Kanza Museum

After the federal act of May 27, 1872, they sold what was left of their reservation there and bought 100,137 acres from the Osage along the Arkansas River in Indian Territory. The first years were hungry: the promised government beef did not come, the Nation's timeline records, and the people went west to hunt buffalo against starvation.

The Kaw Allotment Act of 1902 divided the reservation, and the Nation's timeline says that the act declared the Kaw Nation no longer existed as a legal entity. A town called Washunga, named for the chief, was set aside with the school, agency and cemetery. Charles Curtis, later vice president of the United States, was among the 249 allottees and helped steer the allotment proceedings. The Kaw organized again under a constitution approved in 1959. Within a few years the Corps of Engineers was building Kaw Dam, and by 1970 the lake had covered the old reservation. The Kanza were forced out of Washunga by eminent domain, the Council House was rebuilt on new tribal land, and the cemetery was moved.

The museum opened in 1995 in a building first put up for the General Council's meetings. The current exhibition has five sections, each with a QR code for an audio track, so bring a phone and earbuds. Drawers, treaty reproductions and a clan book fill out a visit of about 45 minutes. Check in first at the Kaw Nation Administration Building. The Nation's powwow is at Washunga Bay the first weekend of October.