the graves of the Eliza, Helena, and Ida Conley, their parents, and other members of the Conley family. Without the three Conley sisters, this cemetery would have surely been lost as developers sought to acquire this land for commercial real estate projects over many decades. Starting in 1906, Eliza "Lyda" Burton Conley and her two sisters, Helena and Ida worked to prevent this from happening. At a critical moment, they armed themselves and occupied a small fort at the cemetery, warning all would-be developers from disturbing burial grounds. At critical moments, the Conley Sisters used techniques ranging from legal strategies to physical resistance to prevent the removal of graves or the sale of the cemetery. The three sisters shared Wyandot lineage and are buried here among their kin. According to local stories, Helena Conley's final resting place even displays a warning about a "curse" that will befall anyone who harms the sanctity of the cemetery, perpetuating the sisters' preservationist crusade to the present. The three sisters passed away in the 1940s and 1950s, and this cemetery is a monument to their perseverance. The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and became a National Historic Landmark in 2016.

The Conley Sisters and Wyandot National Burying Ground

This is the final resting place of many members of the Zane and Shipp families. This part of the cemetery also includes the remains of Darren Zane English, who became the first person buried at the cemetery since 1965. Thanks to the efforts of family members and the support of tribal leaders, the remains of Darren Zane English were buried here in 2021.

Zane and Shipp Families; Darren Zane English

Lucy B. Armstrong became a member of the Wyandot by virtue of marriage to John Armstrong, a member of the tribe and an attorney. Lucy Armstrong worked to keep records of the tribe. Armstrong preserved records, including a journal that has been instrumental in understanding the history of this cemetery. Lucy Armstrong was also an abolitionist and suffragist.

Grave of Lucy Armstrong and Unmarked Graves

After African American soldiers who perished in the Battle of Westport were not allowed to be buried next to their white counterparts in the burial ground near Westport. Upon learning this, members of the Wyandot welcomed the internment of African American soldiers here.

Gravesite of Union Soldiers 

Wyandot (Wyandotte) National Burying Ground serves as a sacred final resting place for around six hundred to eight hundred people of Wyandot descent, starting with those who perished on the arduous and forced journey from their homes in the Great Lakes to what is now Kansas City, Kansas. Generations of Wyandot are buried in the cemetery, and thanks to the actions of tribal members starting with Eliza "Lyda" Burton Conley and her sisters Helena and Ida, most of this cemetery was spared from development. Through armed occupation of the cemetery and legal efforts, the sisters were able to thwart development plans and preserve the burial grounds at several moments in the early 20th century. Although some of the cemetery was lost to urban development in the mid-20th century, the grounds are a National Landmark. As history has shown, not even a federal treaty can guarantee the preservation of the cemetery, but more people are learning the historical significance of the site thanks to the current efforts of tribal members, historians, and local residents.

Wyandot National Burying Ground (Huron Indian Cemetery)

Cemetery Gate and "Trespassers Beware" Sign

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