Started as a way to help connect urban Native youth to their heritage, the annual Denver powwow showcases traditional hand work, dancing and drumming passed from one generation to another.
native american culture
Posted inCulture
“Tell the truth”: Shedding new light on the Sand Creek Massacre with an exhibit 10 years in the making
After missteps that shut down an earlier exhibit, the museum painstakingly rebuilt trust. The new display rests on native voices.
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Colorado’s geographic renaming board begins process of scrubbing Native American slur from 28 sites
The Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board on Sunday began the process of scrubbing the offensive slur “squaw” from 28 of the state’s peaks, valleys, passes and creeks. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland in November created a committee to strip the offensive name from federal maps. The Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force in February identified […]
Posted inSunLit, SunLit Interviews
SunLit Interview: A mystery on the family ranch led author David M. Jessup to a trilogy
David M. Jessup grew up at Sylvan Dale Ranch in Loveland, Colorado, owned and run by his family. He is passionate about preserving open space and telling stories about the American West. He is a popular speaker on topics such as cattle ranching, sustainable agriculture, land conservation, flood recovery (he’s been through two floods on […]
Posted inColoradans, Culture, Education, News, Politics and Government
New Colorado law banning most American Indian mascots forces schools to confront cultural shifts
Faced with a new state law requiring the elimination of most American Indian mascots, a handful of Colorado schools are delving into their histories and having community-wide discussions about what a nickname, mascot or logo should represent. In Lamar, that means sticking by its Savages nickname, even if images and logos must be changed. And […]
Posted inCulture, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
Shifting cultural winds amplify calls to rename Colorado’s peaks, valleys and creeks
The statues are falling. The old guard is rapidly fading. And the names, they are a-changin’. As centuries of embedded discrimination erupt in sea-to-plain calls for change, an atlas of geographic locations has appeared in the crosshairs. In Colorado, a host of peaks, valleys, creeks and mesas are poised for renaming as Gov. Jared Polis […]
Posted inBusiness, Culture, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
It’s not just Colorado’s mountains: Outdoor industry brands, climbing routes also targeted for name changes
The shifting consciousness behind the renaming of peaks is spreading into marketing and other aspects of the outdoor culture. “It’s interesting, when we hear people talk about the stories of the land they never are telling the original story of the land,” said Renee Hutchens, a Denver mountain biker of Navajo descent who recently started […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Culture, News, Politics and Government
A cartoonish Native American towering over Durango has divided the city. Should “the chief” stay or go?
He has a wide grin under a big nose. A single feather dangles beside one of his braids. His hand is raised in a howdy-friendly wave. And his bow legs and moccasins are planted atop a commercial sign. He is “the chief,” a two-story-tall metal depiction of a Native American that has been part of […]
Posted inBook Excerpts, SunLit
A Cherokee girl grows closer to her brother and a secret admirer in the aftermath of abduction
Courtney Miller is the multi-award winning author of the acclaimed 7-book series, The Cherokee Chronicles, which follows a fictional Cherokee family through the ages from antiquity through relocation. His celebrated cozy mysteries and geezer-lit novels, The White Feather Mysteries, pit a Cherokee elder against a rural sheriff’s office in the Wet Mountain Valley of Colorado. […]
Posted inSunLit, SunLit Interviews
Denied Cherokee citizenship, Colorado author Courtney Miller still yearned to preserve tribal culture in his writing
Courtney Miller is the multi-award winning author of the acclaimed 7-book series, The Cherokee Chronicles, which follows a fictional Cherokee family through the ages from antiquity through relocation. His celebrated cozy mysteries and geezer-lit novels, The White Feather Mysteries, pit a Cherokee elder against a rural sheriff’s office in the Wet Mountain Valley of Colorado. […]