Gov. Kelly to attend event in Lawrence to commemorate return of prayer rock to tribe

photo by: John Hanna/AP File

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly speaks during a rally for teachers and education funding, April 25, 2023, at the Statehouse in Topeka.

Gov. Laura Kelly will be in Lawrence Tuesday morning to help commemorate the return of the red prayer rock from the City of Lawrence to the Kaw Nation.

Kelly will join Kaw Nation leaders, community members and University of Kansas representatives for the event at 10 a.m. in Watson Park, 727 Kentucky St. Kelly will deliver brief remarks, according to a news release from her office Monday.

The event will be led by Master of Ceremonies Sydney Pursel and will also feature speeches by the Kaw Nation tribal chair, Lawrence Mayor Lisa Larsen, Jim Pepper Henry and others. It will include a drum honor song and a prayer by a Kaw Nation elder and will conclude with an invitation to move into the park for friendship dances. The event is expected to take about 45 minutes, the city told the Journal-World.

The 28-ton rock had stood in Robinson Park in downtown Lawrence for nearly a century as a monument to Lawrence’s founders. It will now be taken to tribal land in Council Grove.

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