“This was not the boards (sic) preferred outcome, but it is necessary for the organization at this time,” the Westernaires said in an email to members on Saturday.

Representatives from the Westernaires did not respond to a request for comment from The Denver Post on Monday.

The Westernaires have been teaching horsemanship to kids in Colorado and performing equine entertainment with Wild West themes for more than 70 years, with a team of entirely volunteer staff dedicating time to the craft.

For decades, the organization’s romanticism of cowboys-and-Indians tropes — including a reenactment of the 1876 and white children dressed in Native-inspired regalia performing sacred Indigenous dances — has garnered protest and pushback from Native American communities.

When former Westernaires member Justice Maldonado first witnessed the organization’s portrayal of Native communities, the now-11-year-old Indigenous girl said she was “crying and hurt on the inside.”

“My family doesn’t participate in racism, and I knew my family would do anything to keep people from hurting us,” Justice said Monday.

She joined the Westernaires with her sister, Jamilah Maldonado, in 2022 when their grandmother, Marjorie Lane, signed them up. The family became advocates for educating the Westernaires and asking board members to stop the organization’s cultural appropriation.

The Westernaires’ email to members did not explain why the board had decided, as of February, to end the dance program or say whether the organization would continue performing its reenactment of the Battle of Little Bighorn — a major defeat of U.S. forces in what is now Montana that is also known as Custer’s Last Stand or, to Natives, the Battle of Greasy Grass.

It appears, though, that pressure from the played a part.

Stock Show President and CEO Wes Allison declined an interview with The Post on Monday. But Lane provided emails between Allison and herself in which the CEO said he had let Westernaires leadership know that “continued reenactments that were offensive could result in the group not participating in the National Western Stock Show.”

Last month, Denver City Councilwoman Stacie Gilmore invited Justice to speak at a council meeting attended by Allison, who was there for a proclamation honoring the 120th National Western Stock Show — which the Westernaires traditionally perform at.

Justice shared her story, describing how she and her family have asked the Westernaires to stop their Native programming, but said the organization wouldn’t listen.

Lane said she spoke to Allison at the council meeting and followed up, asking him whether he would allow the Westernaires to perform at the stock show if they continued their controversial portrayal of Native culture.

The Westernaires did not perform Native American dancing or reenact the Battle of Little Bighorn at January’s stock show, Allison told Lane in the emails.

“They have a show in October at the Event Center,” Allison wrote, referring to the Westernaires’ annual “Horsecapades” show. “We will add specific language to the contract that forbids them from such acts. I have tried to express my deep concerns and will follow through if they don’t comply. Please know that I take this very seriously and want you to know that I support you 100%.”

Westernaires reenact history with Native American costumes and whoops. Critics say the depictions have no place in a modern West.

Gilmore on Monday praised the efforts of Justice and her family to bring change to the Westernaires.

"The commitment and continued work of the American Indian community, along with Justice and her family, created the momentum to make this change to stop the harm and disrespect that was occurring," Gilmore wrote in an email to The Post. "I hope that instead of erasure, the Westernaires with reflection will choose to listen to members of the American Indian community and honor their experience and voices to bring people together through a truthful history to enact real change in our world today."

Justice and Jamilah, who are members of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, told The Post on Monday they were proud of themselves and their grandmother for never giving up.

"My family did not say, 'Oh well, they are not listening, so let����ap stop the protest,'" Justice said. "What my family really said was, 'This is not right. We need to do something, and we need to do it now.'”

The family loved the Westernaires' horse-riding education and the friendships the girls made, but were shocked by the group's performers imitating sacred Native dancing and acting out the Battle of Little Bighorn in a "cowboys vs. Indians"-style brawl that they said made a mockery of the genocide of Native people.

After a Post reporter asked about the Westernaires' Native American representation in 2024, some of the organization's leaders acknowledged it was time to change.

Volunteers who had been in the organization since childhood shared how their portrayals of Native Americans had gotten better over the years -- no longer calling Native people "savages" in their historical reenactments or dressing the children up in long, black wigs, for example. They infused Native American education into the program, taking Westernaires kids to the site of the Sand Creek Massacre and having them research Indigenous culture.

However, the battle reenactment and Indigenous dancing continued. Lane and her grandchildren chose to leave the organization a year ago, but their activism persisted.

Indigenous activist Erlidawn Roy comes from the Meskwaki, Anishinaabe, Laguna Pueblo and Isleta Pueblo people. The Denverite advocated alongside Lane and her granddaughters for the Westernaires to change their Indigenous portrayals, saying the performances she saw were hurtful to the Native community.

"This feels like a win, finally," Roy said Monday. "Hopefully, their youth can see this is harm being done by them dressing up in a costume and playing cowboys and Indians. We are living, breathing, different tribes represented, and here they are doing stereotypical damage."

The Maldonado girls and their younger sister now ride horses elsewhere and have gone on rides with Native community members.

"I am not just a child, but I am a poet and a person that loves her culture and will do anything to stop people being racist to my culture," Justice said. "It took the Westernaires three years to just make things right for three kids and a nice grandmother that cares about their culture. And now in 2026, my family got the changes that we have been waiting for a very long time."

Add frequent mountain snow to the equation, passenger cars without snow tires spinning out; semi drivers ignoring the chain law and blocking lanes; and outright closure of the highway, and you may ask yourself, “Why am I doing THIS on my weekend?

If you’re familiar with the nightmare that is I-70 mountain traffic in winter, especially if you’re doomed to be a weekend warrior, it’s enough to make you want to curl up on the couch and forget about outdoor recreation until May.

But west isn’t the only direction from Denver to find a winter adventure. Many Coloradans shrug off the Eastern Plains as flat and boring, especially compared to the majestic Rockies, but they hide many gems, natural, cultural and historical, worthy of your winter travels.

Castlewood Canyon State Park

Early on the morning of Aug. 3, 1933, a dam south of Denver burst, sending a 15-foot wall of water down Cherry Creek into Denver. It was never rebuilt.

Today, the site of the dam is part of this gorgeous state park about 50 minutes from Denver. Encompassing a beautiful, boulder-strewn canyon, it’s a landscape that feels out of place on the Front Range. You can wander its many trails, ranging in length from a half-mile to 4 miles, along the creek in the canyon or the rim, which offers great views of Pikes Peak.

Visitors can see the remains of the dam and other historical sites, climb its 60-foot-high rock walls, all in a landscape usually devoid of ice and snow.

Admission: $10/vehicle, $4/individual. Location: 2989 South State Highway 83, Franktown

Paint Mines Interpretive Park

The rolling prairie of far eastern El Paso County, near the town of Calhan, hides an amazing secret, one you can’t even see until you’re there.

with a kaleidoscope of different colors, caused by oxidized iron compounds in the clay. Humans have been visiting the area for 9,000 years. Today, you can hike a 4-mile loop trail that will take you into the heart of this bizarre landscape.

It’s a unique example of erosion and geology you’ll find nowhere else on the Front Range.

There’s a restroom but no drinking water, so come prepared. When blizzards hit the Eastern Plains, it’s a great place to explore on cross-country skis … well, perhaps wait until the day after the blizzard.

Admission: Free. Location: 29950 Paint Mines Road, Calhan

Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site

In southeast Colorado, about a three-hour drive from Denver, the windswept prairie hides one of the blackest moments in the state’s history.

On Nov. 29, 1864, Colorado volunteer soldiers carried out a surprise attack on 750 Cheyenne and Arapaho people camping here while they tried in vain to negotiate a settlement with Colorado Gov. John Evans. More than 230 men, women and children were killed.

The killers were heralded as heroes, but time has changed that view, and the national historic site was created in 2007 to commemorate the killings. You’ll have to use your imagination as you walk through the area, aided by interpretive signs and exhibits.

The horror of that day still echoes down through the ages. In 2023, during a time of national reflection on American history, Mount Evans west of Denver was renamed Mount Blue Sky because of the Colorado governor’s role in the tragedy.

Admission: Free. Location: Near the town of Chivington, turn north onto County Road 54/Chief White Antelope Way or at Brandon, turn north onto County Road 59. Follow these roads to their intersections with County Road W. The park entrance is along CR W a mile east (right) of CR 54 or several miles west (left) of CR 59.

Picketwire Canyon

Ever dreamed of walking in a dinosaur’s footprints? You’ll find the largest collection of dinosaur tracks in North America at this site in the Comanche National Grassland of southeastern Colorado.

This site features more than 1,400 individual tracks left by the plant-eating Brontosaurus and the carnivorous Allosaurus on 100 separate pathways. Research here has helped lead scientists to believe these creatures were social and traveled in packs.

You can see the tracks on a guided auto tour, but you’ll need a four-wheel-drive, high-clearance vehicle. Reservations for a tour can be made at . There’s also a demanding, 11-mile hike that drops 250 feet and crosses a shallow river.

This is remote country, with no water, services or cellphone coverage, so plan accordingly.

Admission: $20/adult for the guided auto tour, free for the hike. Location: South of La Junta, about a three-hour drive from Denver.

Pawnee Buttes

In the Pawnee National Grassland of far northeastern Colorado are twin mounds that rise 300 feet above the prairie, dominating the view for miles. These once rose thousands of feet higher, though wind and rain have eroded the crumbling sandstone to their current heights.

A gentle 2-mile trail takes you to the first butte, where an overlook offers stunning views of the geologic marvels. Climbing is not recommended due to the fragile nature of the soil. The second, smaller butte is on private property, to be admired from afar.

The area is closed March 1-June 30 to protect nesting birds.

Admission: Free. Location: From Ault, head east on Colorado Highway 14 for about 27 miles, then turn left on Weld County Road 105. Travel about 4 miles north and continue onto County Road 390. Travel 2 miles, then turn right onto County Road 103. Travel 2 miles north, then take a right onto County Road 104. Travel 4 miles east, and turn left onto County Road 111. Turn right onto County Road 110, followed by a left onto County Road 113. Travel 0.5 miles to the trailhead parking area.

R. Scott Rappold is a freelance writer based in Del Norte.

Ben Nighthorse Campbell, the former Colorado U.S. senator and congressman who served first as a Democrat and then as a Republican, died of natural causes Dec. 30 at his ranch in Ignacio, Colorado at age 92.

A member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Campbell grew up poor and spent part of his childhood in a California orphanage, yet he led a life of excelling. He became a judo champion in 1963, winning a gold medal at the Pan-American Games; served in the Air Force for four years where he earned his GED; went on to get degrees in physical education and fine arts at San Jose State University; and honed skills as a silversmith and jeweler. His Western belt buckles were prized.

He entered politics in 1982, first serving as a state legislator. He was next elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving rural Western Colorado from 1987 to 1993, then was elected to two terms in the U.S. Senate.

When Senator Campbell switched from being a registered Democrat to a Republican on March 3, 1995, “the switch was shocking and traumatic to his staff,” said Ken Lane, his longtime chief of staff. He quit soon after Campbell’s announcement.

Lane said there was lots of speculation about why Campbell became a Republican. A major irritant for Campbell, Lane recalled, was what the senator called the “elitist” attitude of Democratic leaders in Denver and Boulder, who found him too moderate. Campbell’s main support always came from the union stronghold of Pueblo, in southern Colorado.

It was known that Republican Senator and majority leader Bob Dole courted Campbell to make the switch, and once he did, Campbell was appointed chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Campbell relished the job, advocating for Tribal rights and spurring the creation of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historical Site in Colorado, where two of his ancestors had been killed by U.S. soldiers.

Dea Jacobson, who worked in his Grand Junction, Colorado office when he was a Democrat, called him a force of nature. “He could do anything he put his mind to,” she said. He was a licensed pilot, and he also earned a commercial driver’s license, which he used in 2000 and 2012 to drive huge Colorado Christmas trees to the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Though his party changed, Jacobson said, Campbell’s politics remained the same: “He was pro-choice, pro-union and, despite criticism from some environmentalists, he backed key legislation protecting Colorado’s public lands.” Over the years, Campbell became known as someone who’d horse trade to get the bills he cared about passed.

One of his major victories was passage of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993, which designated or expanded 19 wilderness areas. The landmark legislation had been 13 years in the making. Campbell also worked on the creation of Great Sand Dunes National Park and helped make the Black Canyon National Monument a national park.

Campbell had a major impact on Colorado’s Four Corners region. Working with the Tribes he changed the Animas–La Plata water project to protect the free-flowing Animas River, despite criticism from environmentalists over the pumping of water uphill into a dry basin. The deal fulfilled long-overdue water rights held by the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Tribes.

I’d called Campbell last October when I was writing a column about changes coming for the reservoir named after him — Lake Nighthorse — authorized by Congress in 1968 as part of the Animas-La Plata Project. I’d been told Campbell was in poor health, but he answered the phone, later telling me, “I’m suffering from old persons’ problems so I’m not following water wars these days. But don’t forget what Mark Twain said about water: ‘Whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting.’”

Jacobson wasn’t surprised that Nighthorse was affable in our conversation. “He loved newspaper people,” she recalled, and when they were on the road in rural Colorado, “he liked to stop in at a town’s weekly paper.” Though he didn’t drink, he might also visit a local bar or café to start a conversation with locals. Before long, she said, “he was holding court.”

Lane’s recollection was equally warm. “Ben was funny, irreverent and endearing, and he connected with people of all backgrounds.”

A private memorial service will be held by his family at their ranch in Ignacio, Colorado. He is survived by his wife Linda, his children Colin and Shanan, and four grandchildren.

Dave Marston is the publisher of Writers on the Range, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He lives in Durango, Colorado.

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The tombs bear names that still haunt Denver’s history, unmoved by neglect in this out-of-the-way graveyard on the city’s northeast border.

A visit to the 149-year-old Riverside Cemetery shows headstones and mausoleums whose specters loom large — namesakes of mountains and boulevards and opera houses, but also political villains and wealthy mining families with tragic pasts. They stopped moving long ago, unlike the ribbon of South Platte River that gave the cemetery its name.

Riverside’s limestone, marble and bronze monuments are shockingly naked in its largely treeless, 77-acre expanse. And perhaps that’s appropriate, as contemporary history continues to see some of them as outright monsters. Others are culturally diverse pioneers who paved the way for Denver’s progressive present — and who have been criminally forgotten by most.

I visit all of them, but it’s not just morbid tourism. I commune with my relatives’ gravesites wherever they may be, and have found peace there. Instead of grim and solemn, I feel connected and calmed. And when the permanent residents have a wild history like Riverside’s? I’m there for sure.

The estimated 67,000 graves and crypts at Riverside include Clara Brown, Augusta Tabor, Miguel Otero, Barney and Julia Ford, Captain Silas Soule and Gov. John Evans, “as well as 1,200 Civil War veterans and three Medal of Honor recipients,” according to the Fairmount Heritage Foundation, which manages a cemetery that insanely lost its water rights decades ago.

Now it’s a unique historical wasteland, despite the volunteer efforts to tend to it. The view is lovely if you enjoy rusting train tracks and light-rail blare and “Blade Runner”-esque smokestacks. The important — at times horrific — history feels of apiece. Gov. Evans, for example, presided over the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 that killed hundreds of Indigenous people, mostly women, children and the elderly.

But there are also suffragettes and railroad-builders and heroes like Park Hee Byung, whose early 20th-century efforts to organize Korean culture in Colorado unceremoniously netted him an unmarked grave, . (That was fixed in 2007, thankfully.)

Riverside ultimately includes not just luminaries but also “the unknown and unwanted, and all those in between,” as . There’s the Greek Orthodox section (St. Michael’s Plot), and the tidy rows of Civil War graves, where my mother-in-law and my family have placed miniature American flags on past Memorial Days (her idea, and a good one).

Riverside has . But it’s outlasted enough boom-and-bust to take on its own motley character. And, yes: It’s straight-up spooky. Years later, my son still hasn’t forgiven me for telling him I spied a moving silhouette inside an echoing mausoleum.

“Oh my God, what’s that in there?” I said as I pointed, and his eyes followed.

“Not funny, Dad!” But as my son learned, and as I continue to appreciate, it’s nicer to visit than live there.

Riverside Cemetery is located at 5201 Brighton Blvd. in Denver and open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Visit for information about walking tours, free educational programs and efforts to create an environmentally sustainable landscape there.

As Indigenous Peoples we have always connected to the power of these healing waters, that we hold sacred, with pools documented long before contact.

In the Shoshone language, they are called: bah guewana, smoking waters; in the Arapaho language: xonou’o, where the healing water turns into air, unifying with the ecosystem; and in the Cheyenne language: tsexhoeomotometo mahpe, where the breath of life comes out of the water.

In a reckless move risking local, regional and statewide economic and legal certainty, the state has been asserting unilateral decision-making power regarding the Hot Springs State Park in Thermopolis, trying to build on the illegal attempts of dispossession of our peoples, while currently pushing for major changes to the park.

We fear these plans will turn our sacred springs into a playground for the rich, inaccessible to the many tribal members who hold these waters sacred.

As Indigenous Peoples we are afraid this will result in the desecration and further commercialization of our sacred Hot Springs. All this has been and continues to be done without the consent of our peoples and revenue-sharing, both required to recognize us as decision-makers, including regarding current attempts to hand over facilities to an out-of-state operator and large infrastructure investments that stand to change our sacred Hot Springs forever.

As Indigenous Peoples we have to be recognized as decision makers regarding these sacred hot springs to protect them for all future generations and to ensure free access for our people to enable healing from intergenerational effects of genocide, which is more important now than ever.

Both massacres of Native Americans and policies, such as the federal boarding school system that forcibly removed Indigenous children from their families, meet the international definition of genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

The intergenerational healing provided by our sacred hot springs has to be recognized. Our Arapaho and Cheyenne ancestors went directly there to heal after the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864, all the way through our homelands, from South Eastern Colorado, along the Eastern frontal range of the Rocky Mountains, to the heart of Wyoming, all promised in the Treaties of Fort Laramie.

These sacred hot springs were included in the original Wind River Reservation, created long before the state of Wyoming, and today it sits at its center as the sole reservation in the state. The inclusion of the hot springs in the original reservation constitutes evidence of the importance of these healing waters to us, with Owl Creek marking the boundary to the North.

The old town of Thermopolis was located 10 miles away, outside the original reservation. that the darkest times that followed — with disease decimating our populations by more than half and hunger reigning because the buffalo had been eradicated — settlers started to push into the reservation, especially the hot springs area.

The pressure on our tribes was tremendous; we were within 2 years of running out of rations, when the federal government sent their negotiator James McLaughlin to try to force the surrender of the hot springs for an offer of initially $50,000 and then $60,000 and rations. According to Geoffrey O’Gara’s book “What You See in Clear Water,”  another Indian agent called the offer “abundantly low for the finest hot spring on Earth.”

In light of the duress our tribes were under any agreement in itself is on questionable legal ground; what makes it even more legally questionable is that the vast majority of the payments were never made, meaning that the transfer has never been properly effected.

Even then, if anything, the relationship has been between the federal government and our sovereign tribes around the sacred hot springs, putting them in the same category as Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. Access to these and all other national parks is free for all tribal members and the same should be implemented for this park and all pools in it as places of intergenerational healing.

It makes it even more questionable how the state of Wyoming ever imposed itself on the area, not just the one square mile that they claim as Hot Springs State Park, but the 10 miles by 10 miles that they illegally claim as removed from the reservation, which covers the current town of Thermopolis and beyond.

It is imperative for the state to recognize our peoples and tribes as decision-makers regarding these sacred hot springs and lands. There are an increasing number of examples of co-management of parks with Indigenous Peoples, which the Hot Springs State Park is a prime candidate for to implement joint decision making, being Gwaii Haanas National Park which is co-managed with the Haida People and has now been extended to the whole island chain.

What the state otherwise risks is great economic and legal uncertainty for the local community and the whole state. To put the value of the land into context, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon in late December 2024 approved the sale of one square mile of undeveloped land to the federal government so it could be added to the Grand Teton National Park, for $100 million. We are talking about 100 square miles of developed land and the finest hot springs on Earth and outstanding liabilities for 130 years.

In addition to the failure to recognize our larger proprietary interests, this does not meet the standards of consultation with tribes necessary under U.S. law, and the requirement of free prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples under international law, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that the United States have committed to implementing.

As Indigenous Peoples we not only have the strongest connection to these sacred waters and lands, we also hold the most long-term knowledge that is key to ensuring their protection and sustainable use; of central importance has to be unlimited free access to these sacred waters for our Peoples to support the healing from intergenerational effects of genocide.

William C’Hair is a Northern Arapaho leader and knowledge keeper. Wes Martel is an Eastern Shoshone leader and knowledge keeper, and Phillip Whiteman Jr. is a Northern Cheyenne traditional chief and knowledge keeper.

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The signs, which were posted June 13 at all National Park Service sites , begin innocuously by asking visitors to scan a QR code and answer three survey questions. The first asks them to identify areas that need repair. The second inquires about services that need improvement.

It’s the third survey query that is surprising many and alarming some. It asks visitors to identify “signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features.”

Williams, whose who want the truth to be known about the forced relocation of Native people in Colorado, was shocked.

“I was a little horrified, but I was scared, too,” said Williams, whose ancestry is Oglala Lakota and Cheyenne. “Basically this gives the average citizen a license to determine what they believe the truth is, and defending it against somebody who has an opposing view could create hostility.”

The signs also upset Japanese Americans after they went up at the . Like Sand Creek, Amache is located in southeastern Colorado near the Kansas state line. It was the site of a Japanese internment camp during World War II.

“The way they are written seems to be more applicable to some of the bigger national parks that talk about natural beauty,” said Kirsten Leong, a fourth-generation Japanese American who is vice president of the . “That����ap not the congressional purpose of places like Amache. In law, the purpose for the park, in the enabling legislation as designated by Congress, is about telling these hard historical stories.”

Amache was one of 10 Japanese internment camps during World War II that were established by the War Relocation Authority. More than 10,000 people, mostly U.S. citizens, were incarcerated there from 1942 to 1945.

At Sand Creek, U.S. troops killed 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho people in 1864, mostly women, children and elderly.

Bergum’s order, issued May 20, implemented provisions of an titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” Trump complained about efforts to “rewrite” history by “replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.” He asserted that the nation’s “unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights and human happiness is reconstructed as inherently racist, sexist, oppressive or otherwise irredeemably flawed.”

Bergum’s order directs land management bureaus within the Interior Department, which include the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management, to identify monuments, memorials, statues and markers that “contain images, descriptions, depictions, messages, narratives or other (content) that inappropriately disparages Americans past or living … (or) emphasizes matters unrelated to the beauty, abundance or grandeur of said natural feature.”

Kyle Patterson, public affairs officer at , said signs have been posted “in a variety of public-facing locations including visitor centers, toilet facilities, trailheads and other visitor contact points that are easily accessible and don’t impede the flow of traffic.”

Sierra Willoughby, public information officer at , said the signs were posted at the park’s visitor center.

“This effort reaffirms the NPS mission by emphasizing the importance of accuracy in how we tell stories of American history,” Willoughby wrote in an email. ”Our visitors come to national parks to celebrate the beauty, abundance, and grandeur of America’s landscapes and extraordinary multicultural heritage. This allows them to personally connect with these special places, free of any partisan ideology.”

Many park visitors have been using the surveys to plead for increased funding. Advocates for the national parks say they were severely underfunded even before Trump took office. The park service estimates its nationwide backlog of , including . Now, according to the National Parks Conservation Association, the as part of Trump’s 2026 budget.

“This is the most extreme, unrealistic and destructive National Park Service budget a president has ever proposed in the agency’s 109-year history,” according to a statement issued by National Parks Conservation Association chief executive Theresa Pierno. “It����ap nothing less than an all-out assault on America’s national parks.”

Estee Rivera Murdock, executive director of the non-profit based in Estes Park, said she’s heard that visitors are complaining about inadequate funding in their survey responses.

“I have talked to NPS folks nationwide who are seeing comments come in from different sites and, loud and clear, the dominant theme is ‘We love these places, they need more funding, they need more rangers,’” Murdock said. “It����ap hard to solicit feedback from folks to make changes if you don’t have any mechanism or budgets to make those changes.”

With the threat of budget cuts, there are concerns that historic sites like Amache and Sand Creek, with far less visitation than the big national parks, could be closed. Rocky Mountain National Park attracts 4 million visitors annually. Great Sand Dunes and Mesa Verde attracted 437,000 and 480,000, respectively, in 2024. By contrast, Amache had only 4,771, Sand Creek 6,400. Another National Historic Site in southeastern Colorado, Bent’s Old Fort, attracted 16,000.

“We believe in evidence-based history, which I think the parks are currently doing,” said Dawn DiPrince, chief executive of , who also serves as Colorado’s official state historic preservation officer. “I don’t think we should be changing that. I am even more concerned about the proposed funding cuts. I’m especially concerned about our three historic sites in southeastern Colorado.

“We have parks that were not created just for visitation numbers,” DiPrince added. “They were created by a whole group of people, collectively, to tell really important American history. That is why they exist, and to measure them by sheer visitation numbers and threaten their existence by budgetary cuts, and suggest we should be amending how we tell those stories in ways that are not evidence-based, feels very problematic.”

Williams said he doesn’t worry much about the Sand Creek Massacre site closing because the land will remain sacred to Native Americans. Victims of the massacre were buried there, Williams said, and their spirits remain.

“Of those 6,400 visitors, probably 6,000 were American Indians,” Williams said, “and they’re going to go there whether it����ap a national park or not.”

Our American story is written into our nation’s cities, towns, wild spaces, and our beloved national park sites, such as Camp Amache and Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Sites in Colorado.

This May, I attended the annual pilgrimage to the Amache National Historic Site, where 10,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated near Granada, Colorado, during World War II. There is an undeniable historical lesson to be found when you visit this place. The sensory experiences of the high prairie, the ritual reading of names of those who died, the scratchy smell of sage and rabbit brush, and the unyielding horizon intersect with the inarguable foundations of concrete barracks that were once the cramped residences of the thousands forced to live there.

Camp Amache is connected to the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, situated less than 50 miles away. It is named after Amache Ochinee Prowers, a Cheyenne woman whose father, Lone Bear was murdered – along with more than 230 other Cheyenne and Arapaho people murdered at Sand Creek by U.S. Troops less than 100 years earlier.

Both Camp Amache and the Sand Creek Massacre are American stories. The survivors and descendants of these histories know that preserving these historic places solidifies their critical memories in our collective American consciousness, carrying them forward into our shared future.

In 1966, Congress passed the National Historic Preservation Act as a shared national intention and commitment to preserve places that are important to the American people. The Preservation Act was designed specifically as a collaboration among federal, state and Tribal governments, as well as local communities, because it recognizes that those who are closest to the sites–both geographically and historically — have the most knowledge.

The Act empowers local communities by designating community assets to the National Register of Historic Places, opening pathways for revitalization, providing consultation on federal projects, and utilizing preservation tax credits to create housing and economic opportunities. As State Historic Preservation Officer, I witness the power of preservation to catalyze opportunities everyday in Colorado communities. This past year, alone, we have listed dozens of historic sites on the National Register, everything from the Manzanola United Methodist Church to the Colorado Petroleum Club.

Yet, on the cusp of our nation’s 250th anniversary, we are observing an unprecedented defunding and dismantling of the tools that have preserved historic sites, revitalized communities, safeguarded cultural resources, fostered understanding, shared American stories, and connected us across our nation.

Each year, Congress appropriates funds for State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices. State Offices, like the one that is part of History Colorado, match the funds at a minimum of 40%. Unfortunately, despite this appropriation, preservation funds are not flowing, and Colorado’s irreplaceable history, heritage, and culture–and the staff who work to preserve and protect them — are in jeopardy.

Additionally, the proposed 2026 federal budget includes the near-elimination of the Historic Preservation Fund, which would decimate our country’s long-held commitment to preserving America’s heritage, disregard local knowledge, and significantly diminish local control. The proposed budget also cuts nearly $1 billion from National Park Service operations, which hurts myriad preservation activities as fundamental as the National Register of Historic Places, and could even result in the closure or elimination of park sites, possibly including meaningful but smaller sites in Colorado.

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. As is often the case in preservation, we are working to ensure the future of the irreplaceable. We must work strategically and in solidarity to protect and preserve all that we have built together across generations. Contact your Congressional representatives and tell them to 1) immediately disperse 2025 Historic Preservation Funds, 2) robustly fund the 2026 Historic Preservation Fund, and 3) protect our beloved National Park sites for the future.

Dawn DiPrince is the president and CEO of History Colorado and State Historic Preservation Officer.

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Re: “Pope Francis dies,” April 22 news story

I am saddened by the death of Pope Francis. He was the epitome of kindness, compassion, love and common sense. He not only preached these things but lived it. A perfect example of what the world needs now. While there will never be another like him, I hope the Cardinals are inspired to pick the next pope who will also live and inspire these traits, and not a Pope who is divisive and only preaches to dogma.

Marcia Murphy, Centennial

Sand Creek memorial shows wisdom to learn from the past

Re: “Legislature approves memorial for grounds of Colorado Capitol,” April 15 news story

It is an especially proud day to be a Coloradan. The Colorado legislature made the wise decision to install a sculpture at the Colorado state Capitol to memorialize the Sand Creek Massacre.

Too often, people don’t admit their mistakes. I believe that once you understand what you have done wrong, you are on the path to recovery. As the old adage goes, those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Uniquely, in this vote, the wisdom to learn from the past was universal in the legislature, the decision was not political, and the measure was adopted unanimously.

I hope it is healing to the surviving generations of people that the state of Colorado wants our new state monument to bear testament to the massacre. It demonstrates a hope that we will commit to do our best to prevent similar tragedies going forward. This statue represents our determination not to use violence to solve problems.

I am delighted for the people that were here before us, and I am delighted for people here today because we have shown that we have the ability to come together, a collaboration based on wisdom and learning from the past.

Marcel Arsenault, Boulder

Make health insurance accessible to small businesses

Re: “Plan to cap some medical bills will cause health care crisis,” March 22 guest commentary

As the owner of a brokerage firm, I see firsthand how my small business clients have scaled back their health plan offerings due to high costs. I support House Bill 1174 because it would lower health care costs for Colorado small businesses by establishing reimbursement limits for prices paid to certain hospitals through the small group market.

Many entrepreneurs can’t afford to offer robust benefits anymore, so they’re turning to less conventional methods like stipends for employees to purchase their own health coverage. Yet, seasoned employees want to work for a company that can provide quality benefits, which affects small businesses’ ability to recruit and retain workers. The high cost of health insurance, therefore, prevents small businesses from competing and growing.

I urge the legislature to pass HB 1174 to make health care more accessible and affordable for Colorado small businesses and their employees.

Samantha Allbritton, Centennial

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A trio of bills aimed at regulating the internet to protect children in Colorado have run into a wall of opposition — along with “concerns” from the governor — over worries they’d infringe on First Amendment rights.

The sponsors of Senate Bill 201, which would have required age verification to access online pornographic materials, killed their bill on the floor this week in an acknowledgement that Gov. Jared Polis would likely veto the measure. Two other bills aimed at adding social media regulations, in part to protect underage youth from criminal activity, are also in danger of being vetoed.

Taken together, the hurdles facing the three bills show the push and pull of balancing the protection of the state’s youth with concerns about impeding the free flow of information and violating rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

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Ammo sold in Colorado will soon be kept off of open shelves

Starting in summer 2026, ammunition sold in Colorado must be kept behind counters or in locked shelves under a law signed Friday by Gov. Jared Polis.

House Bill 1133 requires ammo be accessible to customers only with the help of a store employee. It also generally prohibits the sale of ammo to people under the age of 18, though it includes several exemptions that allow sales to people who are currently between 18 and 21; to those who’ve passed a hunter’s safety course; and to military servicemembers and police officers.

The law goes into effect July 1, 2026. Because it requires ammo be sold only with the assistance of store employees, the law effectively bans the ammo vending machines that were installed in at least three towns last year.

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Gov. Jared Polis, in first veto of year, rejects bill changing public records law — setting up potential override vote

Gov. Jared Polis rejected a bill that would have altered the state’s public records laws on Thursday, setting up a rare attempt by legislators to try to override the veto.

In a letter announcing his decision — the first veto of the 2025 legislative session — the governor wrote that Senate Bill 77 made some “administrative changes” to the Colorado Open Records Act that he considered fine, including requiring additional public information about the filing and costs of records requests.

But he wrote that it had two fatal flaws: The bill would’ve given government entities more time to respond to requests than currently allowed if they determined the request was for financial gain — requiring officials to make that determination themselves. It also would’ve created two classes within the public records law, requiring faster responses for journalists — sticking to the three days now considered reasonable — while allowing for delays of a couple additional days for everyone else.

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Can the Trump administration intervene on Colorado’s new gun-control law? Republicans hope so.

Colorado House Republicans sent a letter this week to request immediate intervention from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and her office’s new 2nd Amendment Task Force to oppose the state’s sweeping new gun-control law.

But legal experts told The Denver Post that Bondi doesn’t have authority to nullify Senate Bill 3. Though the Justice Department could later file a lawsuit challenging it, the feds couldn’t unilaterally declare the measure unconstitutional in any binding manner — meaning the Republican state lawmakers’ request is unlikely to lead to its reversal anytime soon, if at all.

One expert, constitutional law professor Doug Spencer at the University of Colorado Law School, said the letter, sent Monday, mostly amounted to political posturing. The state House’s top Democrat, Speaker Julie McCluskie, called it a “cowardly” attempt to challenge legislation passed by a majority of lawmakers.

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Legislature approves Sand Creek Massacre memorial for Colorado Capitol

A statue memorializing the Sand Creek Massacre will soon adorn the Colorado State Capitol grounds — a milestone moment of awareness and healing from one of the darkest moments in state history.

The Colorado Senate unanimously approved a resolution approving its installation Monday. The House also unanimously approved it last week. Installation is planned to begin in 2026.

The statue, by sculptor Gerald Anthony Shippen, will depict the Cheyenne and Arapaho chiefs Black Kettle and Left Hand, as well as a Native American woman with a child. It will be placed on a pedestal on the western steps, where a statue of a Union soldier once stood.

“We end our healing run there, on the steps, and we just look in,” said Otto Braided Hair, a Northern Cheyenne descendant of the massacre and tribal representative.

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Flurry of floor votes, reproductive and election bill debates, and more in the Colorado legislature this week

The Colorado legislature’s two-week-long budget blitz has (mostly) ended, and we’re now in the final weeks of the 2025 legislative session.

That means a continuous flurry of floor votes in both chambers as sine die approaches in early May. In the House this week, representatives will debate House Bill 1321, which would dedicate $4 million to the governor’s office to defend against “adverse” action from the Trump administration, including possible criminal investigations, as we reported last week. That will likely be a tense debate: The House’s top Republican, Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, foreshadowed her concerns with the bill in brief comments on other legislation last week.

The House will also debate bills seeking to implement policies around book bans in schools; to allow small cars common in Japan — called “kei vehicles” — onto (most) Colorado roads; and to institute an easier licensing system for food trucks. House Bill 1174, which would cap certain hospital reimbursements, is also up for a first House vote this week.

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The Colorado Senate unanimously approved a approving its installation Monday. The House also unanimously approved it last week. Installation is planned to begin in 2026.

The statue, by sculptor Gerald Anthony Shippen, will depict the Cheyenne and Arapaho chiefs Black Kettle and Left Hand, as well as a Native American woman with a child. It will be placed on a pedestal on the western steps, where a statue of a Union soldier once stood.

“We end our healing run there, on the steps, and we just look in,” said Otto Braided Hair, a Northern Cheyenne descendant of the massacre and tribal representative.

He referred to the annual 200-mile trek, the Sand Creek Massacre Spiritual Healing Run organized by the Northern and Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, that goes from the massacre site near Eads to downtown Denver.

“We’re outsiders,” Braided Hair continued. “And today, we are inside. Today, the Cheyenne, Arapaho nations recognize, acknowledge both the unanimous support of the House and Senate. I’m just beside myself. I wish all my relatives and descendants and runners were out here.”

That statue recalls the brutal, unprovoked attack by U.S. Cavalry on a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho people, who had gathered under a United States flag and a white flag of peace, in 1864. The cavalry would kill more than 200 people, mostly women, children and the elderly, and go on to parade mutilated body parts through downtown Denver, according to the resolution.

The bipartisan resolution was sponsored by Sens. Kyle Mullica and Rod Pelton and Reps. Tammy Story and Ty Winter.

“Our hope is this resolution and memorial will be a turning point. A moment when Colorado says we are not afraid to confront our past because we believe in a more just and honest future,” said Mullica, a Thornton Democrat. “To the Cheyenne and Arapaho nations, we see you. We honor you. And we walk forward — not ahead of you, but with you.”

The statue replaces a separate memorial of a Union soldier that previously stood on the pedestal. That statue was toppled during the racial justice protests of 2020. It honored Coloradans who served in the Union Army during the Civil War — but also memorialized the Sand Creek massacre and Col. John M. Chivington, who perpetrated it.

That statue has been on loan to History Colorado since its toppling. It will eventually go to the Department of Military and Veteran Affairs.

Money for the Sand Creek Massacre memorial has been raised in part through the One Earth Future Foundation. The final fundraising push will begin next month through the Sand Creek Massacre Foundation. People who wish to donate may do so at .