| Following is a copy of the story: Group pays homage to Native Americans By Carmen Cardinal for The Kansan The sacrifices made by early Americans over 200 years ago are not taken for granted by the Sons of the American Revolution. On Saturday, members of the group held a ceremony at White Church Christian Church to honor 11 Native Americans, members of the Lenape-Delaware Indians, who fought on the side of the patriots. Others of their tribe members were either enlisted by the British or remained neutral. �The information they brought back was vital to the success of the patriots,� said Kes Kessler of the SAR chapter. The 11 tribe members� names have been known historically. Other patriotic Native Americans from the tribe may have fought also, but their names are unknown. Beginning the ceremony, Thomas Swiftwater Hahn, a Kansas Delaware tribe member, conducted a smudging ceremony over the grave of Capt. Ketchum, who lived from 1780 to 1857. The ceremony was in remembrance of Native Americans. Ketchum was a tribal chief. During the ceremony, Tom Hahn and his son, Christopher, were inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution. Christopher is the 200th person inducted into this group. He lives in West Virginia and traveled to Kansas City to be part of the ceremony. Tom Hahn�s father was born in the Kansas Delaware Reservation. Moses Grinter, the first white settler in this area, is Hahn�s great grandfather. Grinter House is a well- known Wyandotte County historical landmark. Grinter had a contract to conduct a ferry across the river. The Grinters and the Ketchums were two of the area�s families who practiced Christianity. Others rejected it and the mission was never large in numbers. Charles Ketchum was a preacher in the Methodist Church. James Ketchum, his brother, was also a preacher, speaking in the native language of the congregation. Hahn left the area when he was 17, joining the Navy and traveling for many years. At 74, he has kept up with his tribal customs. The smudging ceremony is a burning of the cedar or sweet grass incense to cleanse the spirit. �I went to Ottawa, Kan., this week to get the Muncie Cedar trees from 1859,� he said. �The cedars are planted in the shape of a cross.� White Church is known to be one of the oldest churches in this area. It�s not known when it was founded, but it was already established in 1832 when the Rev. Thomas Johnson was selected to serve as superintendent of this area, known as the Kansas Indian Missionary District. Wyandotte County was still part of the Louisiana Purchase. Kansas became a state some 30 years later. During the ceremony, a color guard in colonial uniform posted a Betsy Ross flag for the 11 individuals. Fourteen members of the Sons of the American Revolution were dressed in typical uniforms worn by Revolutionary soldiers. �The uniforms are blue and buff which were George Washington�s colors,� Kesler said. Among the special visitors at the ceremony were Chuck and Sarah Wright of LeCompton, Fla. Wright was mayor of Topeka in 1966. �That�s when the tornado hit the area,� he said. �My great-great grandfather is buried in Huron Cemetery. His first wife was a Native American.� Wright inherited land in LeCompton that was given to his great-great grandfather, Charles Wesley Garret, by U.S. President Buchanan for his part in the war of 1812. Wright is developing a museum on the site. The Wrights traveled to KCK, invited by Tom Hahn, to witness the induction into the group. |
| JUNE 23, 2002 KANSAN NEWSPAPER |