National Native American Heritage Month
PWSD’s display of artifacts from the Rueter-Hess area includes tools and decorative items that date from the Middle Archaic period, 5,000 to 3,000 years ago, along with some information about how those ancient people lived. Archaeological evidence like these artifacts shows that the Reuter-Hess area provided an ideal location to hunt, create stone tools and live.
Starting in 1990, by presidential proclamation each year, the month of November is National Native American Heritage Month. It is a time to honor the contributions, achievements, sacrifices, culture and historical legacy of Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian and affiliated Island communities. Before 1990, various individual days or weeks acknowledged the heritage and contributions of Native Americans, but with no specific, recurring date.
Native Americans have a rich history in the Colorado area; several tribes and tribal nations originally called the area home, including the Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Shoshone and Ute. Many Colorado organizations work with tribal representatives to honor that heritage.
Parker Water & Sanitation District (PWSD) works with Native partners to identify and preserve culturally significant sites and artifacts discovered during water infrastructure projects. For the construction of the Rueter-Hess dam and trails, PWSD archaeologists partnered with the Northern Arapaho and Northern Cheyenne Tribes to identify, respectfully investigate, and preserve the significant and sacred sites they found. From various sites, PWSD recovered numerous artifacts, some of which are on display in the Rueter-Hess Water Purification Facility. Visitors can see the display as part of the facility tour. For more information, visit pwsd.org/3436/Request-a-Speaker-or-a-Tour, youtu.be/ol9If3d-rJs and douglas.co.us/planning/historic-preservation/virtual-museum.
Tall Bull Memorial Grounds in Daniels Park is a gathering place and ceremonial site for the Native American community. On Labor Day Weekend, it is open to the public for a community powwow that includes traditional dancing, singing, drumming and fantastic food. For more information, visit facebook.com/TallBullMemorialGrounds.
Native American heritage and history programs, exhibitions and sites abound throughout Colorado, and not just during November. Here are a few:
- The Ute Tribal Paths online exhibition, exhibits.historycolorado.org/ute-tribal-paths
- The Indigenous Film & Arts Festival at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, facebook.com/p/Indigenous-Film-Arts-Festival-100064414466762
- In Denver, History Colorado Center’s exhibitions The Sand Creek Massacre, Written on the Land, Living West, and Colorado Stories, also several web pages, projects, publications and podcast episodes, historycolorado.org/history-colorado-center
- Manitou Cliff Dwellings archeological and natural history preserve, cliffdwellingsmuseum.com
- Trinidad History Museum’s exhibition Borderlands of Southern Colorado: The Santa Fe Trail, historycolorado.org/exhibit/borderlands-southern-colorado-santa-fe-trail
- At the Fort Garland Museum & Cultural Center in the San Luis Valley, the exhibitions Ute Knowledge, The Unquiet Utes, and Unsilenced: Indigenous Enslavement in Southern Colorado, historycolorado.org/fort-garland-museum-cultural-center
- The Ute Indian Museum in Montrose, historycolorado.org/ute-indian-museum
- Mesa Verde National Park, a World Heritage Site near Cortez, nps.gov/meve/index.htm
For more information about Native American heritage and history in Colorado, visit www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/denver-colorado-tribes and historycolorado.org/native-american-history-heritage. To learn more about National Native American Heritage Month, visit bia.gov/NNAHM.
Article and photo by Susan Helton
