Over the years as Kansas City developed, the cemetery repeatedly was the center of controversy between forces for preservation and those for development. In addition, the struggle has been between the unrecognized Wyandot Nation of Kansas and the federally recognized Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma. Since the late 19th century, the latter group was the only one with legal authority over the site. Lyda Conley and her two sisters of Kansas City launched a public relations and legal defense to prevent the sale. They were joined by other local Wyandot descendants, as well as by women's clubs and similar associations. In the course of this, in 1909 Lyda Conley became the first Native American woman attorney to be admitted to the bar of the US Supreme Court, as she carried the case there. While sympathetic, the Court did not support her attempt to prevent the sale of land.
