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Aug 03
Love0

Happy National Women’s Suffrage Month!

By News

Photo: Yufna Soldier Wolf, member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe and tribal historian, is partnering with the Poudre Heritage Alliance to help collect oral histories from Northern Arapaho women.

Happy National Women’s Suffrage Month! August 2020 marks 100 years since the 19th Amendment was ratified, granting women the right to vote. However, not all women received the right to vote in 1920. It was not until the Snyder Act passed in 1924 that Indigenous women earned their full U.S. citizenship, though some states continued to deny Indigenous Americans their enfranchisement as late as 1962.

Click here to see the full calendar of events from the Women’s Vote Centennial.

The Poudre Heritage Alliance (PHA), nonprofit managing entity of the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area (CALA), is currently collaborating with Colorado State University’s Native American Cultural Center, the National Heritage Areas Program, and the Northern Arapaho tribe to compile stories from Northern Arapaho women.

The Northern Arapaho lived in the Cache la Poudre River basin for centuries before the United States military forcibly removed the tribe to Wyoming in the 1870s. It is vital that Northern Colorado communities learn the stories of the people whose historic and spiritual homeland is the Cache la Poudre River. Doing so can help people properly understand the complicated history and ecology of the region.

The involved organizations hope that the “Lifting Voices from the Shadows” project will strengthen partnerships, build the PHA’s education and interpretation program, and connect people to their collective Poudre River heritage.

Other resources:

Gertrude Simmons Bonnin (Zitkala-Ša): Advocate for the “Indian Vote” by Cathleen D. Cahill

Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin – Profile by the National Park Service

From Parlors to Polling Places: Women’s Suffrage in Fort Collins – Research report and virtual walking tour from the City of Fort Collins Historic Preservation Office

Nov 01
Love1

Celebrating Native American Heritage in the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area

By News

During the month of November, we join the nation in celebrating Native American Heritage Month, recognizing the significant contributions the first Americans made to the establishment and growth of the United States.

Crazy Bull and Chief Friday in Washington, D.C. in 1873. That year, a delegation of Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho from the Red Cloud Agency went to the capitol with their agent, Dr. John J. Saville, to discuss their hunting rights as well as their future home (Photo by Alexander Gardner, 1873)

Indigenous peoples have been living in and migrating through the unique eco-tone of the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area for more than 13,000 years. As Brenda Martin, Curator for the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery writes, “Tribal groups as we know them today are not recognized as being present until 1,000 A.D., if not longer, beginning with the Numic (Uto-Aztecan) speakers, commonly known as the Ute. Oral tradition and the ethno-historic record show evidence of other tribal groups like the Apache, Comanche, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Lakota, Shoshone, and Pawnee in Colorado as early as the mid-17th century.”

In the early 1800s, after the Louisiana Purchase, Euroamericans begin exploring the Plains. In the 1850s, the federal policy of westward expansion brought many more people to the area of the country we now call Northern Colorado. This policy promoted agriculture, mining, and trade. Thus began a painful history for the Native American tribes that have called this area home for so many hundreds of years.

Martin writes, “In 1868, the last of the Native Americans, Friday and his band of Arapahos, were removed to Wyoming, with the Federal government mandating by 1878 the removal of all Native people to designated reservations. Except for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, all others were located outside of Colorado. Combined with other assimilation policies, conversion to Christianity, restriction to boarding schools, and the outlawing of most Native American ceremonies, there was a tremendous loss of cultural knowledge and traditions.”

 

In their own words, Northern Arapaho elders shared the importance of the Poudre River to their tribe’s history and culture on this video series produced by the Poudre Heritage Alliance:

This month, we look forward to sharing some of the many stories of Native American peoples and celebrating their unique cultures and traditions. We hope you will join us in learning more about the indigenous tribes of the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area and sharing in the celebration of our Nation’s First Peoples.

 

Sources:

Burris, Lucy. (2003). People of the Poudre; An Ethnohistory of the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area
AD 1500-1880. Fort Collins, CO: Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Are, Friends of the
Poudre, and the Dept. of the Interior National Park Service.

Martin, Brenda. (May 2009). Native American Timeline for Larimer County, CO [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://poudreheritage.org/wp-content/uploads/native_american_timeline_for_larimer_county.pdf

 

Aug 13
Love1

Video: In Their Own Words – Northern Arapaho Leaders

By News, Video

“Water is sacred and we respect that. Without water there is no life.”

– Crawford White, Arapaho Elder

 

Water makes life possible and with all of the pressures on our freshwater resources today, we can’t possibly navigate a topic as large as this without some sense of perspective, and some help from the past.

Through an online video series, the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area (CALA) has been capturing and sharing knowledge from individuals who collectively hold vital knowledge about water heritage, particularly related to the Poudre River corridor.

Elders from the Northern Arapaho Tribe were generous in sharing their perspectives and stories about their descendants. These individuals reflect on life for Arapaho living in their homelands along the Poudre River in the 1800s and what has happened to their culture.

The PHA considers the Northern Arapaho Tribe a partner and friend and look forward to more opportunities to work with them in interpreting their unique history in the Fort Collins area of Northern Colorado.

To view more videos from this series please visit www.poudreheritage.org/videos

Nov 06
Love1

Poudre Heritage Alliance and CSU Celebrate Native American History Month in November

By News

November is Native American Month, and there will be a variety of events taking place on CSU’s campus hosted by the Native American Cultural Center and many other organizations.

In the meantime, be sure to check out PHA’s video archive and Northern Arapaho Video series release. (Featured picture showcases representatives from the City of Fort Collins, the Poudre Heritage Alliance, and tribal elders for the Northern Arapaho at a sign unveiling in Arapaho Bend Natural Area.)

Events

Wednesday, Nov. 1

Indigenous Speaker Series Presents: Cherokee Nation v. Nash — A Case of Treaty Interpretation and Tribal Self-Determination

Guest Speaker: Ron Hall,  5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Morgan Library Great Hall. 

Ron Hall is the president of Bubar & Hall Consulting, LLC, a consulting firm that supports tribal self-determination and engagement. Hall will engage in a conversation around Native law and policy, specifically related to the recent federal court decision between the Cherokee Nation and the Cherokee Freedmen.

Thursday, Nov. 2

Pow Wow 101, 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in Eddy Hall room 100.

Pow Wow is a wonderful way to remember and celebrate heritage, culture and traditions among Native Americans. Join local resident Jan Iron, who will explain the basics of Pow Wow, including an overview of the day’s events and celebration.

Friday, Nov. 3

Fry Bread Sale, Drum Group and Pow Wow Dance Expo, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the LSC Sutherland Garden, (west side of the Lory Student Center), Colorado State University.

To celebrate Native American Heritage Month and the 35th Annual AISES Pow Wow, drum groups and dancers will provide performances. Fry bread will also be sold at this event.

Saturday, Nov. 4

Colorado State University’s 35th Annual AISES Pow Wow.

Gourd Dance — 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

  • Pow Wow 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.
  • Grand Entry 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Pow Wow Feed 5 p.m.

Host Northern Drum: Young Bear; Host Southern Drum: Southern Style. Lory Student Center Grand Ballrooms at CSU.

In an effort to increase awareness of Native cultures at CSU, the Native American Cultural Center, American Indian Science and Engineering Society, Associated Students of Colorado State University and Colorado State University will sponsor the 35th Annual CSU Pow Wow. Community members and student alike are welcome and encouraged to attend this free event, which will feature Pow Wow dancers, drum groups, food, vendors, social events and more.

Tuesday, Nov. 7

Duhesa Art Gallery Reception, Aasgutú ádi (Forest Creatures). Featuring comments from the artists Crystal Worl and Jennifer Younger.

4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Lory Student Center Duhesa Gallery.

The title of this exhibit is in the Tlingit language. The exhibit encompasses the natural beings represented in the various artworks of this exhibition, but also refers to the Tlingit people. Utilizing their experience in various art materials, Crystal Worl, Jennifer Youner and Alison Marks encourage the viewer to look at traditional art forms through different lenses. The culmination of their artwork demonstrates the subsistence on Tlingit culture into the work of contemporary artists.

Gallery walkthrough at 5:15 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 8, Thursday, Nov. 9

Aspen Grille – Featured Traditional Native American Dishes.

Do you enjoy corn, sunflower seeds, potatoes, squash and pumpkins? How about tomatoes, strawberries and chile peppers? They are all native to the Americas and have been part of the diet of Native Americans since time immemorial. Make your reservations at the LSC Aspen Grille to enjoy lunch specials prepared by Chef Ken Sysmsack that recognize these gifts to today’s cuisine.

For reservations call 970-491-7006

Thursday, Nov. 9

Open House Hosted by NACC North Star Peer Mentors

5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Native American Cultural Center, Lory Student Center Room 327

Come meet the 2017-2018 North Star Peer Mentors while enjoying board games, a movie, and hot chocolate and apple cider. North Start Peer Mentor Program is a program of the Native American Cultural Center that matches incoming students with current students to guide the transitions to Colorado State University.

Monday, Nov. 13

Keynote Event: AWAKE: A Dream from Standing Rock documentary featuring Filmmakers: Floris White Bull & Doug Good Feather

Film begins at 6 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Lory Student Center Theatre.

AWAKE follows the dramatic rise of the historic #NoDAPL Native-led peaceful resistance at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation near Cannon Ball, North Dakota. Thousands of activists converged from around the country to stand in solidarity with the water protectors protesting the construction of the $3.7 billion Dakota Access Pipeline. There will be a screening of the documentary, followed by a conversation with some filmmakers.

Tuesday, Nov. 14

Harvest Dinner, Community Event

6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Location: To be announced

Ron Hall and Roe Bubar, owners of Arikara Farm, worked the farm this year to engage students, family and the community to support our farm as we grew traditional food and heritage turkey to bring about the harvest for our Community Dinner. Come join in the “Indigenous Food Revolution” to learn how the earth is our teacher and food is our medicine. Arikara Farm and NACC are pleased to support this Indigenous Community Dinner.

For more information please visit www.nacc.colostate.edu or call 970-491-1332.

See the link to the original article here.

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