Frank J. Buchman

Cowboy • Horseman • Writer

Historic Santa Fe Trail Pageant At Council Grove This Weekend

Voices of the Wind People, an outdoor drama, will be performed Friday and Saturday evenings, Sept. 14 and 15, at the Old Riverbed Amphitheater in Council Grove.

The pageant, written by Ron Parks, provides a historically accurate snapshot of what it was like when the Native American and Euro-American cultures collided in Council Grove on the Santa Fe Trail.

Sharon Haun, pageant organizer, said: “The performance will take you back in time to the mid-1850s and give you a front row seat to hear both sides of the story between Chief Allegawaho, the Kanza (Kaw) Chief, and Seth Hays, Council Grove’s first Euro-American resident.”

This drama was first produced 26 years ago, and is performed every two years.

The production of “Voices of the Wind People” is accomplished completely by volunteer staff and performers.

Approximately 30 members of the Kaw Nation will travel to Council Grove to portray their ancestors in the pageant. They will enact village scenes and perform dramatic roles and traditional dances.

The story is told in alternating perspectives: the side of the Kaw and the side of the townspeople of Council Grove.

The Kaw story is narrated by Chief Allegawaho, voiced by a Curtis Kekahbah, a member of the Kaw Nation.

The Council Grove side of the story is narrated by Seth Hays, as voiced by Council Grove resident Mark Brooks.

Voices of the Wind People is a multi-media presentation depicting a series of live-action scenes of both Council Grove citizens and Kaw Indians.

The production incorporates historic photos, images of the prairie landscape and video images with the live-action of a pack train, wagon train, stagecoach, riders on horseback, tepees and the campfire of a Kanza village.

The 2018 performances are at 8 o’clock both nights. There is pre-show entertainment beginning at 7 o’clock.

Information is available at 620-767-5413, www.voicesofthewindpeople.com, by emailing voicesotwp@gmail.com and on Facebook.

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