Lyda Conley and the Fight to Preserve Huron Indian Cemetery

Stephanie Bennett is a citizen of the Wyandot Nation of Kansas and the niece of chief emeritus Janith English. She has been working with the Wyandot Nation of Kansas to preserve and raise awareness of the cemetery since the 1980s.Samantha Gill is the Adult Services Manager at Hays Public Library in Hays, Kansas, and earned a master's degree in history from Fort Hays State University in 2016, where she began her research on Lyda Conley's life and work.Tai S. Edwards is a professor of history and director of the Kansas Studies Institute at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas. She is the author of Osage Women and Empire: Gender and Power, also from the University Press of Kansas.

"This book provides a unique window into not only the important life of Lyda Conley, but the wider historical context of the Wyandot Nation of Kansas as well. Generational resilience and the legacy of Conley’s actions to preserve Wyandot culture and traditions is highlighted in a way that has never been done before. Tižamęh (thank you) for this incredible collection!"—Kathryn Magee Labelle, author of Daughters of Aataentsic: Life Stories from Seven Generations"A fascinating and rich introduction to an important woman whose story is far too unfamiliar to most Americans. This gem of a book should start to make Lyda Conley a household name."—Kathleen DuVal, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Native Nations: A Millennium in North America"This volume offers a powerful and richly detailed portrait of Lyda Conley, a remarkable yet often overlooked figure in Native American legal history. Through vivid photographs, oral histories, newspaper accounts, and thoughtful scholarly analysis, Conley’s courageous and trailblazing fight to protect the Huron Indian Cemetery is brought to life with clarity and reverence. Her legacy as a passionate advocate for Native sovereignty and sacred spaces shines throughout these pages."—Sarah Deer, author of The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America"This book makes a profound intervention into twentieth century histories of Native American activism, showcasing the oftentimes overlooked, but crucial role played by Native women in upholding the sovereignty of their tribes before the law, and on the ground. At once a page-turner and a deeply researched historical source reader, this book weaves together oral history, documentary evidence, and scholarly analysis with such expert care and attention to the voices and agency of the women at the heart of this history. Anyone teaching historical methodology, Native American history, or histories of activism will find immense value in this deeply layered and detailed study of an intergenerational activist and community struggle to protect land, ancestors, sovereignty, and historical memory."—Maria John, author of Sovereign Bodies, Sovereign Spaces: Urban Indigenous Health Activism in the United States and Australia