I recently returned from a wonderful trip to Denver. As a Welshwoman inhabiting a medieval town called Ruthin, North Wales, UK, I was interested in learning more about the history of Denver, and I came across the story of the Sand Creek Massacre.

Visiting the History Colorado Center and viewing photos and reading the first-hand accounts of what happened left me angry and speechless. As an inhabitant of a country (Wales) which was colonized by the English, generally with brutality and bloodshed, I felt a kinship (though I cannot pretend that our experience is totally parallel), but in all the carnage and slaughter, one man stood out, his name was Silas Soule.

Not only did Silas refuse an order and tell the troops under his direct command not to obey the orders of the colonel in charge, but he went on to what we would call a “whistle blow” or “upstand” about the events that happened that day. The price he would pay would be his own life some months later.

We visited this man’s grave in Riverside Cemetery. Surprisingly, no ribbons, no epitaph, no note of what he had done, just one plastic flower leaning on its side and a single pebble placed on the top. We left him our flowers and whispered our thanks.

In a world where principle is sliding, when the world is dimming voices of the marginalized and the oppressed, Silas is a beacon, an icon and a true ‘American Hero’.

Jude Traharne, Ruthin, North Wales

Not so fast with the PFAS scare tactics

Re: “Protect food from all contaminants,” July 24 open forum.

A letter in The Open Forum on Friday, July 24 contains an uninformed opinion about “contaminants” in food packaging. The writer states that public health is not being protected from hidden risks and stronger regulations are needed to protect public health. The writer does not give any facts to support these positions. Not one example of an illness is provided.

The facts are, no authoritative, comprehensive review of PFAS; the example used by the author shows a direct cause of any human illness or condition, only links or associations. The FDA announced in 2024 that no grease-proofing materials containing PFAS are sold for use in food packaging and all safety approvals were revoked.

State-level laws (such as one in Colorado) have prohibited any intentionally added PFAS to food packaging. Major fast-food chains have successfully eliminated PFAS from their packaging. Blood levels of PFAS in the population have declined by more than 70% in the past 25 years.

I am not downplaying the potential risks of PFAS or other chemicals in food packaging. What I am pointing out is that regulators, the food industry, and governments have been doing their jobs. As a result, even though PFAS still exists in food packaging, mainly due to migration from recycled materials, exposure is low and poses no safety concerns. Additionally, when new and credible information comes forward, appropriate steps are taken (e.g., phthalates in packaging). Thus, despite what was written, the safety of the food supply is maintained.

Let the public health agencies work on real issues, like cyclosporiasis. Unscientific scare tactics only drain resources and divert attention from important health issues. Leave imagined risks in one’s imagination.

Richard Lane, Broomfield

Wake up, Republicans; America is on fire

While this administration spends time and money on witch hunts and litigating and relitigating the past, the planet is burning up. It’s hotter than hell or flooding. Living expenses are rising, tariffs are hurting businesses, regular citizens and innocent people are being jailed or killed or deported to countries where they will be endangered, our food is less safe, our healthcare is more expensive, our public lands are being gutted, experts who have devoted their lives to public service are being derided or worse, our voting rights are being threatened, and Social Security will soon be bankrupt!

Wake up, Republicans and do the job you are elected to do. Improve our present living conditions, improve our safety, protect our democracy and create a better United States for tomorrow. Be brave and work across the aisle for a better future for all.

Nancy Litwack-Strong, Lakewood

Dems are turning Colo. into Eastern California

The people running this state are continuously looking for a problem to fix when no problem exists. Earlier this year, someone came up with the bright idea to legalize prostitution; that went away. The Democrats in office have continually tried to legislate away shootings, but that isn’t working. I bet the gun shops are very happy with all the guns they are selling before the new law is in place.

Then someone decided there should be a bus-only lane on Colfax. Wow, what a mess that is. Businesses are suffering and going out of business so that less than full busses can have their own lane. I assume they must still stop for the red lights. Whatever happened to driving less and not idling your car to keep pollution at bay? I am quite sure there will be lots of idling cars on East Colfax because of the new bus lane.

When will these people figure out that if people move here, they don’t do it to ride on buses or trains. They want to get in their car and go fishing, hiking, rafting, skiing, hunting, mountain climbing, and driving through our national parks. That is the biggest allure of this state.

Now, I read Democrats are not happy with their majorities in the House and Senate. They want a supermajority so they can do even more damage to this once great state. I was born and raised in this state, and trust me, this is not the state I grew up in. It has become eastern California.

Dennis Lubbers, Denver

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Re: “A somber occasion, for Native Americans whose connections run deep in state, the heartbreak of history shades their view of the sesquicentennial,” July 25 news story.

Kudos to The Denver Post for the feature article about Native Americans and their history in what we call the State of Colorado. One of the best short trips I’ve taken in Colorado was to Granada. From there, I visited the site of the Sand Creek Massacre, Amache National Historic Site where American Japanese citizens were illegally incarcerated during World War II, and Bent’s Fort, all important pieces of Colorado’s History.

I encourage readers to make the trip if they haven’t gone yet. Visiting the Sand Creek Massacre and Japanese detention sites are good examples of man’s inhumanity to man, and a reminder why, as citizens of a democracy, we must speak up when similar (current) government actions repeat the errors of the past.

Mariann Storck, Wheat Ridge

There is a limit to the exploitation of our natural resources

Re: “Stop using tax dollars to subsidize environmental carrying capacity overshoot” July 16 commentary.

I found Cosima Krueger-Cunningham’s July 16 guest opinion piece about overshooting environmental carrying capacity intriguing. We (the USA and most countries) operate on a market economy based on ownership of commodities, including natural resources. This economic model is often at cross-purposes with environmental stewardship because the commodity has more value than the environmental resources.

An example of this is the wood from clear-cutting an old-growth forest versus biological diversity and its function as a carbon sink, among other attributes. The United States currently has the mindset of “manifest destiny” that this country has unlimited resources that can and should be exploited for profit. Only when exploitation overshoots the carrying capacity do we suddenly look for other solutions, if there are any, e.g., Colorado River water availability and allocations that were determined using finite amounts instead of a percentage of the flow.

I agree with Krueger-Cunningham and her innovative idea for Colorado governments to require environmental assessments of taxpayer-funded projects to figure out if they exceed carrying capacity (e.g., water, air quality, land use) before being funded. That would help reduce the exploitation of natural resources.

However, what if most projects exceed the carrying capacity and there are no solutions to increase it? In natural populations, when the carrying capacity is reached, the population decreases (increased death, lower birth rates) until the system recovers. Perhaps the human population has reached this limit.

Loren Hettinger, Littleton

Can you lend a hand to prevent youth violence?

Re: “We’ve been here before. We know what it takes to reduce youth violence,” July 29 guest commentary.

As former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb said, “Youth violence is a community problem.” We are all part of this community. Each of us has 168 hours a week. We decide how best to spend them. Consider how you might best invest any of your 168 hours.

David L Stevenson, Denver

Campfires and feeding animals … Sheesh!

I visited our beautiful mountains this past week, and unfortunately, I observed the less intelligent of our species. Instance one, right next to a sign saying, “No open fires,” a family with their kids was fanning the embers of a campfire. Instance two, with several signs saying, “Do not Feed the Wildlife,” again families were brazenly feeding chipmunks. They even came prepared with precut apple slices and nuts in baggies. What’s with these people? Don’t they care about the very nature they are visiting, and what kind of example are they setting for their next generation?  Sheesh!

Dan Eberhart, Denver

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The competition was fierce. We looked for those who had roots in Colorado that went beyond living here just a few months, had a profound impact on this state’s culture and history, helping the Centennial State become what it is today.

Some on the list are people whose achievements were of national, international or interstellar significance, so their inclusion is warranted even if their direct influence in Colorado was less marked.

We did not include notorious people. Just being famous, even very famous, wasn’t enough to earn a spot on the list. People are flawed, and some on this list were both deeply flawed and greatly influential. We weighed this in deciding whether or not to include them.

We sought to cover a broad array of fields. And sometimes we put two people in one entry because the accomplishment of one could not be separated from the other.

The Post hopes you enjoy our list!

Madeleine Albright

As the first female secretary of state, Albright internationally. The Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver is named for her father, Josef Korbel, who was also a diplomat.

Elias M. Ammons

Rancher and founder of the Colorado Cattle and Horse Grower’s Association, and one of the in 1906. As governor, beginning in 1912, he initiated a state parks system.

Susan Anderson

One of the first women to practice medicine in Colorado, she to the residents of Fraser, whom she tended to as the only physician in town for 49 years. (Some claim was based on her life.)

Philip Anschutz

An entrepreneur and one of the wealthiest individuals in the world, he has to the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He is the founder of AEG and owns sports teams and sports venues.

Bill Armstrong

The former U.S. senator was a pillar of Colorado’s Republican Party and a force behind the conservative economic policies of Ronald Reagan. He’s viewed as pivotal in helping the party recover after Watergate.

Marilyn Van Derbur Atler

The , University of Colorado graduate and former Miss America founded two nonprofits dedicated to strengthening laws to protect adult survivors and child victims of abuse. She is the subject of the documentary chronicling the years of sexual abuse by her socially prominent father.

Philip Bailey

The Grammy-winning Denver East High School graduate made his name as a lead singer for Earth, Wind, and Fire. The band sold worldwide.

Thomas Bailey

Thomas Bailey (now Janus Henderson), one of the largest asset managers in Colorado. The Janus Foundation helps more than 140 national nonprofits by offering education to at-risk youths.

Ceal Barry

Barry worked 37 years at the University of Colorado. In 22 seasons as the head women’s basketball coach, her record was 427-242. As an associate and later deputy athletic director, she championed women’s sports.

Odell C. Barry

Barry started in Colorado as a record-breaking kick return specialist for the Denver Broncos. He quickly transitioned into a statesman, business owner, mentor and philanthropist. Barry served on the Northglenn City Council and was elected the first Black mayor of Northglenn in 1980. U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse called Barry “a giant in our community.”

William Bent

The fur trader developed a strong relationship with the Cheyenne and built Bent¶¶Òőap Fort, now a National Historic Site. He bequeathed land along the Arkansas River, specifying that it should be granted to mixed-race settlers, .

Alan Berg

Member of the in the 1980s, the outspoken liberal, a Jew, by the white supremacist group The Order outside his Denver home in 1984 at age 50.

Chief Black Kettle

Member of the Cheyenne tribe that settled on the Eastern Plains in the 1830s, near La Junta. He was an during the 1860s Colorado War and before and after the Sand Creek Massacre along Big Sandy Creek in 1864.

Claude Boettcher

His father built the family fortune through various business interests, including hardware, sugar and cement. Claude Boettcher created the Boettcher Foundation in 1937.

Frederick Bonfils and Harry Tammen

The two purchased a failing newspaper in 1895 and renamed it the Denver Evening Post, predecessor of The Denver Post.

Helen Bonfils

Bonfils became president of The Denver Post when her father, founder Frederick G. Bonfils, died. the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the Bonfils Memorial Theater (now Lowenstein Theater) and the Bonfils Blood Center.

Frank Bonanno

The restaurateur has been at the helm of in Colorado, including Mizuna, Luca, Osteria Marco, Green Russell and Denver Milk Market. He is also the creator of the eight-episode

Steve Bosley

Bosley, a University of Colorado graduate, served for 12 years on the CU Board of Regents and was the president and CEO of Independent Bank of Boulder for 24 years. Bosley is a co-founder of the Bolder Boulder 10k race, which helped put the city on the map as a running mecca.

Pat Bowlen

The former Broncos owner created a culture of winning and made himself the most successful sports team owner in Colorado history.

Stan Brakhage

Experimental filmmaker whose 300-plus works helped define the “language of American avant-garde cinema,” according to the . Taught Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts at for more than 20 years.

Antonia Brico

The conductor and pianist settled in Denver in 1942, where she founded a Bach Society and the Women’s String Ensemble. In 1948, Brico became (later the Denver Philharmonic). She taught piano to Judy Collins, who directed a movie about the musician in 1974.

Clara Brown

Born into slavery, she headed to Denver in search of a daughter who had been sold. They would not be reunited for many years. She formed a laundry business in Central City, made enough to invest in mining claims, and later  to Colorado using her own money to support the new communities.

Henry Brown

Brown arrived in Denver in 1860 and is linked to the city’s earliest development. He built the Brown Palace on his land and donated 10 acres for the state Capitol. Brown also is credited with establishing the Denver City Library.

Molly Brown

Before she was heralded as a hero of the Titanic for her efforts to help get survivors into lifeboats and raise money for them, Margaret Brown ran for the U.S. Senate and was a champion of women’s rights.

Norm Brownstein

He’s been given the moniker  “America’s 101st Senator” because of the influence he wields as founder and chairman of the law and lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber and Schreck. Among his contributions was a major role in securing the

Doug Bruce

The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, is a fundamental element of how Colorado spends and taxes its residents. who served in the state House of Representatives.

Joy Burns

in Denver; chair of the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors’ Bureau; founder and director of the Women’s Bank, now called Colorado Business Bank; founder of the Women’s Foundation of Colorado; the first woman to chair the ; and president of the Sportswomen of Colorado Foundation.

William Byers

Byers founded the Rocky Mountain News, Denver’s first newspaper. He helped create the city’s first Chamber of Commerce and joined John Evans and Henry Brown in starting the Denver Tramway Company.

Patty Calhoun

Calhoun co-founded Westword magazine in 1977 (from which she is stepping down as editor this summer), a frequent panelist on “Colorado Inside Out,” and past president of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies.

Ben Nighthorse Campbell

Known for his advocacy of Native American issues, Campbell pushed to upgrade the Great Sand Dunes National Monument to a national park. He was a fiscal conservative who left the Democratic Party in 1995.

John Francis Campion

Campion arrived in Colorado in 1879 and made a He is remembered as a key figure in founding the Museum of Natural History, now Denver Museum of Nature & Science, but also donated money to build the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception.

Hendrika Bestebreurtje Cantwell

The pioneering pediatrician started the in Colorado to help abusive and neglectful parents. As the physician for Denver Social Services, she established a Family Services Center and helped increase public awareness of child abuse.

Scott Carpenter

The Boulder native was the and the second to orbit the Earth — ending in a frightening landing far from the target site. He helped develop underwater training to prepare for spacewalks.

Gov. Ralph Carr

Governor during World War II, he was an outspoken

Kit Carson

Carson moved to and negotiated a peace treaty with the Utes. The famed frontiersman, who also led campaigns against Native Americans, ended his career as superintendent of Indian affairs for the Colorado territory.

George Caulkins

Caulkins played a critical role in raising the money that created Vail. The Ellie Caulkins Opera House is named for his wife, a supporter of opera in Colorado.

Thomas Cech

The in chemistry in 1989 (along with Sidney Altman) discovered that RNA had the ability to “form stable, structured molecules – not just transient messengers,” according to Yale School of Medicine. He is a distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Colorado.

Walter S. Cheesman

The businessman, developed the real estate industry and, with his daughter, Gladys, planned his “grand mansion” along Eighth Avenue. It was built in 1908 and later became the Governor’s Residence at the Boettcher Mansion in 1924.

Chin Lin Sou

Chin arrived in Black Hawk in 1871 when work on the transcontinental railroad ended. He became wealthy when he and moved to Denver, where he ran an import business and was a leader in the Chinese community. His descendants still live here.

Adolph Coors

The founder of Coors Brewing Co., he His son, William Coors, is credited with developing recyclable aluminum cans.

Eric Cornell

Cornell, a physicist at the Boulder-based National Institute of Standards and Technology, was among the winners of the 2001 His team was the first to achieve the first pure Bose-Einstein condensate, a new form of matter predicted by Albert Einstein that makes the study of quantum physics less difficult.

Lillian Covillo/Freidann Parker

The Denver natives began a ballet school in 1951 that grew into Colorado Ballet.

Dana Crawford

Crawford is widely seen as a visionary for her ability to grasp the value of Denver’s historic architecture and preserve it. Her signature project was Larimer Square, which she saved despite city leaders who saw her as blocking progress and hurdles thrown up by bankers.

Bill Daniels

A pioneer in cable television, he founded Daniels & Associates, setting the stage for  Denver to become the industry’s capital. His estate created the

Jack Dempsey

The “Manassa Mauler” became a legend fighting in front of record-breaking crowds. He became the world heavyweight champion in 1919.

John Denver

Born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., he settled in Aspen and for his music and his activism. “Rocky Mountain High” is one of the state’s two official songs.

James Dobson

He founded the Colorado Springs-based conservative ministry Focus on the Family and was a major force in pushing conservative Christian ideals in mainstream American politics in the 1980s.

Jean Dubofsky

While a lawyer in the Legal Aid Society of metro Denver beginning in 1972, she contributed to 34 new laws, including one that got banks to issue . She was the first woman appointed to the Colorado Supreme Court and was the lead attorney in the 1996 challenge overturning .

Steve Ells

Ells is the founder of Chipotle Mexican Grill, which the noted pioneered a fast-food restaurant “serving fresh, whole, unprocessed ingredients cooked in an open kitchen.”

John Elway

The nine-time Pro Bowler and former NFL MVP led the Broncos to their first Super Bowl championship, winning back-to-back titles, completing a Hall of Fame career defined by breathtaking fourth-quarter comeback victories.

Elizabeth Piper Ensley

She was one of only a few Black women working for women’s suffrage and was key in persuading Black men to vote for women’s suffrage.

John Evans

cannot be separated from the Sand Creek Massacre, which led to him losing his federally appointed position in the years before Colorado became a state. He also founded Denver Seminary, now the University of Denver. He was instrumental in securing the land and money for the Union Pacific line from Cheyenne to Denver.

Mount Evans, named for disgraced Colorado territorial governor, officially has a new name

Curt Fentress

Founder of Fentress Architects in Denver, Fentress was the , as well as the Colorado Convention Center, the National Museum of the Marine Corps near Washington, D.C., and Incheon International Airport in South Korea.

Barry Fey

The concert promoter is credited with for musical acts, starting in 1967. Fey also started the “Summer of Stars” concert series at Red Rocks in 1976 that boosted the venue's national reputation.

John Fielder

The nature photographer highlighted the beauty of Colorado. He produced more than 40 books, and one of his photographs will be featured on a postage stamp for the state's 150th birthday.

Donald Fletcher

The 19th-century real estate developer (now called Aurora) in 1890.

Jay Fetcher

The Routt County rancher to preserve agricultural lands.

Justina Ford

In 1902, Ford became the first licensed Black female doctor in Colorado, but the Colorado Medical Society would not accept her. She took her practice door to door, delivering 7,000 babies over 50 years. Her home now houses the Black American West Museum.

Tim Foster

Foster Transitioned Mesa State College to Colorado Mesa University during his 17-year tenure as president. Before moving back home to Grand Junction, he served in the state House and was majority leader.

Nate Gart

Nate started selling newspapers to help support his family and finally saved $500 to buy a store. Gart Brothers Sporting Goods was formed in 1928.

Charles Gates Sr.

Gates arrived in Tincup in 1904 to work in the gold mines. He left for a few years and, when he returned, used his life savings of $700, plus borrowed money, to buy the They replaced leather with rubber and created The Gates Rubber Company in 1918.

Dick Gibson

Founder of the Fort Collins company that , Gibson ran an annual jazz party over Labor Day weekend in Colorado for 30 years, starting in 1963, “,” according to The New York Times.

Tim Gill

Gill, a University of Colorado graduate, made millions off his software company Quark, but his legacy will be the Gill Foundation, which for more than 25 years has fought in Colorado and across the nation for LGBTQ rights. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

William Gilpin

Gilpin was the and raised the troops to protect the area from a Confederate invasion. He developed a theory called Isothermal Axis and used it to envision Denver as an important international hub.

Allen Ginsberg

The poet, along with Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, was a  in the 1950s and '60s. Ginsberg founded the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at the Naropa Institute (now University) in Boulder, home to the Allen Ginsberg Library.

Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales

Gonzales was a civil rights leader and founder of the Crusade for Justice. His efforts, as his Denver Post obituary noted, "energized Denver’s Chicano community, paving the way for Hispanics to seek a greater role in civic and political life."

Temple Grandin

Grandin has used around the world. She is autistic and speaks on that subject as well as animal behavior. She has taught at Colorado State University for 30 years.

Emily Griffith

A teacher and administrator, Griffith saw the need for a school for adults to learn useful skills. She raised the money, and her dream became Her 1947 murder remains unsolved.

Frederic C. Hamilton

The philanthropist and masterworks from his private collection upon DAM, creating one of the best collections in the Western United States.

Zipporah Parks Hammond

The first Black person to earn a nursing degree from the University of Colorado School of Nursing, her later work at the Tuskegee Institute helped establish treatment protocols for polio patients. Back home, she indexed materials about Denver’s Five Points community.

John Harold

In a region known for its corn, John Harold is the farmer most associated with the Olathe Sweet, his trademark brand. Harold founded Tuxedo Corn in 1986, and his produce was soon shipped across the country to Kroger stores. He helped to launch the Olathe Sweet Corn Festival.

Gary Hart

His presidential run was famously derailed when he was caught in an affair. After that, the former Colorado senator became involved in international law and business, serving as co-chair of the U.S. Commission on National Security for the 21st Century.

Todd Helton

The Hall of Famer spent 17 years with the Colorado Rockies, becoming the face of the franchise. He teamed up with Undue Medical Debt to erase $10 million of medical debt faced by Coloradans.

John Hickenlooper

Colorado’s current U.S. senator first made his mark with the Wynkoop Brewery in lower downtown, his restaurant investments and finally as the mayor of Denver. Hickenlooper worked to revitalize downtown before serving eight years as governor.

Bob Howsam

He was the founder of the Denver Bears minor-league baseball team, builder of Bears Stadium (later the original Mile High Stadium) and , in 1959.

Margaret and Phillip Isely

In 1995, they launched one of the first grocery store chains in America that would only stock natural and organic products. Vitamin Cottage, today called Natural Grocers, has 170 stores in 21 states.

Oliver Toussaint Jackson

A few buildings are all that's left of Dearfield, ounded by Jackson in 1910. The community's crops sold well during World War I, but the Dust Bowl caused the residents to move away in search of work. The town in Weld County is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Frances Wisebart Jacobs

What is now National Jewish Hospital or the work she did to establish it to treat tuberculosis patients.

Jennifer Jasinski

She was the first Denver chef to win a  in 2013.

Jonathan Kennedy

Kennedy had three deaf children. When he moved to Colorado, he convinced the territorial Legislature to begin a school for deaf children that is now the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind.

Billy Kidd

Kidd was the first American to ever win an Olympic medal in Alpine skiing, taking silver in the slalom at the 1964 Winter Olympics. Kidd then spent the next 50 years heading the skiing programs at Steamboat Springs, helping to create the next generation of Alpine athletes.

Josef Korbel

Korbel was founder and first dean of the . The master’s program at DU’s Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs is world-renowned. He was the father of Madeleine Albright and mentor to Condoleezza Rice.

Luther and Charles Kountze

Luther expanded the family banking business to Colorado, where he was joined by his brother. The bank became Colorado National Bank.

Jerry Krantz

Longtime owner of downtown, whose slogan “Hot Burritos and Cool Jazz Nightly” drew the coolest cats in Denver for decades. Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and the Marsalis brothers played there, and Bill Clinton visited. Krantz is in the Colorao Music Hall of Fame.

Dottie Lamm

Colorado’s most active first lady used her platform from 1975 to 1987 to advocate for women’s rights and then had a weekly column in The Denver Post. She was a delegate to the United Nations in 1994 and 1995.

Richard Lamm

Colorado's longest-serving governor led the opposition to from coming here, in part because of the environmental damage the Games might cause. He was a strong supporter of immigration restrictions.

Mary Lathrop

She graduated from the University of Denver Law School in 1896 and became the first woman to open a law practice in Colorado.

Judge Benjamin Barr Lindsey

He established the and was known for his advocacy for the rights of women and workers.

Mary Elitch Long

What became o provide fruit and vegetables. That became Elitch’s Zoological Gardens, and, after she was widowed in 1891, Long continued work at the gardens, which offered entertainment. In 1897, she formed the country’s first summer stock company.

John Love

Love, a Republican, served as governor for 10 years starting in 1963. He sought to draw more businesses to the state. Among the key legislation while he was governor: State support for education increased, abortion was legalized, and the Sunshine Law opened government meetings to the public.

Henry Lowenstein

Holocaust survivor Lowenstein at the Bonfils Theatre in Denver. He designed and produced more than 400 plays through 1986. “Henry would have to be considered one of the 10 most important people in shaping this city,” said DCPA founder Donald Seawell.

Carrie Ann Lucas

Lucas, an activist attorney, won countless victories for Coloradans with disabilities, increasing parental rights and access to private businesses, public spaces and transit. She used the courtroom and civil disobedience to fight for federal Medicaid funding.

Joseph Machebeuf

Colorado's pioneer bishop arrived when there were two adobe churches in Colorado and Utah. His accomplishments included founding a convent for Sisters of Loretto, being the visionary behind St. Joseph's Hospital, and bringing College of the Sacred Heart, now Regis University, to Colorado.

John Malone

The New York Times described Malone as the of those who have transformed the modern media industry. The chairman emeritus of Liberty Media is also the second-largest private landowner in the United States.

Bill McCartney

The University of Colorado football team won its first national title under McCartney. He is remembered for the culture he created, featured in an ESPN documentary, “The Gospel According to Mac.”

Hattie McDaniel

McDaniel's career was marked by a series of firsts, including becoming the first African-American to win an Oscar, which she received for her role as Mammy in "Gone with the Wind." Segregation laws prevented her from attending the movie's premiere.

Bill McNichols Jr.

McNichols was Denver's mayor for 14 years, a time when the city began its transformation into the metropolis it is today. He was defeated by Federico Peña, in large part because of the city's inadequate response to the 1982 Christmas Eve blizzard.

Otto Mears

Mears built more than in the southern and southwest Colorado. He helped establish Saguache and the routes that became the basis for much of the region’s highway system, including the Million Dollar Highway between Ouray and Silverton.

Ellis Meredith

She was the leader of and, according to a 1910 newspaper headline, the first woman elected to office in Denver. After Colorado gave women the right to vote in 1893, Meredith became a national leader in the movement.

Joyce Meskis

The pioneering bookstore owner and fierce First Amendment advocate built Denver’s Tattered Cover into one of the nation’s most beloved literary institutions.

Glenn Miller

The Fort Morgan High School graduate recorded the first gold record: "Chattanooga Choo Choo." His music came to

Enos Mills

Mills homesteaded the area around Longs Peak and led the fight to preserve the area as a national park. Congress established Rocky Mountain National Park in 1915.

Larry Mizel

Mizel founded M.D.C. Holdings, parent company of Richmond American Homes. His philanthropy is far-reaching. He founded the Mizel Institute, which includes the Mizel Museum and the Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (CELL).

David Moffat

Moffat was the visionary behind the tunnel through the Continental Divide that now bears his name.

The Monfort family

In 1930, Warren Monfort founded a Greeley feedlot, and his son Kenneth Monfort revolutionized the industry with butchering facilities in the 1950s. Warren’s grandsons, Dick and Charlie Monfort, are principal owners of the Colorado Rockies.

Isaac E. Moore Jr.

He co-founded the law firm Flanigan & Moore and served in the state House in the 1950s and ’60s, co-sponsoring “some of the strongest civil rights laws in the country at the time,” according to the at the University of Colorado.

Lt. Col. John Mosley

After graduating from Manual High School, Mosley became one of nine Black students enrolled at Colorado State University. He was the first Black athlete on the CSU football team. Mosley then pushed during World War II to enlist as a fighter pilot, eventually joining the Tuskegee flight training center.

Rachel B. Noel

The granddaughter of a slave, Noel became the first in Colorado when she was elected to the Denver School Board in 1965. The Noel Resolution highlighted the de facto segregation of the Denver schools.

George Norlin

He served as the University of Colorado president from 1919-1939, during which time the current campus was developed.

Sue O’Brien

O’Brien was the editorial page editor at The Denver Post for eight years until her death in 2003. Dean Singleton called her the “conscience of Colorado.” She was a press secretary for Gov. Dick Lamm and ran Gov. Roy Romer’s first campaign for governor.

Chief Ouray and Chipeta

The U.S. government declared him He negotiated the treaties that led to the loss of Ute territory. He was considered a promoter of peace who fought to prevent the destruction of his people by a U.S. government intent on taking their land at any cost.

William Jackson Palmer

The founder of Colorado Springs. He came to Colorado, where he co-founded the  running a narrow-gauge line from Denver to what became Colorado Springs.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone

The creative partners are best known for writing "The Book of Mormon" and "South Park." " for its use of satire to explore some of the biggest issues of our time. The duo also bought and restored Colorado's famous Casa Bonita restaurant, saving it from closure.

Federico Peña

Peña Boulevard is named for this two-term mayor, who began work on Denver's new airport. He also played a role in Peña went on to serve in the Clinton administration as both secretary of transportation and energy.

Spencer Penrose

Penrose was a who was active in the Colorado Springs region, financing the Broadmoor Hotel and Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and establishing the El Pomar Foundation.

Antoinette Perry

The are named for this Denver native, who first performed at Elitch Theater. Among her greatest successes was directing the play "Harvey," written by Coloradan Mary Chase.

The Rev. James Peters

Peters led the New Hope Baptist Church in Denver for nearly 30 years. He marched with Martin Luther King Junior in Selma, Ala., in 1965, and spent much of his life fighting for Civil Rights in Colorado, including pushing for reform at the Denver Sheriff’s Office.

Gerald Phipps

The founder of GH Phipps Construction (in 1952) bought the Denver Broncos in 1965 and with his brother, Allan, took the team to its first AFC Championship. He was the first non-player to be inducted into the , in 1985.

Bishop George Maxwell Randall

The Episcopalian missionary established the School of Mines, known then as the Territorial School of Mines in 1873. It became Colorado's first public institution of higher education.

Bruce Randolph

Daddy Bruce, as he was known, quit school after third grade. He worked odd jobs until figuring out how to make his love of barbecue successful in Denver, where he had moved to be near his son. , marked by his legendary Thanksgiving dinner for those in need.

Condoleezza Rice

The former U.S. secretary of state moved to Colorado in 1968, when her father took a job at the University of Denver. She attended St. Mary's Academy and earned her bachelor's degree at the University of Denver. George W. Bush appointed her secretary of state. She is now part of the Denver Broncos' ownership.

Clark Richert

An artist known for his brilliantly colored paintings of geometric shapes, he was a groundbreaking creative force who helped inspire thousands of artists as a teacher at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. He helped found Drop City, the legendary hippy artist colony outside Trinidad.

Dan Ritchie

Ritchie's business acumen, steady leadership and knack for philanthropy righted the rough seas for a number of Denver's most iconic organizations, including the University of Denver and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

Walter Orr Roberts

Roberts moved to Colorado in 1940, and his early solar research labs drew scientific investment to Boulder for the High Altitude Observatory and eventually the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Cleo Parker Robinson

The dancer grew up in Five Points, transforming the neighborhood's historic Shorter AME Church into the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance studio, which has brought the healing power of dance, music and art to thousands of children across the state.

William Green Russell

Russell and his party of Georgians established, in November 1858, the first significant white settlement where Cherry Creek and the South Platte come together.  They called their new town Auraria.

Florence Sabin

The Central City native led an investigation i helping lay the groundwork for a cure. Upon her retirement, she returned to Colorado, where she helped educate health professionals about the disease. She is immortalized with a statue at the U.S. Capitol.

Ken Salazar

The fifth-generation Coloradan served in the U.S. Senate and was secretary of the interior under President Barack Obama,  As the state’s attorney general (1999 to 2004), he established the Fugitive Prosecutions Unit. He was a visionary behind Great Outdoors Colorado.

Katherine “Kay” Schomp

The longtime Denver education and arts activist was known as the "founding mother" of the Denver School of the Arts, which she crusaded to establish.

Don Seawell

The former publisher of The Denver Post left his greatest legacy as the visionary behind the Denver Performing Arts Complex.

Pat Schroeder

The congresswoman from Denver helped define the role women have in politics. She was an advocate of family-work issues, famously saying, “I have a brain and a uterus, and I use both” when asked about being a congresswoman and a mother. She was a force behind the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Family Leave Act.

Peter Seibert

After he was injured in World War II, Seibert headed to Aspen as the head of the ski patrol. His career developed, and he set out to find the land to Seibert raised the money needed and became president of the Vail Corporation.

Frank Shorter

Two-time Olympic medalist Frank Shorter moved to Boulder in 1970 to pursue high-elevation training for marathons. After Shorter’s gold medal win in the Montreal Olympics, athletes flocked to Boulder to mimic his training. He is the co-founder of the Bolder Boulder 10k.

John Sie

The Entertainment Group, Sie wrote the first white paper on digital High Definition Television (HDTV) submitted to Congress and the FCC. The Anna and John J. Sie Foundation supports multiple causes, notably research for people with Down syndrome.

Dean Singleton

Denver Post readers can thank for The Post existing today. The founder of Media News Group is credited with winning the newspaper war with The Rocky Mountain News and securing The Post's future.

Silas Soule

Soule was a Union officer, and he and his company refused to fire a shot at the Sand Creek Massacre. Shortly after he testified against Maj. John Chivington, he was shot and killed in Denver.

Robert Speer

Speer was elected mayor of Denver three times, starting in 1904. He died during his third term. He is remembered for the that brought Denver its network of parks, tree-lined boulevards and public buildings.

Jack Swigert

The Denver native and University of Colorado football star on the moon flight Apollo XIII. He made the famous statement, “Houston, we have a problem here” when an oxyen tank exploded.

Horace and Baby Doe Tabor

Horace Tabor's Leadville silver mines made him a rich man, and . But he and his second wife, Baby Doe, were also lavish spenders, and she died in poverty.

Harry Talbott

Palisade peach farmer Harry Talbott helped . He started land trusts for the area and fought off a home development scheme during the oil shale boom that soon went bust.

Hunter S. Thompson

where the journalist becomes central to the story, spent decades living in Woody Creek. He wrote "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."

Dalton Trumbo

This once cub reporter for The Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction published his first book, “Eclipse,” in 1935, which was . Trumbo was forced to testify before Congress during the Red Scare. He became a fierce defender of the First Amendment.

Brian Vicente and Mason Tvert

The two were the big, leading to legalize recreational marijuana in Colorado.

Wellington Webb

The mayor from 1991-2003, Webb played a major role in shaping Denver’s economic future. Most of Denver International Airport was finished under his watch. Downtown experienced a revitalization with new housing and restaurants. His efforts supported the opening of Coors Field. He was the city's first Black mayor.

Byron "Whizzer" White

The first University of Colorado football player to be named an All-American, White went on to become a U.S. Supreme Court justice. He wrote the opinion

Beatrice Willard

Willard was a tundra ecologist who did important work high in Rocky Mountain National Park, understanding the impact of human trampling on alpine tundra.

Judi and Marvin Wolf

Philanthropists who gave their time and money to the arts and the University of Colorado, supporting the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Opera Colorado, the Denver Symphony Orchestra, the Denver Art Museum and the CU law school.

Pierre Wolfe

Chef and in Capitol Hill, which was ranked among the best restaurants in Denver for more than 30 years. He also opened Normandy French Restaurant and Tante Louise. He hosted a for 60 years, “America’s Dining and Travel Guide.”

Richens Lacy “Uncle Dick” Wootton

The frontiersman built a 27-mile toll road over Raton Pass. According to “The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway offered him $50,000 to buy the road in 1878. He turned them down. Instead, Wootton asked that the railroad give his wife groceries and a pass to ride the train for life.”

Mildred “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias

The Associated Press named her Female Athlete of the Half Century in 1950. She competed in multiple sports and helped break down stereotypes of women in professional sports. She was a founder of the LPGA.

Despite connections to the state that run deeper than those of many Coloradans, Williams isn’t celebrating this year’s 150th anniversary of statehood. His reasons: the broken treaties that deprived Native Americans of their lands; the upending of Native American communities during the gold rush and influx of settlers; the decimation of the bison herds that sustained tribes for centuries; and the removal of Native Americans from Colorado to other regions.

“Most people today are excited by the celebration” of statehood, Williams said.  “For me, it is a dishonorable disgrace that insults my ancestors.”

Over hundreds of years,  lived full-time or have connections to what is now the state of Colorado.

But by the time Colorado became the 38th star on the American flag in 1876, the Cheyenne and Arapaho people had been forced out or left for Oklahoma, Montana and Wyoming. Around 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho people were killed in on Nov. 29, 1864. U.S. Army Cavalry Col. John Chivington, an ordained Methodist Minister, led the attack on a camp of about 750 mostly women, children and elders about 170 miles southeast of Denver.

As proponents continued to pursue statehood, who inhabited roughly the western third of Colorado under an 1868 treaty, clashed with settlers and U.S. troops moving into their lands. They saw their territory continue to shrink until the northern and central bands were .

Other bands of Utes were relegated to land in the southwest corner of the state, where the  and reservations are today.

Native American lives and communities were lost despite that identified most of the lands west of the Mississippi River as Indian territory. gave the Cheyenne and Arapaho sovereignty over the Platte River basin if they allowed white migrants to pass through and the government to build forts.

“You come to 1857, 1858, and all of a sudden, you have 100,000 people coming into the state and they’re all here illegally,” said Williams, an educator and the former CEO and president of the American Indian College Fund.

drastically shrank Cheyenne and Arapaho lands from an area between the North Platte River and the Arkansas River to land between the Arkansas River and the Sandy Fork of the Arkansas River, now known as Sand Creek. President Abraham Lincoln ratified the agreement, which tribal leaders denounced.

Northern Arapaho and Northern Cheyenne who were forced out of Colorado went to reservations in Wyoming and Montana. Under the Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne went to reservations in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma.

Even with all that was lost, tribes still see Colorado as a part of their heritage. The Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute reservations are currently the only ones federally recognized in the state, but other Native American people with strong ties to Colorado have maintained their presence. Some never left. Many moved to Colorado or made trips to what they considered their ancestral homelands.

found in 2020 that more than 100,000 people who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native alone or in combination with one or more races were living in Colorado. Those numbers rose from the 2010 Census and the upward trend is expected to continue, according to the

Denver was one of five cities designated as relocation centers as part of the federal which was intended to assimilate Native Americans by encouraging them to leave reservations. Since then, the has been a place for Native Americans looking for community, said Nehemiah Tsosie, the director.

The center was the place where Tsosie went when he moved to Denver from Kirtland, N.M., in 2019 for work. Tsosie, a member of the Navajo Nation, was homesick and couldn’t find the kind of food he was used to.

“The center had a community meal, a community social gathering. They were singing powwow music,” Tsosie said. “It seemed like it was medicine for us.”

Williams, who grew up in western Nebraska, lives in the Denver area. He founded the nonprofit which has researched and publicized the history of Native Americans in Colorado and advocated for restoring the status of tribal nations in the state.

Native Americans might not see Colorado’s sesquicentennial as a reason to celebrate, but some see opportunities to reestablish connections.

“We have nothing to do with the anniversaries because we were not here. We were confined to a reservation in Oklahoma when Colorado became a state,” said Fred Mosqueda., the Arapaho outreach specialist on the tribe’s language and culture program for the jointly governed in western Oklahoma.

Mosqueda, whose ancestors were at Sand Creek, travels frequently to the Denver area. He was an adviser on the History Colorado Center’s Sand Creek exhibit. He and other tribal members are working with Boulder County on a project that could restore bison on county open space. He supports developing an in Denver.

The Vibrant Denver Bond Package approved by voters in 2025 includes $20 million for the embassy, proposed on open space on Denver International Airport land. Ernest House Jr., a Ute Mountain Ute Tribe member, was selected to lead the planning.

“When Rick Williams first brought the idea, I told him ‘The Cheyenne and Arapaho want to buy the first office,'” said Fred Mosqueda.. “It’ll bring all the tribes together, under one roof.”

The Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes are also looking to work more closely with the Colorado state government, Mosqueda added.

“We’re looking at becoming a part of Colorado again, to come home in a sense,” he said.

‘Deadliest day in Colorado history’

The resources, plains and mountains of present-day Colorado provided food, shelter and a way of life for Indians throughout the region.

“We lived on the buffalo. We followed the buffalo,” Mosqueda said. “I think there was a northern herd and a southern herd. I think they congregated where they crossed over to each other out there on the Eastern Plains.”

There was water year-round and other wildlife. “This was the perfect place to live. Much of our medicines still grow there today,” Mosqueda said. “We still go back to get them.”

The area was also a sweet spot for non-Indians, or “Euro-Americans,” advancing West. Middle regions of the country proved easier for people on the move because the climate was often better for growing crops, soils were fertile and the Mississippi, Ohio and other rivers provided transportation networks.

“That middle area had always just been kind of easier, more enticing,” said Thomas Andrews, a history professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and director of

Colorado’s appeal soared when gold was discovered near present-day Denver in 1858-59. to look for gold or set up businesses and farms to supply the miners, according to the History Colorado Center.

The gold rush, followed by discovery of other minerals and development of irrigation on the Front Range spurred more growth, Thomas said.  At the time, “Colorado is easily the fastest-growing, most vibrant part of the inner mountain West.”

, but it took five tries over 17 years for it to become a state, said Katherine Mercier, an exhibit developer and historian at the History Colorado Center. She believes a major reason was the conflict resulting from settlers moving onto Indian lands.

“In order to become a state, you need land. If you have native people living on the land, then it’s not available for mining, or for agriculture, or for establishing your colony, or building (an irrigation) ditch,” Mercier said.

Many of the people in power trying to make Colorado a state saw native people as an obstacle and tried to move them off much of the land to clear the way, she added.

Mercier consulted with tribes when developing on Colorado becoming a state in 1876, the 100th anniversary of the United States. That earned Colorado the nickname of the Centennial State.

Andrews sees the presence of Native American tribes as just one of many issues playing into Colorado’s struggle to being admitted to the Union. There was reluctance among some to become a state because residents would have to pay taxes to run the government, he said.

Partisan political divides played into the effort because the area was considered heavily Republican, Andrews said, fueling concerns about how statehood would affect national politics.

Settlers moving West had used various tactics since Colonial times to advance despite the presence of Native Americans, whether through legal moves such as treaties or by instigating conflicts, Andrews said.

“Colorado, when it achieved statehood, was a reflection of the extent to which American settlers had gained power over native peoples, especially on the plains,” Andrews said.

Subsequently, the rest of Colorado came under scrutiny. Less than a year after statehood, newspaper headlines began “trumpeting the Utes must go,” Andrews said. Under terms of , they lived on approximately one-third of western Colorado in exchange for giving up a huge expanse of mineral-rich land.

“Settlers and the state government start coming up with pretexts for making life kind of impossible for the northern Ute bands in particular,” Andrews said.

who founded the agricultural community Union Colony in present-day Greeley and the Greeley Tribune newspaper, became the Indian agent in northwest Colorado in 1878. He clashed with the Northern Utes when he pushed them to be farmers and withheld rations when they resisted, according to History Colorado.

when federal troops summoned by Meeker entered the area overseen by the White River Indian Agency in Rio Blanco County. The site was near the present-day town of Meeker, named for the Indian agent.

in Utah in 1881. During that period, settlers flooded into the Utes’ former homelands, Andrews said.

to serve the three Ute bands in the southern part of the state. They were confined to a reservation along the Colorado-New Mexico border.

authorized the federal government to divide Indian reservations into 160-acre private lots for individual tribal members. Mercier said the law was intended to remove the Utes from their traditional way of life that included hunting and gathering.

The Weenuche band of the Utes agreed the land should be owned communally in what Mercier said was an act of resistance. The reservation split into two, with the Weenuche band moving to the west and forming the Ute Mountain Ute reservation. The Southern Ute reservation, to the east, is home to 

Williams refers to the inflow of non-Indians into Indian territory as an invasion.

“In almost every single conflict, there was an attack on Indian people or their nation, their village. The survivors retaliate. And then it escalates,” Williams said.

Williams worked with several other researchers on a series of reports under the banner of , which concentrated on the displacement and genocide of Native Americans in the state.

“I’m not saying our people were the most peaceful people. They were really revengeful when somebody did something to them. They didn’t forget,” he added.

Williams believes the goal behind the Sand Creek massacre, was to get Indians out of the way and secure statehood.

“It was genocidal in that it was an attempt to eliminate a portion of a population,” Andrews said of the massacre. “It was an attempt to make it impossible for that population to reproduce itself. I think the perpetrators were quite transparent about that.”

Victims were mutilated and scalped. Soldiers took body parts as trophies and paraded them through the streets of Denver.

Witnesses to the atrocities included and who ordered their men to stand down. Both testified against Chivington during congressional investigations

Less than three months after testifying, Soule was gunned down on a street in Denver.

Sand Creek happened just two months after Cheyenne and Arapaho leaders seeking peace met at  a military post on the outskirts of Denver, with territorial Gov. John Evans and Chivington.

The brutal onslaught also followed proclamations by Evans. The first required “friendly Indians” to go to certain camps. The second issued Aug. 11, 1864, authorized “all citizens of Colorado,” to kill “hostile Indians” who didn’t follow the first decree and take their property.

In 2021, Gov. Jared Polis rescinded the 157-year-old proclamations after Williams discovered that the proclamations were still on the books. Former Rep. Adrienne Benavidez,a Commerce City Democrat who’s now a state senator, supported the effort to repeal the policies.

Unvarnished  truths

Boulder County has been working for a while on going from “land acknowledgements,” or publicly recognizing that specific areas were originally the home of Native American people, to meaningful work, said County Commissioner Marta Loachamin of Longmont.

A proposal under discussion with the Cheyenne and Arapaho people of Oklahoma includes leasing land on county open space for the tribes to steward the land. That could include restoring bison to the area.

“We have agricultural leases with many different tenants doing different types of projects and work, research, etc. … It seemed like an opportunity,” Loachamin said

In 2025, Wilde, a member of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma, is charged with advancing the work with tribes whose homelands were in Boulder County, officials said.

on plans for managing a site with a connection to Sand Creek. Boulder County residents who mobilized into Company D of the Third Colorado Cavalry at along Boulder Creek, took part in the 1864 massacre.

“I do believe government has a responsibility to understand and to determine how to act accordingly in regards to people being removed from their land and land being stolen and taken,” Loachamin said.

Denver City Councilwoman Stacie Gilmore supports the creation of an embassy in Colorado for Native Americans who view the state as their homeland. She noted that the proposed site on First Creek at DIA Open Space is near a corner of the home to a bison herd.

Gilmore has traveled with Williams and other advocates of the embassy to neighboring states to talk about the project. While promoting the embassy has been “an honor and a joy,” Gilmore said she understands Indian tribes’ lack of enthusiasm to mark the state’s 150th anniversary.

So does Nathan Richie. He is director of the Golden History Museum and Park and is co-chairman of the , created by the to develop and promote plans for activities around the anniversaries.

“We know for certain that this is not a cause for celebration for most Native Americans. The creation of the United States and the state of Colorado came at great cost of their land and culture and people, and so it is not something that they want to celebrate at all,” Richie said.

However, he said, the sesquicentennial is an opportunity to share the history of how Colorado came to be. Richie said when the commission was formed in 2022, the goal was to ensure there was broad representation on the panel. Positions were created for representatives of the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain tribes.

The legislation was updated in 2024 to expand the commission. Richie said members wanted to create seats for members of tribes that don’t have reservations in Colorado, but have historic ties to the state.

Williams said he raised the lack of representation with commission members. He spoke during one of the listening sessions held to gather input from Indian people.

“They had very unvarnished truths to share,” Richie said of the sessions held around the state.

People made clear that the story of Colorado becoming a state should include talk of the Sand Creek massacre and other atrocities, treaties reneged on and the treatment of children at Indian boarding schools.

When people question commemorating an event with such a checkered past, Richie answers that two or more different things can be true at the same time.

“It is true that something like Colorado can be created because of great harm to native people and destruction of land and culture and gigantic loss,” Richie said. “It also can be true that people love the state and are proud of the achievements of individuals who have called Colorado home and wish to make the state that we live in a better place for themselves and for the future.

“It doesn’t diminish us to talk about bad things in our history. It actually makes us much stronger and wiser, I think, as a culture,” Richie said.

Here is a list of Native American tribes with ties to what is now the state of Colorado, based on information from History Colorado, which acknowledges that there may be tribes connected to the state that are not on the list:

• Apache Tribe of Oklahoma
• Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma
• Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
• Comanche Nation
• Crow Creek Sioux Tribe
• Crow Tribe
• Eastern Shoshone Tribe (Wind River Reservation)
• Fort Sill Apache Tribe
• Jicarilla Apache Nation
• Kewa Pueblo (formerly the Pueblo of Santo Domingo)
• Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma
• Mescalero Apache Tribe
• Navajo Nation
• Northern Arapaho Tribe
• Northern Cheyenne Tribe
• Oglala Sioux Tribe
• Ohkay Owingeh (Pueblo of San Juan)
• Osage Nation
• Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah
• Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma
• Pueblo de Cochiti
• Pueblo of Acoma
• Pueblo of Isleta
• Pueblo of Jemez
• Pueblo of Laguna
• NambĂ© Pueblo (sometimes listed as Pueblo of NambĂ©)
• Pueblo of Picuris
• Pueblo of Pojoaque
• Pueblo of San Felipe
• Pueblo of San Ildefonso
• Pueblo of Sandia
• Pueblo of Santa Ana
• Pueblo of Santa Clara
• Pueblo of Taos
• Pueblo of Tesuque
• Pueblo of Zia
• Rosebud Sioux Tribe
• San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe
• Shoshone-Bannock Tribes
• Southern Ute Indian Tribe
• Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
• Three Affiliated Tribes-The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation
• Ute Indian Tribe (Uintah & Ouray Reservation)
• Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
• Wichita & Affiliated Tribes
• Ysleta del Sur Pueblo
• Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation

“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¶¶Òőap 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 cafĂ© 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¶¶Òőap 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¶¶Òőap 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¶¶Òőap 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¶¶Òőap a national park or not.”