‘Hallowed ground’: Shawnee Tribe regains ownership of historic Johnson County cemetery

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly last week signed a bill returning a sacred burial ground in Johnson County to the Shawnee Tribe.

Kelly signed SB 405, which allows the Kansas State Historical Society to turn ownership of the cemetery over to the Shawnee Tribe, whose leaders say they plan to preserve the historic site.

“The Shawnee Tribe considers the cemetery a sacred place, a traditional cultural property,” Shawnee Chief Ben Barnes said in a news release. “We are committed to protecting the gravesites of our ancestors and to the preservation and conservation of the historical, archaeological character of the site.”

The cemetery, which now measures about half an acre, is the burial ground of several prominent leaders of the Shawnee Tribe, Barnes testified at the statehouse in February. This includes Chief Joseph Parks, Mose Silverheels, and relatives of Chief Bluejacket, a famous general.

The land sits just east of the intersection of Nieman Road and West 59th Terrace, in a residential area. A small sign reading “Shawnee Indian Cemetery” marks the land.

The sacred cemetery once spanned several acres, Barnes said, and served as a place of worship as well as a voting location when Kansas first gained statehood.

Barnes said because the burial ground is considered a “Traditional Cultural property,” tribal leaders are working with the city to have the land listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“To many, this one-half-acre located at the end of a dead-end street appears to be just a small, vacant lot or a green space,” he said in February. “To us, it is hallowed ground. Therefore, the tribe is uniquely suited to serve as the cemetery’s owner, advocate, and caretaker.”