Jump to Navigation

American Indian Homes in Kansas

Guided tour—Kaw Mission State Historic Site, Council Grove

Grades—First

Kaw Indian Mission, Council GroveBring your students to the mission to learn how the Kaw (Kansa) Indians used the environment to build homes.  These Indians were uprooted from their native habitat and moved to a reservation.  The government provided them with stone huts to live in. Your students will learn the reaction of the Kaws to this housing. 

They will compare the size of the Kaw's native bark lodges to the stone huts.  They will also compare the housing of other Kansas Indians including the Pawnee, Cheyenne, and Wichita. In addition, the students will use the touch table to study items made from the environment.  Part of the tour will be held in the classroom where students will use a large wall map of Kansas to identify the location of these tribes. The rest of the tour will take place in the museum and outside.

Children at Touch Table

This tour offers pre- and post-visit materials to help teachers provide students with supplemental learning. Each teacher will receive the Read Kansas! lesson P-6 American Indian Homes in Kansas. Teachers might also be interested in either of these educational resource trunks: Indian Homes in Kansas or Uses of the Buffalo.

Download PDF with tour information

Cost is $6 per student. One adult enters free for every 10 students. Additional adults pay $5.

Length of tour: Approximately one hour.

Number of students in a group: For the best experience, we recommend no more than 30 students per tour. Larger groups can be accommodated by dividing them between guides.

Registration and scheduling: Contact the site administrator at 620-767-5410; or email Kaw Mission at kshs.kawmission@ks.gov. Tours must be scheduled at least two weeks in advance.