Annie Marshall Grinter
Date: Between 1900 and 1905
Portrait of Annie Marshall Grinter, 1820-1905, member of the Delaware tribe and wife of Moses R. Grinter. She came to Wyandotte County, Kansas Territory with her parents in 1832.

Arrival of the Caravan at Santa Fe
Date: Between 1844 and 1845
This illustration from Josiah Gregg's Commerce on the Prairies depicts a caravan of Americans arriving in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Santa Fe Trail, opened in 1821 by William Bucknell, served as a freight route and passed through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Bark covered Sac and Fox lodge house
Date: Between 1850 and 1870
Sac and Fox tribal members in front of bark covered lodge house.

Coronado sets out to discover Quivira
Date: Between 1900 and 1940
This postcard depicts Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and his group of explorers on their search for the fabled city of Quivera. Coronado and his men were among the first of the European explorers to visit the plains. The goal of the early Spanish explorers was to discover riches north of Mexico. Coronado's 1541 expedition to discover gold in Quivera led him to the area that would later become Kansas.

Dog dance performed by Kansa Indians
Creator: Seymour, Samuel
Date: August, 1819
A photograph of an illustration showing a dog dance performed by Kansa Indians inside of a lodge. The sketch was published in "Account of An Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains Performed in the years 1818 and 1820 Under the Command of Major Stephen H. Long" by H. C. Carey and I. Lea, Philadelphia, 1822.

Front page of account of Major Zebulon M. Pike's exploration
Date: 1807-1810
The beginning page of the report submitted by Major Zebulon M. Pike of his exploration of the western United States submitted to Congress and published in 1810. Zebulon Pike was an army lieutenant sent by the U.S. government to explore the southern part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1806. Upon his return, Pike prepared a report to the U.S. government in which he described the Plains as the "Great American Desert."

Group of Kansa Indians
Creator: Catlin, George, 1796-1872
Date: Between 1860 and 1879
Photo of an illustration of a group of Kansa Indians.

Horse chain mail
Date: 1540 - 1541 CE
Horse chain mail armor believed to be a part of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado's expedition to Kansas between 1540 and 1541.

Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike
Date: 1807-1810
This illustration of Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike is taken from an account of his military expedition from western Louisiana to the interior parts of New Spain conducted between 1806 and 1807. Zebulon Pike was an army lieutenant sent by the U.S. government to explore the southern part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1806. Upon his return, Pike prepared a report to the U.S. government in which he described the Plains as the "Great American Desert."

Map of United States
Creator: Bradford, Thomas Gamaliel, 1802-1887
Date: 1835
Map of the United States in 1835 contained in T.G. Bradford's "A Comprehensive Atlas Geographical, Historical and Commercial"

Potawatomie Indians at St. Mary's Mission, Kansas. 375 miles west of St. Louis Mo.
Creator: Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882
Date: 1867
This stereograph shows Potawatomie Indians at the St. Mary's Mission, Pottawatomie County, Kansas. It is from Alexander Gardner's series, Across the Continent on the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division.

Richard W. Cummins to Willam Clark, Superintendent of Indian Affairs
Creator: Cummins, Richard W.
Date: April 2, 1831
Letter by Richard W. Cummins detailing the physical conditions of the Delaware and Weas Indian tribes under his care for the time period between 1830 and 1831.

Shaggy buffalo cow
Date: Between A.D. 1540 and A.D. 1549
This is a drawing of a shaggy buffalo cow similar to that seen by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado during his military expedition to Kansas in search of gold.

Shawnee Sun (Siwinowe Kesibwi)
Creator: Lykins, Johnston, 1800?-1876
Date: November 1841
This photo static copy of the Shawnee Sun represents the first newspaper printed in Kansas (then known as Indian Territory). The paper was written in the Shawnee alphabet created by Johnston Lykins, a Baptist missionary to the Shawnee Indians. The newspaper lists John Gill Pratt as publisher. The original paper copy of this issue is held by the LaBudde Special Collections Department, Miller Nichols Library, University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Sketch of Pawnee Rock in Barton County, Kansas
Creator: Hunnius, Ado, 1842-1923
Date: April 6, 1867
A sketch of Pawnee Rock by Ado Hunius. The view was drawn from the Santa Fe Road, which was 16 1/2 miles from Fort Zarah.

The coming of the Spaniards
Creator: Overmyer, David Hicks, 1889-1973
Date: 1951
A portion of a mural at the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka titled "The Coming of the Spaniards" painted by artist David H. Overmyer in 1951 depicting the arrival of Coronado in Kansas in the year of 1541.