"A-ya-dalda P'a"
Medicine Lodge, Kansas, holds a rich history interwoven with Native American presence, treaty negotiations, and the establishment of a frontier town. The town's name itself originates from the Kiowa Indians, who considered the area sacred and held healing ceremonies along the Medicine Lodge River. The town was officially founded in 1873, and later became known for the Medicine Lodge Peace Treaty negotiations in 1867
The term "A-ya-dalda P'a" is the Kiowa name for the Medicine Lodge River in south central Kansas.
It translates to "Timber-hill River".
The Kiowa people considered the river valley a sacred area due to the high content of Epsom salts in the water. In 1866, they built a "medicine lodge," a shelter made of tree trunks and branches, in the river valley for their annual sun dance. This structure gave the river its English name, the Medicine Lodge River.
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The Epson salt made the river sacred.
The Kiowa, Comanche, Plains Apache, Southern Cheyenne, and Southern Arapaho tribes all used this area for healing purposes.
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The Medicine Lodge River was also the site of the Medicine Lodge Treaty, a series of agreements signed in October 1867 between the United States and the Kiowa, Comanche, Plains Apache, Southern Cheyenne, and Southern Arapaho tribes. The city of Medicine Lodge, Kansas, was founded north of the confluence of Elm Creek and the Medicine Lodge River in February 1873.