Kansas Delaware Tribe gets ancestral land back from KCK church, plans local hub
Editor’s note: This story was corrected at 8:30 a.m. on March 18 to reflect that Grinter Chapel was donated generations ago, not confiscated.
When Grinter Chapel closed about five years ago, Scott Brewer didn’t know if anyone would walk its halls again.
The executive director of the Great Plains and United Methodist Conference prayed that someone would find a use for the modest chapel in Kansas City, Kansas’ Muncie neighborhood.
So when Chief Lynn David of the Kansas Delaware reached out asking for the church to return the land back to the tribe, Brewer knew the chapel’s fate would be secured.
“It was an answer to a prayer,” Brewer told The Star.
Three years after that first conversation, and after numerous meetings, fundraising efforts and site work, the land is back in the Kansas Delaware Tribe’s hands. Tribe and church members cemented that decision during a Thursday afternoon ceremony.
*Numerous indigenous communities across the country are trying to reclaim land that was lost during colonization, westward expansion and at other points in history. Many tribes have had to personally buy that land back or lobby government or institutions to convince them to return it. In the case of Grinter Chapel, the family that owned the land donated it many years ago. Now, it’s being returned to that family.
The University of Kansas in recent years identified more than 100 instances of land back efforts in 30 states across the country. Among those, at least three have happened in Kansas as of 2023, according to KU.
Great Plains, a group of more than 700 United Methodist Churches in Kansas and Nebraska, is also contributing about $325,000 in repairs to make the property safe for public use.
During Thursday’s ceremony, David shared more about the long history of the Kansas Delaware and how the land transfer came to be. The tribe gifted Brewer and Bishop David Wilson, key partners in the deal, honor blankets for recognition of their efforts to make it happen. Attendees then participated in a spring prayer, and the ceremony ended with a stomp dance. About 40 people attended the event off Swartz Road.
Getting building back to use
Dating back to the 1860s, Grinter Chapel has seen quite a bit throughout the seasons of its life. Original bones of the building showed proof of a fire that must’ve caught in the building decades ago, Brewer told The Star.
But the building experienced significant flooding a few years ago that left it in a particularly severe state of disrepair. Water damage and mold meant people trying to bring the building back to life have had to strip out insulation, conduct asbestos abatements and shut off unsafe parts of the chapel.
“Unfortunately, in the rare instances when property actually is given back to Indigenous people, the property usually is dilapidated and is typically given back only after it is no longer of use,” according to a news release from Great Plains.
Getting the chapel where it needs to be safety-wise will cost at least double what the Great Plains has donated to the tribe so far. That’s why the Kansas Delaware are still collecting funds to complete the restoration.
Once the tribe can raise enough to finish repairs on the chapel, which has elements that are more than 100 years old, it’ll serve as a local hub for multi-tribe activities, religious practice and a place to gather Muncie residents. That’ll look like weddings, tribe meetings and family events.
“We want this building to be used for neighborhood barbecues, family reunions, spaghetti suppers, dance classes and scout meetings,” David said.
David also plans to collect and display Native American art in the building and maintain a room to be used to hold the Kansas Delaware Archives, which he said the tribe is beginning to expand.
This story was originally published March 13, 2026 at 9:33 AM.
