Artwork by local artists and Kaw Nation citizens telling the story of the Sacred Red Rock will soon be on display at the Spencer Museum of Art.
“In’zhúje’waxóbe: Return of the Sacred Red Rock” is the final of three exhibitions being rolled out at the Spencer Museum this fall, according to a news release Monday.
Sydney Pursel, curator for public practice at the Spencer Museum, created the exhibition with an advisory committee of Kaw Nation citizens. It will be on view Tuesday, Sept. 9 through Jan. 25, 2026 in the Larry & Barbara Marshall Family Balcony.
“This exhibition highlights the power of community collaboration, advocacy and activism in the spirit of reconciliation,” Pursel, citizen of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, said in the release. “I am excited to work alongside Kaw citizens to ensure that their history, stories and culture are represented appropriately and accurately.”
In 1929, the red Siouxan quartzite boulder was moved from its natural location near Tecumseh, Kansas, to Robinson Park, in Lawrence, where it then displayed a plaque revering mostly white settlers and was held for nearly a century as a monument. In December of 2020, the Kaw Nation submitted a formal request to the Lawrence City Commission for its return. The City of Lawrence in March 2021 apologized and issued a resolution that included a commitment to the Sacred Red Rock’s “unconditional return” to the Kaw Nation.
The bronze plaque that was previously affixed to it was detached in July 2023 and is now at Watkins Museum of History in Lawrence. The Sacred Red Rock was removed from Robinson Park in August 2023 and placed in storage until it was moved to its new home in March 2024: on Kaw land at Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park near Council Grove. Around 400 people attended a rematriation ceremony there in June 2024.
Read more about the Sacred Red Rock in the articles at this link and on the project website, sacredredrock.com.
More art this fall
The first of the three exhibitions, “Soundings: Making Culture at Sea,” opens Tuesday, Aug. 12 in the Dolph Simons Family Gallery and The Estelle S. & Robert A. Long Ellis Gallery.
“Soundings” shows how visual art depicting oceans has helped humans analyze and navigate the world, according to the release.
Curated by Emily Casey, Hall assistant professor of American Art and Culture, in collaboration with Celka Straughn, director of academic programs at the Spencer Museum, the exhibition will remain open through Dec. 14.
Work by the 2025 Charlotte Street Visual Artist Award recipients is featured in the second exhibition, “My Mother’s Tongue Ties Me Together.” Artists Noelle Choy, Hùng Lê and Merry Sun use a range of media to explore themes of cultural mythmaking, memory and migration, according to the release.
“My Mother’s Tongue Ties Me Together” is set to open Tuesday, Aug. 26 and remain on view through Jan. 4 in the Sam & Connie Perkins Central Court.
The Spencer Museum, 1301 Mississippi St., is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and noon to 5 p.m. weekends. Hours are extended to 8 p.m. on Thursdays. Admission is free to the public.
Visit the Spencer Museum’s website, spencerart.ku.edu, to learn more about the upcoming exhibitions.
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