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Sep 01
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Northern Arapaho Tribe Three-Part Video Series Released by Poudre Heritage Alliance

By News

Northern Arapaho Tribe Three-Part Video Series Released by Poudre Heritage Alliance

The Poudre Heritage Alliance (PHA) has posted three online video interviews of current Northern Arapaho Tribal Elders that chronicle the people, places, and events that shaped the history of Northern Colorado’s first inhabitants. All three videos can be found on PHA’s website: https://poudreheritage.org/videos/. The clips include interviews with Hubert Friday, a descendant of the famous “Chief” William Friday, and other tribal elders Crawford White and Mark Soldier Wolf. The short 2-4 minute segments were recorded, produced, and edited by Slate Communications.

The videos were created to tell the story of the Poudre River Council Tree location and the historical importance of the river from the Northern Arapaho Tribe’s perspective. Kathleen Benedict, Executive Director of the Poudre Heritage Alliance, explained, “The ultimate goal of the videos is to tell the story of the Northern Arapaho Tribe in the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area from the tribe’s point of view.” The funding to make the videos in conjunction with Slate Communications came from PHA’s federal funds through the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service.

QR codes on the sign at the Council Tree site in the City of Fort Collins Arapaho Bend Natural Area will allow people to connect to the videos while experiencing the river themselves. The Council Tree site itself was used by Native American tribes prior to the 1860s. This area of the Poudre River Valley, where Boxelder Creek joins the Poudre River, was a meeting area – where all 13 Arapaho tribal bands would gather periodically due to the lush grass and abundant game.

PHA and City representatives met with Northern Arapaho Tribal Elders on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming last year to develop the Council Tree sign after PHA Heritage Culturalist Volunteers helped identify the location of the site. Although the actual Council Tree burned down years ago, the site location is still just as important to the Northern Arapaho people to this day. (See a previous article in the Coloradoan about the Council Tree dedication ceremony.)

For more information about PHA or CALA, please contact the Poudre Heritage Alliance Office at admin@poudreheritage.org or 970-295-4851. DVDs of the video series can be ordered for $20 each by visiting PHA’s Contact Us page.

Above Photo: Heritage Culturalist volunteer doing research on Council Tree site

Aug 23
Love0

Nature Conservancy’s Phantom Canyon Preserve Highlights Poudre River’s Heritage

By News, Uncategorized

(Excerpt from article)

“A KEY ROLE IN HISTORY

While most visitors to the Phantom Canyon preserve come for the beauty of the landscape, few realize the historical significance around them: It was in this watershed where Western water law was born.

In the 1870s a drought led to overdrawing of the water in the Cache la Poudre River. Irrigation canals dried up, causing a dispute between two of the water users – upstream farmers near Fort Collins and downstream farmers in the Union Colony commune founded by Horace Greeley, famous for having declared, “Go West, young man!”

The issue was settled in court in favor of the first water users – the Union Colony commune – a decision that formed the bedrock principle of Western water law: “First in time, first in right.” In recognition of this, Congress declared the Cache la Poudre River a National Heritage Area*** in 1996.”

***The exact boundaries of the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area lie to the south and east of Phantom Canyon Preserve. The Heritage Area designation begins along the eastern edge of the Roosevelt National Forest near the mouth of the Poudre Canyon and extends through 45 miles of the river until its confluence with the South Platte River east of Greeley, Colorado. It was designated as National River Corridor in 1996, and then as an official National Heritage Area in 2009.

For the full article, check out the Nature Conservancy’s website here.

Aug 16
Love0

Smithsonian Exhibition Exploring the Global Water Story

By News

Smithsonian Exhibition Exploring the Global Water Story
Scheduled to Open at the Greeley History Museum

GREELEY, CO— Water is the most vital resource for life on Earth; no living thing exists without it. “H2O Today”—a new exhibition at the Greeley History Museum, 714 8th St.—examines the diversity and challenges of global water sources and promotes conversation, creativity and innovation through art, science and technology. Organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), the exhibition will be available locally from Saturday, Sept. 2 through Sunday, May 20, 2018.

“H2O Today” dives into what it means to live on a planet where 71 percent of the surface is covered in water, yet less than 3 percent is drinkable. The exhibition highlights the crucial role it plays in daily life through water power, industry, agriculture and home use. Visitors will learn the affects climate change, population growth and pollution have on the water cycle and weather patterns as well as the creative ways people around the world are tackling the challenges of water shortages and pollution.

Local artifacts on display include items related to the Greeley Ice and Storage Company, and a water clock used to measure water levels at the head gate for Union Colony Ditch No.3. Visitors will also have an opportunity to learn about irrigation and use an example treadle pump to see how the pump moves water.

The “H2O Today” exhibition is part of the Smithsonian’s Think Water Initiative to raise awareness of water as a critical resource for life through exhibitions, educational resources and public programs. The public can participate in the conversation on social media at #thinkWater.

“H20 Today” was adapted by SITES from an exhibition organized by the American Museum of Natural History in New York City (Amnh.org) and the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul (Smm.org), in collaboration with Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland; The Field Museum in Chicago; Instituto Sangari in Sao Paulo; National Museum of Australia in Canberra; Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada; San Diego Natural History Museum; and Science Centre Singapore with PUB Singapore.

The exhibit is sponsored locally by the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area and the 501(c)3 non-profit management entity of the heritage area, the Poudre Heritage Alliance.

For hours of operation and information about this and other exhibits on display at the Greeley History Museum, visit GreeleyMuseums.com.

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SITES has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C., for 65 years. SITES connects Americans to their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science and history, which are shown wherever people live, work and play. For exhibition descriptions and tour schedules, visit Sites.si.edu.

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