Eliza Burton Conley | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Eliza Burton Conley c. 1869 |
| Died | May 28, 1946 (aged 76–77) |
| Resting place | Huron Cemetery, Kansas City, Kansas, US |
| Alma mater | Kansas City School of Law |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Known for | Protecting the sale of Huron Cemetery |
| Family | Zane family |
Eliza Burton "Lyda" Conley (c. 1869 – May 28, 1946) was a Wyandot Native American and an American lawyer. She was the first woman admitted to the Kansas Bar Association. She was notable for her campaign to prevent the sale and development of the Huron Cemetery in Kansas City, now known as the Wyandot National Burying Ground. She challenged the government in court, and in 1909 she was the first Native American woman admitted to argue a case before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Her case appears to be the first in which "a plaintiff argued that the burying grounds of Native Americans were entitled to federal protection."[1] Conley gained the support of Kansas Senator Charles Curtis, who proposed and led the passage of legislation in 1916 to prevent the sale of the Huron Cemetery and establish the land as a federal park. In 1971, the Huron Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 2016 it was designated a National Historic Landmark.
From the late 19th century, the cemetery was at the heart of a struggle between the unrecognized Wyandot Nation of Kansas and the federally recognized Wyandotte Nation, headquartered in Oklahoma. In 1998, the two groups finally agreed to preserve the Wyandot National Burying Ground only for religious, cultural, and related purposes in keeping with its sacred history.
- ^ Dayton, Kim (October 23, 2015). ""Trespassers, Beware!": Lyda Burton Conley and the Battle for Huron Place Cemetery" (PDF). Yale Journal of Law and Feminism. hdl:20.500.13051/7208. Retrieved June 7, 2024.