The Wyandot Nation of Kansas, Monumenta, and the Omakyehstih Collective proudly present Trespassers Beware! Fort Conley and the Wyandot Women Warriors. This public art initiative honors Lyda, Lena, and Ida Conley, three Wyandot women who fought to preserve the Wyandot National Burying Ground in Kansas City, Kansas. At the turn of the 20th century, the US government was threatening to sell the burying ground where hundreds of Wyandots were buried, including the Conley sisters’ mother, father, and sister. With the help of other members of their nation, the three women constructed a small fort in the cemetery, guarding it from all trespassers using their father’s (unloaded) shotgun.
While they defended the land at their fort, they also fought for it in court. Lyda Conley was a lawyer, and took their case all the way to the Supreme Court, where in 1910 she became just the third woman and the first Indigenous woman to argue before that body. Though she lost her case, the publicity she garnered in Washington and through the fort in Kansas ultimately led to legislation protecting the cemetery.
Now, the Mellon Foundation and the Kansas City Monuments Coalition has partnered with The Wyandot Nation of Kansas to honor these sisters and their fight. This public art exhibit was kickstarted by Neysa Page-Lieberman, the founder and director of Monumenta. After hearing a podcast from KCUR about the Conley sisters, she was inspired to create a monument. She partnered with Chief Judith Manthe, the principal chief of the Wyandot Nation of Kansas to begin work on this exhibit. The exhibit itself was designed by the Omakyehstih Collective, a multi-generational Wyandot art group that was formed specifically to tell the Conley’s story. Directed by Justine Smith, the collective was formed by her, her aunt BZ Smith, and her son, Rane Wilson. Together, these groups have recreated Fort Conley in a mobile form.
The new Fort Conley is an exact dimensional replica of the original. Inside, it features a three-hour video production projected on one wall directed by Justine Smith, showing the lives of the Conley sisters in their fort over all four seasons. Outside, visitors are greeted by three soundscapes, designed by Rane Wilson, each with a different audio track. One plays traditional Wyandot music, one tells Wyandot history, and one features Wyandot oral histories from multiple tribal members. Finally, a series of historical panels written by BZ Smith with input from Judith Manthe surround the Fort, telling Wyandot history as well as the specifics of the Conley sisters and their fight.
The exhibit is mobile, and will be placed at the Wyandotte County Museum in 2025, move to the Johnson County Community College’s Kansas Studies Institute and Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Spring 2026, before traveling to the Kansas City, Kansas Public Library, located right next to the Wyandot National Burying Ground, the space the original Fort defended.
Photos by Kevin McPartland