COUNCIL GROVE, Kan. (AP) — An American Indian tribe is returning to its land in northeast Kansas, beginning with a ceremony Saturday.

The Kaw Nation, also called the Kanza, will perform ritual dances Saturday south of Council Grove. It is a step toward establishing a gathering place to educate, promote and preserve the American Indian heritage for a tribe for which the state of Kansas is named.

The Wichita Eagle reports the dances will be performed at the site of the last Kaw villages in Kansas before the Kaw was forced to move to Indian Territory in Oklahoma in 1873.

On Feb. 28, 2000, the Kaw Nation bought 146.8 acres of land along the Little John Creek near Council Grove. It has been working with the state to re-establish its ties to Kansas.