{"product_id":"lyda-conley-and-the-fight-to-preserve-huron-indian-cemetery-with-sources-and-oral-histories-9780700641215","title":"Lyda Conley and the Fight to Preserve Huron Indian Cemetery: With Sources and Oral Histories","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe inspiring story of Lyda Conley, the first Indigenous woman to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court and a trailblazing lawyer and activist who defended the burials of her Wyandot family and ancestors in Kansas City's Huron Indian Cemetery. Driven by primary sources and oral histories, this biography and source reader is the definitive work on this remarkable woman.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor fifty years, Eliza (\"Lyda\") Conley and her two older sisters, Helena and Ida, protected the Huron Indian Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas, now known as the Wyandot National Burying Ground. A member of the Wyandot Nation of Kansas, Lyda Conley is the first Indigenous woman to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court, where she established legal precedents used to protect Indigenous sovereignty today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn conjunction with her legal fight, Conley and her sisters spent years physically defending their ancestors' burials by building a shack in the cemetery they called \"Fort Conley.\" When a US Marshal tore down their fort in 1911, the sisters simply built another one. While they occupied the grounds, they also tended to cemetery upkeep, maintaining it in pristine condition between 1907 and 1922. Finally, under the leadership of Kansas senator--and future vice president under Herbert Hoover--Charles Curtis, a member of the Kaw Nation, Congress passed legislation to prevent sale or development of the cemetery's land in 1913.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnfortunately, the cemetery needed defending decades later when the Wyandotte Nation (of Oklahoma) attempted to open a casino on the cemetery grounds in the 1990s. The Conley sisters' Wyandot Nation of Kansas relatives used similar strategies to protect the cemetery once again.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUsing primary sources, including images, oral histories, and art, as well as scholarly analysis, Stephanie Bennett, Samantha Gill, and Tai S. Edwards tell the story of Lyda Conley, her sisters, and their perseverance. This book stands as a testament to the Conley sisters, who demonstrated the resilience and courage of Indigenous women who resisted colonialism and protected Indigenous sovereignty, blazing a trail for future generations.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Stephanie Bennett\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Kansas\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/21\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSeries:\u003c\/b\u003e Lyda Conley Trailblazing Indigenous Futures\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 250\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.75lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.57d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780700641215","brand":"University Press of Kansas","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45606579568777,"sku":"9780700641215","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_ca00c3c7-1b31-4acd-a330-a4d2136a2141.jpg?v=1776754361","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/lyda-conley-and-the-fight-to-preserve-huron-indian-cemetery-with-sources-and-oral-histories-9780700641215","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}