Thread by @shayshinecastle

Next: Update on tribal consultations and city projects with the tribes.

You've seen this presentation at least 3 times before, but it's always good info. documents.bouldercolorado.gov/WebLink/DocVie…

"Weve worked really hard at this process for the last 5 years," says Ernest House Jr. of Keystone Policy Center.

"If you ask the tribes, they say that Boulder has the opportunity to be a model here for tribal consultations."

"The basis is acknowledging the history" of this land, which has "indigenous relationships," House says.

Speaking of: The full (proposed) text of Boulder's land acknowledgement is in here. This will go on the city website; a shorter version is TBD for things like city email signatures or an announcement at the beginning of CC meetings.

"There's v few local gov't in Colorado that do tribal consultation," House says. "Even state gov't, some believe that they're not required to."

CO Springs does, according to House. Lots of flood there revealed Native American remains, House says, which was the trigger for opening tribal relations.

Anyway, back to Boulder's land acknowledgement. (It's long and therefore spread out over several tweets):

The City of Boulder acknowledges the city is on the ancestral homelands and unceded territory of Indigenous Peoples who have traversed, lived in and stewarded lands...

... in the Boulder Valley since time immemorial. Those Indigenous Nations include the: Di De’i (Apache), Hinono’eiteen (Arapaho), Tsistsistas (Cheyenne), Nʉmʉnʉʉ (Comanche), Kiowa, Čariks i Čariks (Pawnee), Sosonih (Shoshone), Oc'eti S'akowin (Sioux) and Núuchiu (Ute)..."

"... We honor and respect the people of these Nations and their ancestors. We also recognize that Indigenous knowledge, oral histories, and languages handed down through generations have shaped profound cultural and spiritual connections with Boulder-area lands and ecosystems...

"... — connections that are sustained and celebrated to this day.

The City of Boulder recognizes that those now living on these ancestral lands have a responsibility to acknowledge and address the past. The city refutes past justifications for the colonization ...

"... of Indigenous lands and acknowledges a legacy of oppression that has caused intergenerational trauma to Indigenous Peoples and families that includes:

For more than 10,000 years, generations of Indigenous Peoples have lived and thrived on ancestral homelands ...

" ... that Euro-Americans colonized as Boulder.
Indigenous Peoples in Boulder have, as in all parts of the Americas, endured centuries of cruelty, exploitation and genocide..."

" ... The westward expansion of Euro-American population and culture in the 19th century caused extensive hunger and diseases that devastated Indigenous Peoples’ way of life.

In October 1858, Hinono’ei neecee ("Arapaho Chief") Nowoo3 (“Niwot," "Lefthand") told a party ...

"... of gold-seekers camped in what is now known as Boulder that they could not remain on Indigenous land as defined by the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie.

After gold was found west of Boulder in January 1859, many of those same gold-seekers helped found the Boulder Town Company...

"...on Feb. 10, 1859,5 in violation of the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie.

By the summer of 1859, thousands of gold seekers were in the Boulder area,7 and many squatted on Indigenous lands,8 continuing the dramatic expansion of Euro-American occupation of Indigenous lands...

"... that soon exiled Indigenous peoples from the Boulder area.

In August 1864, more than 100 Boulder County residents mobilized into Company D of the Third Colorado Cavalry at Fort Chambers along Boulder Creek east of what is now known as Boulder. ...

"... Company D – which included 46 Boulder men 11 and prominent Boulder County residents – later participated in the barbaric massacre of peaceful Tsistsistas and Hinono’eino’ at Sand Creek on Nov. 29, 1864. Among those killed in the massacre were women, children, elders ...

"... and chiefs, including Nowoo and Tsistsistas Chief White Antelope. Despite having participated in horrific atrocities, members of Company D received a heroes' welcome upon their return home. ...

"... The city has benefited and continues to benefit directly from the colonization of Indigenous lands and from removal policies that violated human rights, broke government treaties and forced Indigenous Peoples from their homelands. ...

"... We must not only acknowledge our past but work to build a more just future. We are committed to taking action beyond these words. We pledge to use this land acknowledgment to help inspire education and reflection and initiate meaningful action to support...

"... Indigenous community members and our federally recognized American Indian Tribal Nation partners.

We intend to use this acknowledgment when the City of Boulder develops work plans that guide day- to-day work, begins new projects, starts long-term community plans...

"Let this formal acknowledgment – which honors and builds on the city’s Indigenous Peoples Day Resolution (1190) – stand as a critical step in our work to unify Boulder communities, combat prejudice and eliminate discrimination against Indigenous Peoples."

Whew, that's it! The full text of Boulder's (proposed) land acknowledgement. Again, a shorter version is being drafted.

If I had one, believe me, I would have tweeted it.

The full text and the shorter version will both be translated into Spanish once complete.

This full text is subject to change, pending more feedback from the tribes. And it may keep on changing: "Staff recognize that this is not a static document and it will continue to evolve with time."

The other big project on the agenda is Fort Chambers / Poor Farm. Boulder bought it in 2018, and is working with tribes to determine ownership and management. dailycamera.com/2018/04/07/bou…

That is, tribes could take partial or full ownership of the site — where soldiers who participated in the Sand Creek massacre were trained.

A management plan is also being developed in consultation with the tribes. A marker already exists on the site for Fort Chambers, but it doesn't include its history in connection with the Sand Creek Massacre. A new sign will.

House: The years of work have been important. We trust that it's not going to stop just bc there's a change in administration.

Benjamin: I feel that a Memorandum of Understanding is an insufficient term when we're conversing and working with another nation. Sometimes semantics doesn't matter, but sometimes it does.

Asks House for advice.

House: "The terms, I agree with you. They need to be elevated and taken seriously. That's why we were in this situation in 2019. Some of these agreements were not followed through."

House has twice mentioned Valmont Butte as an example of not-good relations or broken city promises. I'm not familiar...? Anyone want to fill me in.

Yikes.. some history here. dailycamera.com/2018/01/27/nat…

And here: dailycamera.com/2009/08/14/she…

For the paywalled or TLDR: Valmont Butte is considered a sacred site. It's owned by the city, and ceremonies there have run afoul of code enforcement.

Tribes say they were promised an alternative site for a sweat lodge but never got it; city says they never promised anything.

Also, the archived comments on those articles are YUCK. Do not read.

Anyway, back to current day consultations: They are scheduled this year for March 16. They've been happening regularly since at least 2016, possibly longer.

These are generally not open to the public, at the request of tribal leaders.

Another in-progress project: The recent renaming of The Peoples' Crossing. Staff, tribes still working on some signage and educational opportunities. Tribes will plan a ceremony of some sort there as well.

Forgot the link: boulderbeat.news/2021/05/28/bou…

Reps from the Human Relations Commission and Open Space Board of Trustees get to attend consultations with tribes as well.

HRC largely responsible for Boulder's Indigenous Peoples Day celebration and resolution. Open space is the city dept working on land use for ceremonies, and management of Fort Chambers property specifically.

Friend asks a clarifying q about why the consultations aren't subject to Colorado's open meeting laws. Those regs pertain to public biz, Teresa Tate says, and consultations aren't that. CC members are there to observe, but they're not deciding or discussing anything.

All council members are invited to attend, but not required.

That is the end of this topic.

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