Not Another Land Acknowledgement
In general, we believe the majority of Land Acknowledgements are empty gestures but we receive numerous inquiries about them. We also believe that Native people should not have the burden of reading or drafting an acknowledgment about being forcibly removed from land we have and will continue to steward. These are not our issues to address as we live everyday with the legacy of attempted genocide and colonization but non Natives need to acknowledge how they have benefited from our displacement. Land Acknowledgements should be a call to action for non Native people, listing clear next steps on how to mitigate harm and they should provoke some level of discomfort in learning new information. Sweetgrass Advocacy drafted this statement to help you learn the history of the area where we provide services. Feel free to use this as a starting point in discussions at your organization or institution.
“Here is some guidance to consider: Learn without extracting- Avoid burdening others with emotional labor. Learn Through Discomfort- Sit with the discomfort and consider what it reveals. Focus on impact-Intentions do not excuse harm. Be in Community- We do not need saviors, learn how to live reciprocally with us.” From the Alaskan Native Heritage Center
We also recommend that you take some time to review the Truth, Restoration and Education Reports compiled by People of the Sacred Land to gain a better understanding of history related to Native people in CO. https://peopleofthesacredland.org
The land on which the City of Colorado Springs stands is the homeland and unceded historic territory of many Native American Nations. The very founding and development of our city was in direct violation of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 with the Cheyenne and Arapaho Nations. The Nuuchiu (pronounced New-chew, meaning “the People”), or the Utes, are the longest continuous Indigenous inhabitants of what is now Colorado but many other Tribal Nations were also here for millennia before being forcefully removed and displaced. Cheyenne, Arapaho, Comanche, Kiowa, Jicarilla Apache, Eastern Shoshone and Bannock all have treaties that extend into the lands of Colorado.
According to Nuuchiu oral history, they have no migration story and their people have been here since their creation story. According to the oral history of the Kapuuta (Kah-poo-tah) and Mouache (Mow-ah-ch), two of the twelve historic bands within the Nuuchiu Nation, Pikes Peak is one of the places where the Creator placed their Ancestors. Several other Nations, to include the Pawnee, also have creation stories that involve Pikes Peak.
Some of the original names of Pikes Peak are Pūkūra anahabinū?a Karūnū (“Place to Pray and Sit”) COMANCHE, Tava-Kaaví (“Sun Mountain”) UTE, Tǔs Pěh (“Where the Heavens Touch the Earth”) PAWNEE, Heey-otoyoo (“The Long Mountain”) ARAPAHO, Ya ta ye’ It si’ (“Mountain Touching Heaven”) and T’áiñk’òp (“White Mountain”) KIOWA.
A minimum of 51 federally recognized Sovereign Nations that include the Kiowa, Jicarilla Apache, Comanche, Cheyenne and Arapaho also all have historic ties to this place and continue to foster their relationships with this land. We recognize that members of these tribal nations remain the dedicated stewards of their sacred homelands; to include the land, water, plants, and animals that call this place home. We acknowledge that Native people have always contributed to the existing culture of the Pikes Peak region as there are currently members of over 100 Tribal Nations living and thriving here today. According to the 2020 Federal Census, Colorado Springs is home to almost 29,000 Native people.
Acknowledging the events of the past, even when painful, is crucial in honoring the truth of our collective histories and demonstrating our respect for the original inhabitants of modern day Colorado Springs, their ancestors, and their future generations. By taking the time to consider the violence, displacement, forced migration, and settlement that has brought us together today, we can continue to uncover the truth of the past and work toward the recognition and abatement of ongoing colonialism throughout the Native lands that make up North America. We must also refute the colonized notion of manifest destiny when discussing our nation’s history of westward expansion.
Many of the early founders of our community – AJ Templeton, Irving Howbert, Anthony Bott, John Wolfe, and many others were members of the 3rd Colorado Calvary (made up primarily of men from El Paso and Pueblo counties) which camped in what is now Old Colorado City prior to participating in the Sand Creek Massacre which resulted in the murder of hundreds of Cheyenne and Arapaho people, mostly women and children. These men’s names are still honored throughout our community as their lasting legacy of violence.
This Land Acknowledgment must be more than a symbolic gesture of simply addressing our past but will represent our commitment to our ongoing future relationships by continuing to consult with tribal governments, evaluating Indigenous representation throughout our city, and shedding light on our own difficult history.
1598- Conquistador Juan de Oñate founded an extensive Spanish territory parts of which included modern-day Colorado
1820- Edwin James is credited as the first person to ascend Pikes Peak but Native people were the first to summit for ceremony for millennia. To honor the cultural significance of the mountain, Native practitioners maintain the tradition of visiting the summit and making offerings and prayers at certain times of the year.
1849- Treaty of Abiquiu was to guarantee free passage of US citizens through Ute Territory, along with military posts and Indian agencies of Ute lands, promised annuities and protection against depredations by US citizens
1851-Treaty of Fort Laramie grants the Cheyenne and Arapaho the lands between the Arkansas and North Platte Rivers (including most of the Colorado Front Range) in exchange for allowing safe passage to settlers along the Oregon Trail
1858-Beginning of the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush
1861-Fort Wise Treaty establishes a reservation for the Cheyenne and Arapaho along the Arkansas River in eastern Colorado and cedes most of the Front Range to the United States, although only 10 Cheyenne and Arapaho signed it and many would later say they did not understand the terms, and did not intend to cede the lands granted them under the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty. No Northern Arapaho signed this treaty which was confirmed in 1960 by the Indian Claims Commission. The majority of the Cheyenne and Arapaho did not move to the reservation, and conflicts between white settlers and Indigenous people continued, ultimately leading to the Sand Creek Massacre
1863- Conejos Treaty forces the Tabeguache band of Utes to relinquish claims to all lands east of the Continental Divide to include the Front Range. The U.S. government designates Ouray as the de facto leader of all Utes. No other bands of Ute signed this treaty.
1864-Governor Evans signed Proclamation providing permission to kill all “hostile Indians”
1864- Sand Creek Massacre- 675 volunteer soldiers attacked and killed hundreds of Cheyenne, mostly women and children. Many of these soldiers were from El Paso County with the 3rd Colorado Cavalry . Before departing, the troops burned the village and mutilated the dead, carrying off body parts as trophies.
1865- Little Arkansas Treaty displaces Cheyenne and Arapaho to Oklahoma. This treaty was later amended to include the Jicarilla Apache, Comanche, and Kiowa Nations
1868- Ute Treaty of 1868 creates a consolidated reservation for all of Colorado’s Ute bands on the Western Slope
1873- Brunot Agreement between Utes and US Government took 3.7 million acres of reservation land and opened it to mining in the San Juan Mountains
1880- After the Meeker Incident of 1879, the U.S. government aggressively forces northern Ute bands to sign an agreement removing them from the state. Southern Ute bands remain on their reservation in southwest Colorado
1883-Henry Teller, whom Teller County is named after, wrote a letter to the Department of the Interior, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Hiram Price, claiming concerns regarding Native people continuing to practice ceremonies interfering with forced assimilation. This led to the The Code of Indian Offenses which is how Native ceremonies & religious practices became illegal nationally until 1978
1894-Colorado Springs Deaf and Blind School was operating as one of 11 Indian Boarding Schools in the state. All Native students that attended school there, died there.
1907- An Ancient Pueblo structure was looted from McElmo Canyon and reconstructed in Manitou Springs as the Cliff Dwellings Museum providing false information related to its origin
1912- Dedication of Ute Trail
1924- Indigenous people become US citizens
1926- Tahama Spring Pavilion named by General Palmer after the Mdewekanton Dakota guide that led Zebulon Pike to the future site of our city.
1942- Fort Carson, named after famous Indian fighter Kit Carson, was founded. In 1863 Carson was responsible for waging a destructive war against the Navajo that resulted in their removal from the Four Corners area to southeastern New Mexico. When bands of Navajo refused to accept confinement on reservations, Carson terrorized the Navajo lands through a scorched earth campaign–burning crops, destroying villages, and slaughtering livestock. Carson rounded up some 8,000 Navajo and marched them across New Mexico for imprisonment on the Bosque Redondo Reservation – over 300 miles from their homes. 3,000 Navajo people died. This event is called the Long Walk.
1970- Ute people are able to finally vote anywhere in the state of Colorado
1978-American Indian Religious Freedom Act passed making Native religions and ceremonies legal in the US
2021- City of Colorado Springs adopts a permanent resolution honoring Indigenous People’s Day
2021-Governor Polis rescinds the Evans Proclamation of 1864 which made it legal for 157 years to kill “hostile Indians” in the state of Colorado
2023- City hires Native manager of Garden of the Gods making this the 1st time since the land was stolen that a Native person is formally tasked with stewarding the land. Also, 1st Indigenous People’s Day sunrise celebration from summit of Pikes Peak
We leave you with the words of our Board Member, Raven Payment:
“And yet when we are invited to the table, we are asked to only “acknowledge” the land?
Well. I already do. Every day. Because my people’s bones are in this soil. Our songs are in the wind. Our memories are in the rivers. I don’t need a scripted moment to remember that. I live it. It’s in my DNA.
The land doesn’t need acknowledgment. It needs restoration. It needs protection. It needs the people who belong to it to be visible again.
Because here’s the truth, Native people are invisible to you.If you really want to honor the land, act like it. If you really want to honor Indigenous people, follow our lead. If your city, your employer, or your government refuses to change, make them uncomfortable. Shut down complacency. Disrupt hypocrisy. Force the reckoning.
What we need is courage. We need truth. We need people who are ready to do more than clap for justice, we need people willing to fight for it.
So stop asking us to acknowledge.
Start asking yourself what you’re willing to give back.Because acknowledgment without action is not allyship. It’s complicity.
The apocalypse already happened.
And still, we’re here.”