The Peoples’ Crossing: Honoring Relationships with Tribal Nations
Unfortunately, the City of Boulder canceled “The Peoples’ Crossing: Honoring Relationships with Tribal Nations” event at the University of Colorado on Thursday, March 14, 2024, because of snowy conditions. This was a difficult decision to make, and we are so grateful for Tribal Nations to support an event that we know would have been extraordinary.
While the snow canceled the event, Tribal Nation Representatives and singers and dancers who were in Boulder before the snow came still celebrated their traditions, cultures and histories with songs and dancing. Watch the video.
We extend our deep appreciation to Tribal Representatives for helping us plan "The Peoples' Crossing: Honoring Relationships with Tribal Nations" and plan to discuss the possibility of rescheduling the event with Tribal Representatives. We also want to thank singers and dancers from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes for helping the city and Tribal Representatives honor and strengthen relationships with Tribal Nations despite the weather.
“The Peoples’ Crossing: Honoring Relationships with Tribal Nations” event was intended to:
- Welcome Tribal Representatives to share their perspectives with the Boulder community and honor their histories, traditions and cultures that have existed since time immemorial.
- Build broader Boulder-area connections to help foster respectful and meaningful engagement with Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities.
- Continue work to fulfill the city’s Indigenous Peoples Day Resolution, which helps guide our ongoing, collaborative work with Tribal Nations.
- Thank Tribal Nations who helped the city rename Settler’s Park to The People’s Crossing – a name that honors Boulder as a crossroads for Indigenous Peoples since time immemorial. We also share our gratitude to Tribal Representatives who are helping us to include their histories and perspectives into our shared histories and are helping staff develop a collaborative stewardship plan for land that has a community connection to the Sand Creek Massacre.
Fort Chambers / Poor Farm Management Plan
The City of Boulder thanks Arapaho and Cheyenne Tribal Nations for working with the city to develop a concept stewardship plan for a unique city open space site with important historical, ecological and agricultural features and a direct connection to the Sand Creek Massacre. The draft concept plan provides recommendations for how the city – with continuing guidance from Tribal Representatives – will care for land where Fort Chambers likely stood, which was near Boulder Creek east of 63rd Street and south of Jay Road. Learn more about the concept plan and collaborative work with Arapaho and Cheyenne Tribal Nations through the project webpage.
From Aug. 28 to Sept. 16, 1864, more than 100 Boulder-area men of Company D of the Third Colorado Calvary Regiment trained at Fort Chambers. The men of Company D would later participate in the murder of 10 Cheyenne people on Oct. 9, 1864, and atrocities against peaceful Arapaho and Cheyenne Peoples promised military protection at the Sand Creek Massacre on Nov. 29, 1864.
Learn more about this unique land through an ArcGIS storymap
Read more about how the city has been working to develop the concept plan in collaboration with representatives from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, the Northern Arapaho Tribe and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.
Tribal Nation Ethnographic-Education Report
City of Boulder staff recognizes the interpretation and educational information describing its history is dominated by American-European perspectives and fails to adequately include Indigenous perspectives. This planned report will be informed by in-person interviews with Tribal Representative and is intended to:
- Support Tribal Nations and help them communicate their enduring cultural, spiritual and historical connections to the Boulder Valley.
- Develop education and interpretation materials that provide accurate, truthful Indigenous Peoples’ stories – both past and present.
- Help city staff learn more about special areas or types of places of importance to Tribal Nations and help guide future conversations with Tribal Nations.
- Help fulfill the Indigenous Peoples Day Resolution, which requires the city to correct omissions of the Native American presence in public places, resources and cultural programming.
City staff have received permission from Tribal Representatives to release a final report, after approval by Tribal Representatives, in early 2026.
City-Tribal Nation Memorandum of Understanding
The MOU seeks to consolidate past City-Tribal Nation Memorandums of Understanding developed in 1998, 2002 and 2004 that focus on city open space lands and incorporate additional provisions discussed in multiple government-to-government consultations since 2019. Broadly, the MOU seeks to:
- Set a foundation for sustaining future collaboration, engagement, and consultation with Tribal Nations.
- Support Tribal Nation input into Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) decision-making on topics important to Tribal Nations.
- Continues work to provide accurate educational information about the history and culture of each respective Tribal Nation.
- Develop a way to identify areas on open space of special concern to Tribal Nations to help guide future cultural resource consultations.
- Outline a process for ceremonial access and explore a permanent ceremonial location.
- Develop a process for limited harvesting of plants and other materials important to the tribes.
- Continue ongoing cultural resource protection, consultations and notifications.
Read more about the city-Tribal Nation Memorandum of Understanding.