Tribal Heritage

Tribal Heritage. . , It was not by choice that much of what remained of the original Huron Tribe of Ontario came to live in “the town of Kansas” in the 1840s. They had wandered for 50 years through the northern states after being cut off by the Iroquois. By 1701, much of the Huron tribe had moved into what is now Cleveland and Detroit, where they lived for more than 100 years. But by the 1840s, white settlers and the government forced the Hurons, now known as the Wyandot, to move again – this time to the vicinity of Kansas City, Kansas., White settlements caused problems for the tribe once again in 1854. In order to remain, most of the tribe opted to become American citizens, renouncing (at least on paper) their Indian roots. Those who chose not to become U.S. citizens moved on to Oklahoma, where many Wyandots still live today., The Huron Indian Cemetery, located on Minnesota Avenue, between 6th and 7th Streets in Kansas City, Kansas, is the final resting place for some 400 members of the Huron Tribe. Pow-wows and other memorial ceremonies are still held regularly there by tribe members to honor their ancestors., What was, in the 1500s, a population of over 50,000 people, has dwindled by epidemic, tribal fighting, massacres, aging, and the trials of wandering, to the 4,000 Wyandot still living today. They are organized into two main groups: the Wyandot Nation of Kansas, and the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma. Only the Oklahoma Wyandot are federally recognized as a tribe. The Kansas Wyandot, organized in 1959 from the “absentee” or “citizen” Wyandot, are currently recognized by Kansas as a tribe.