Colorado Stories
From the mountains to the plains to the plateaus, Colorado’s people are as diverse as the places they call home.
Colorado Stories is a community-based suite of exhibits with media- and artifact-rich galleries exploring the many ways Coloradans have created community.
Location
Tickets Free with museum admission
El Movimiento
In the 1960s and ’70s, Chicano activists fought to end discrimination, secure rights, and gain political and social power through education, culture, and the arts. El Movimiento uses artifacts, photos, archival video footage, and the activists’ own voices to tell about the struggle for labor rights, student activism, the Vietnam War, and more. Community advisers from across the state created El Movimiento with our staff.
El Movimiento Community Advisory Committee:
Back row, left to right: Adrianna Abarca, Ramon Del Castillo, Juan Espinosa, Deborah Espinosa, Antonio Esquibel, Emanuel Martinez, Lucha Martinez de Luna, Phil Hernández, Ernesto Torres, Roberto Rey, Ricardo LaFore
Front row, left to right: Gail Gonzales, Charlotte Gonzales, Carlos Santistevan, Cecilia Flores, Rita Martinez, Priscilla Falcón, Nicki Gonzales
From left to right: Ruth Sanchez, David Atekpatzin Young, Magdalena Aguayo, Pauline Rivera
Not pictured: Daniel Salazar, Maruca Salazar
Resilience: The Ute Indian Tribes, Time Immemorial to Today
Since time immemorial, Ute people have faced challenges and made the decisions that keep themselves true to their identity. Ute tribes are the original Coloradans, maintaining strong values of family, leadership, culture, and sustainability.
Mountain Haven: Lincoln Hills, 1925–1965
Coloradans love the outdoors. But African Americans were once barred from leisure opportunities most whites took for granted. Explore a Rocky Mountain haven where African Americans could hike, fish, and camp—and leave discrimination behind.
Flip through our Lincoln Hills photo album.
Experience our online exhibit!
As I weave I remember: Each strand and color contributes to make the whole pattern, the whole pouch. Each unique person contributes to make the whole community, the whole family.
Jumping for Joy: Steamboat Springs, 1915
Mountain men, mail carriers, and miners ranged the Rockies on skis. Pretty soon, people figured out skiing was fun! Norwegian ski champion Carl Howelsen taught Steamboat’s children to fly. Now it’s your turn to make the leap!
Convergence: Bent’s Fort, 1833–1849
Weary Santa Fe Trail travelers cheered when they saw the adobe “Castle on the Plains”—a marketplace like no other. Explore this outpost of trade on Colorado’s Plains through a touch table and archaeological artifacts.
Experience our online exhibit!
Top of the World: A Silverton Silver Mine, around 1880
Hard-rock mining is hard! In Silverton, miners were mountaineers, gouging ore out of deep snow and steep granite slopes. Do you have what it takes? The shift boss is hiring!
Confined Citizens: The Amache-Granada Relocation Center, 1942–1945
After Pearl Harbor, 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps—including one in Colorado called “Amache.” Half of Colorado’s newly imprisoned population were children. Two-thirds were American citizens. None was accused of a crime.
