Tribal Council
Back L-R:
Guyetta Monroe-Martin, Member
Marilyn Mehojah York, Member
Mary Pat Branch, Member
Gay Munsell, Secretary

Front L-R: 
Guy Munroe, Chairman
Luther M. Pepper, Member
Roy Lee Ball, Vice-Chairman

The Kaw Nation:
Johnnie Ray McCauley's 1996 statement remains true thirteen years later, as Kaw Nation continues to progress and expand.  As of January, 2009, tribal citizens totaled 2,861.  Kaws reside in 47 of the 50 states, with about 700 living in Kay County, Oklahoma and an additional 12% living in Kansas, although not in their former Council Grove homeland.

Kaw Nation is a sovereign, self-governing nation, ruled under its 1990 Constitution by a General Council of all adult tribal citizens and by legislation and resolutions adopted by its seven-member Tribal Council.

As social, economic, and educational programs for tribal citizens have grown, so have the staff and facilities providing these services.  The Kanza Health Center in Newkirk, Oklahoma has helped members of more than 80 Native American tribes and is doubling its size to provide additional services.  Also in Newkirk are an expanded Wellness Center and Gymnasium, Tribal Youth Program, and Daycare Center.
      

Administrative Headquarters in Kaw City, Oklahoma includes a complex of four buildings, plus a newly constructed Education and Social Services Building housing Enrollment, Language, Education, and Social Services/Child Support Programs.  Soon to be constructed is an adjacent building which will house tribal archives, library, and distance learning facilities.
      

Washunga Days:
Kaws have retained vital ties to their ancestral homelands in the Council Grove area. Each year Kaw people return here in June to host and cosponsor an Inter-Tribal Pow Wow held on the Kaw Mission grounds in conjunction with the Washunga Days celebration. The name of the celebration honors Washunga, the Chief of the Kaw Tribe after their move to Indian Territory (Oklahoma).
       

In March, 2000, the Kaw Nation purchased approximately 150 acres of land three and one half miles south of Council Grove, Kansas.  This was the site of the last Kanza (Kaw) village before their removal to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) in 1873. 
       

Kaw Nation combined tribal funds with master plan financing from the National Park Service and stabilization monies from the Kansas Historical Society to begin the heritage project.  Additional funding from the Kansas Department of Commerce, Travel and Tourism Division, helped finance the two-mile Kanza Heritage Trail, which provides visitors with a close look at the prairies, forest, streambanks, hilltops, and historic sites within the Park.
      

Pause Point

Significant features include:

• The stabilized ruins of the Kaw Agency Building;

• The 40-foot stone obelisk erected in 1925 to honor an unknown Kaw warrior whose remains were discovered on the site;

• The ruins of three of the 138 stone huts erected by the U.S. government as housing for tribal members;

• A model earth/bark lodge, currently under construction, which was the traditional and preferred dwelling of the Kanza  ( a joint project with the Atchison County Historical Society, using a Lewis and Clark Challenge/Cost Share Grant);

• Viewing circles along the trail with tribal designs and audio posts telling Kanza history, culture, and lifestyle;

• Fields of native grasses and wildflowers.

Take a virtual tour of the Kanza Heritage Trail
            
                 

Agency Building
 

Earth/bark Lodge