2026 NASPA Annual Conference
March 7-11, 2026 • Kansas City, MO

These are ancestral homelands to the Hopewell (HOHP-wel) , Mississippian (mis-uh-SIP-ee-un), Kansa (KAN-zeh), Osage (oh-SAGE), Otoe (ohh-toe), and Missouri (muh-ZURR-ee) tribes, who ranged across the lands we now know as Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri. Forced removals of this land’s Indigenous tribes by the federal government throughout the 1800s, as well as removals of tribes that had been forcibly relocated here following earlier conflicts, treaties, and the Indian Removal Act of 1830, mean that today there are no federally recognized tribes in the state of Missouri. This is a stark example of the impact of territory seizures for colonial encroachment and attempted erasures of people and their connection to place. 

In spite of this, there are more than 98 tribes represented today in the Kansas City area, and these communities, as well as organizations such as the American Indian Council, Heart of American Indian Center, and Haskell Indian Nations University, have ensured that histories and stories continue to be made visible. These organizations serve Indigenous communities and are a part of the ongoing stewardship of the lands and waterways of this place. 

The state of Missouri is also at the nexus of this country’s history of enslavement. The first enslaved Africans were brought to the territory of what was known as Upper Louisiana in the 1720s. Missouri was admitted to the Union as a slave state in what was known as the Missouri Compromise to maintain the balance of slave and free states. The Dred Scott Supreme Court case, which ruled that enslaved peoples were not citizens, had its origins in Missouri. Slavery was not outlawed here until 1865, and a subsequent legacy of Jim Crow laws maintained legal segregation for almost 100 years - a legacy that continues to be felt today in Kansas City.  

Much of what is present day Kansas City began as Wyandot City, platted by members of the Wyandot Tribe who had been removed from lands in Ohio and subsequently granted land in the 1840s by the Delaware Tribe at the mouth of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers. The tribal members who relocated here stepped into a political and social powder keg known as “Bloody Kansas” taking place in western Missouri and Kansas Territory. 

The makeup of this place has many interwoven threads - movements of tribes following buffalo and wild game, forced removals and migrations, broken treaties, chattel slavery, territory theft, ongoing and growing disparities in access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities. The communities present here - those who were forced to leave and those who were forced to come - have built much of the city’s culture, economic growth, and development. They work to make visible their histories, achievements, ongoing struggles, and narratives. 

We aspire to make visible this labor and this relationship to land and place through our presence here.

Local Organizations and Cultural Centers

American Indian Council (AIC)
Founded in 1972, the AIC serves as a community-based organization supporting Native people in employment, training, and education across the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Heart of America Indian Center
A hub for cultural preservation and community events, the center promotes Indigenous heritage through programming, gatherings, and education.

Mid America All-Indian Center (Wichita, KS)
Located about three hours from Kansas City, this museum and cultural center highlights Native art, traditions, and contemporary stories from tribes across the Plains.

Kansas City Indian Center
Providing social services, cultural education, and advocacy for Native people, the KC Indian Center supports the well-being of Indigenous families and fosters connections between Native and non-Native communities.

Learn, Support, and Act

Support Native-Owned Businesses and Artists
Explore Native artisans and makers in the Kansas City area through networks such as KCIC Market and regional Indigenous artist markets.

Visit the Osage Nation Museum
Located in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, the oldest tribally owned museum in the U.S. offers a rich account of Osage history, culture, and contemporary life.

Honor and Bring Attention to the MMIWGP Crisis
The crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and People (MMIWGP) remains urgent across both reservation and urban communities. Learn more from organizations such as MMIW USA and The Sovereign Bodies Institute, which work to raise awareness and support affected families.

Additional Resources

Native Land Digital: Learn about the history of colonialism, Indigenous ways of knowing, and settler-Indigenous relations.

Kansas City Indian Center: Learn how to support Indigenous-led work locally.

NASPA Indigenous Peoples Knowledge Community: Explore resources and community connections centered on Indigenous peoples in higher education.

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