Shawnee Indian Cemetery

This small cemetery dates back to the 1830s and is located in what is now a residential neighborhood. The site includes burials dating back to 1837 along with a small marker that offers an introduction to the history of the Shawnee and members of the tribe who are buried on this land. This small tract of land now belongs to the tribe and serves as a burial ground for several prominent Shawnee Tribe leaders, including Chief Joseph Parks, Mose Silverheels, and relatives of Chief Bluejacket, a famous general. The cemetery's oldest recorded burial dates back to 1837. The grounds once spanned several acres, but today, it only comprises around one-half acre. The Shawnee, an Algonquin-speaking Eastern Woodland tribe originating in the greater middle Ohio River Valley region, lived in what is now eastern Kansas during the mid-nineteenth century after generations of being pushed west by new arrivals and the federal government. Continued migration, federal policies, and agreements often signed under duress placed the Shawnee in a position where many members of the tribe had few options but to move to northeastern Oklahoma after the Civil War. 

Today, there are three federally recognized tribes of Shawnee consisting of more than 3,700 people living primarily across North America. Prior to displacement, the Algonquin-speaking Eastern Woodland tribe lived in the middle Ohio River Valley region, mainly in today's Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia. As settlers pushed Native Americans westward, the Shawnee were compelled to live in Ohio followed by Missouri and then Kansas, where the size of the Shawnee Tribe's reservation shrunk significantly during the 1850s. After the Civil War, the Shawnee were again compelled to move, with many accepting reservation lands in Northeast Oklahoma. The cemetery is a reminder of the Tribe's time in Kansas.

After years of negotiation, the tribe again controls this small plot of land following a 2022 decision. A press release by the Shawnee Tribe noted, "'The Shawnee Tribe considers the cemetery a sacred place, a traditional cultural property,' said Chief Ben Barnes. 'We are committed to protecting the grave sites of our ancestors and to the preservation and conservation of the historical, archaeological character of the site.'"

Only a few gravestones remain visible today, with the oldest physical marker belonging to Nancy Parks, daughter of Shawnee leader Joseph Parks, who died at six years old in 1837. The most famous person buried in Shawnee Indian Cemetery is Captain Joseph Parks (1859), who served as an interpreter for the Shawnee Chiefs' delegation to the United States government in 1831 and led the move of the Shawnees from Ohio to Kansas. Parks was also a former chief of all Shawnee Indians, a hero of the Seminole War in Florida, a significant property owner in Kansas City, a member of the Methodist Church, and a Mason. Other stones mark the burial plots of prominent Shawnee members such as Robert Bluejacket (1858), Charles Silverheels (1864), and Ann Bluejacket (1870). But, it is believed there are many other unmarked bodies laid to rest on the property, likely buried during the 1860s. The Tribe plans to survey the land to find any unmarked graves. 

"Shawnee Indian Cemetery." National Park Service. Accessed April 27, 2023. https://www.nps.gov/places/shawnee-indian-cemetery.htm.

"Shawnee Indian Cemetery in Johnson County, KS Returns to Shawnee Tribe." Shawnee Tribe. April 15, 2022. https://www.shawnee-nsn.gov/news-community/post/shawnee-indian-cemetery-returns.

Spoerre, Anna. "Hallowed ground': Shawnee Tribe regains ownership of historic Johnson County cemetery." The Kansas City Star. May 22, 2022. https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article261684892.html.

Stokes, Keith. "Shawnee Indian Cemetery aka Blue Jacket Cemetery." kansastravel.org. Accessed April 27, 2023. http://www.kansastravel.org/shawneeindiancemetery.htm.