Press Release

November includes The Sand Creek Massacre Exhibition opening, Indigenous Film Festival, Seasonal Holiday Celebrations, and much more at History Colorado

DENVER (October 27, 2022) —In recognition of Native American Heritage Month, History Colorado is highlighting the stories and contributions of the Indigenous People who continue to call what is now Colorado home. 

PRESS CONTACT                                                                  
Luke Perkins, Manager of Communications and Public Relations 
303.866.3670 | luke.perkins@state.co.us 

This includes the opening of an important new exhibition chronicling one of the darkest days in Colorado’s history, as well as programs, events and initiatives that take place at History Colorado museums statewide.

New Exhibition - The Sand Creek Massacre: The Betrayal that Changed Cheyenne and Arapaho People Forever | Denver, CO
History Colorado Center | Opens November 19, 10:30 am
On Nov. 19, 2022, a new exhibition The Sand Creek Massacre: The Betrayal that Changed Cheyenne and Arapaho People Forever, opens at the History Colorado Center in Denver. The exhibit will recount the deadliest day in Colorado history—Nov. 29, 1864—when U.S. troops brutally attacked a peaceful village of Cheyenne and Arapaho people who were promised military protection. More than 230 women, children and elders were murdered that day. 

History Colorado will spotlight the living culture of the Cheyenne and Arapaho people, two separate Tribes with distinct histories that were bound together forever after the tragedy at Sand Creek. Forced to leave Colorado after the Massacre, the Cheyenne and Arapaho people exist today as three sovereign Tribal nations in Montana, Oklahoma and Wyoming. The exhibition is the result of a ten-year partnership process that began in 2012 between History Colorado and the three Tribal nations.

Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption | Fort Garland, CO
Fort Garland Museum & Cultural Center | November 3, 6-7:30 pm
Fort Garland Museum & Cultural Center will host a free lecture and book signing with author Susan Harness on Nov. 3. 

Harness was born in Montana to a family living on the Flathead Indian Reservation and became a transracial adoptee at the age of two when she was removed from her home by a social worker because of “neglect.” Bitterroot: A Memoir of Transracial Adoption, is a sweeping examination of her life that explores the uneasy intersection of race, history and the brutal government American Indian policies that affect the lives of her and her families.

Gregg Deal’s "Merciless Indian Savages" | Pueblo, CO
El Pueblo History Museum | November 11, 2022 - March 18, 2023
Visitors to History Colorado’s El Pueblo History Museum will have the opportunity to explore the works of nationally renowned artist Gregg Deal (Pyramid Lake Paiute). Previously on exhibit at the Fort Garland Museum & Cultural Center, Deal’s Merciless Indian Savages opens in Pueblo Nov. 11.

In this exhibit, Deal uses his work to unveil political processes that detrimentally impact Native peoples, fights for a more inclusive future and explores the question, “What does American Democracy mean to someone who was insulted in its founding document?” By collecting works that confront the painful past, and using the words of Thomas Jefferson as his exhibit title, Deal explores how Indigenous peoples stay true to themselves while being part of a culture which has historically stereotyped and marginalized them.

2022 Indigenous Film Festival | Pueblo, CO
El Pueblo History Museum | November 13, 12-4 pm
The 2022 Indigenous Film Festival will be hosted at El Pueblo History Museum on Nov. 13. The free event is open to the public and will feature two documentary screenings as well as a panel discussion. The two films being screened will explore the union of the Northern Arapaho Tribe and the City of Longmont as Sister Cities and the realities of Indigenous women who fight to vindicate and honor their missing and murdered relatives who have fallen victim to a growing epidemic across Indian country. The closing panel discussion will be on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives crisis and features Gina Lopez (Ute Mountain Ute), Monycka Snowbird (Anishinaabe) and Raven Payment (Kanien'kehá:ka/Anishinaabe). 

November Film Screenings at Ute Indian Museum | Montrose, CO
The Ute Indian Museum will offer a trio of movie screenings in November, all of which connect to Native American heritage and history. Screenings will include: the Colorado Experience: Sand Creek Massacre documentary produced by PBS (Nov. 5, 1-2 pm), More Than Frybread, a pseudo documentary about the first ever annual State of Arizona Frybread Championship, (Nov. 12 1-3 pm) and Indian Horse, a film adaptation of a novel written by Richard Wagamese (Ojibwe) about a young indigenous boy who survives a residential school and embraces his heritage (Nov. 27, 1-3 pm). These screenings are all free and open to the public.

Native American Heritage Month
History Colorado has a number of ongoing projects, programs and exhibits across the state which center Native American perspectives. This includes the Ute Indian Museum in Montrose, CO, which is dedicated to telling the stories of the Ute people. The history and contemporary life of the Ute People is shared through the Written on the Land exhibit at the History Colorado Center as well as the Ute STEM curriculum that was developed in consultation with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation.

The installation Unsilenced: Indigenous Enslavement in Southern Colorado by Jetsonorama, at the Fort Garland Museum and Cultural Center, incorporates historic photos of Indigenous captives and census documents from 1865 to bring to light the realities of Indigenous slavery in the American West. 

For more information about all Native American heritage programs please visit historycolorado.org/native-american-history-heritage

November Events

Día de los Muertos Community Gatherings 
El Pueblo History Museum & Fort Garland Museum | November 2, 5-7:30 pm
El Pueblo History Museum and Fort Garland Museum & Cultural Center will be hosting their annual Día de los Muertos celebrations on Nov. 2.These free events feature live performances by local artists, refreshments and activities such as paper flower making and sugar skull decorating. These events are opportunities to celebrate loved ones who have passed and make offerings at the community altars. The History Colorado Center and Trinidad History Museum also have altars where offerings can be left by members of their communities until Nov. 2.

Colorado Uncorked | Denver, CO
History Colorado Center | November 4, 6-10 pm
History Colorado is partnering with the Colorado Wine Industry to host a tasting of the wines in the 2022 Governor's Cup Collection. Each of these wines will be paired with a small-plate menu item created specifically to pair with that wine by Colorado's top chefs. The winner of the 2022 Governor's Cup will be announced at this event as well. Tickets ($65-130) and info are available here.

Bunka No Hi: Japan’s Culture Day | Denver, CO
History Colorado Center | November 5, 11 am-4:30 pm
Bunka No Hi is an annual national holiday in Japan celebrating Japanese culture that is held in November every year. The Denver Takayama Sister Cities Committee will be celebrating Bunka No Hi at the History Colorado Center this year with performances and presentations by local experts in the field as well as a recognition of the 80th anniversary of Camp Amache. This event is intended for all ages and free with museum admission.

Night at the Museums | Denver, CO
History Colorado Center | November 5, 5-10 pm
Join the History Colorado Center for Night at the Museums on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 5pm to 10pm. This late-night cultural extravaganza offers free admission to our museum and many others in the Mile High City. Explore and experience 16 different exhibitions at the History Colorado Center that take you on a time-traveling adventure into Colorado's past, present and future. Tickets for this event are free and available in advance.

Meet The Collection: Veterans Day Edition | Denver, CO
History Colorado Center | November 11, 12-4 pm
Dr. Chris Juergens and Sydney Mauck will lead an exploration of the origins of Veterans Day and an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the History Colorado’s military collections on Nov. 11. This event will take place in the Stephen H. Hart Research Center at the History Colorado Center on Veterans Day and will include viewings of artifacts from World War I, as well as tours of our military collection. Free with museum admission.

Rosenberry Lecture Series: Sarah Aziz | Denver, CO
History Colorado Center | November 16, 1-2 pm
The second lecture in the Rosenberry Lecture Series will feature Sarah Aziz, Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of New Mexico. Aziz works with collaborators to tag, track, draw and build with tumbleweeds because they defy human made borders and ask new questions of indigeneity and invasiveness. She will share her plans to situate this project in the San Luis Valley where she will orchestrate a series of experimental, interactive building events at the Frontier Drive-Inn in Center, CO. This is a hybrid event with tickets available for in-person and virtual attendance. Tickets ($5-15) and info are available here.

Family Volunteer Day | Denver, CO
History Colorado Center | November 16, 1-2 pm
Family Volunteer Day is a global day of service celebrating the power of families who work together to support their communities and neighborhoods. This is a great way to start off the holidays while benefiting your community and having fun, and all participants receive free access to the museum.

Upcoming Holiday Events and Programs! 

Winter Holiday Trains | Georgetown, CO
Georgetown Loop Railroad | Multiple days available in November and December
It’s that time of year again and the Georgetown Loop Railroad is happy to announce its holiday train series. With both daytime and nighttime options available for everyone, either aboard Santa’s North Pole Adventure through scenic and snowy vistas, or a journey through Santa’s Lighted Forest featuring more than 300,000 holiday lights. Be sure to purchase tickets soon before they are all scooped up! Tickets and additional information are available here.

Holiday Teas at the Center for Colorado Women’s History | Denver, CO
Center for Colorado Women’s History | Dec. 8, 10, 15 and 17 at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm
Come see the historic space of the Center for Colorado Women's History in its holiday splendor! A tour through the decorated house museum will give our guests a glimpse into the holiday season in Denver before 1924.  After the tour, we will gather in the tea room to enjoy fresh fruit, scones, tea sandwiches and our signature Lady Evans Tea. Tickets sell quickly for this event so purchase soon! For tickets ($25-30) call 303.620.4933

About History Colorado
History Colorado is a division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and a 501(c)3 non-profit that has served more than 75,000 students and 500,000 people in Colorado each year. It is a 143-year-old institution that operates eleven museums and historic sites, a free public research center, the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, and the History Colorado State Historical Fund (SHF), which is the nation’s largest preservation program of its kind. More than 70% of SHF grants are allocated in rural areas of the state.

History Colorado’s mission is to create a better future for Colorado by inspiring wonder in our past. It serves as the state’s memory, preserving and sharing the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through educational programs, historic preservation grants, collecting, outreach to Colorado communities, the History Colorado Center and Stephen H. Hart Research Center in Denver, and ten other museums and historic attractions statewide. History Colorado is one of only six Smithsonian Affiliates in Colorado. Visit HistoryColorado.org, or call 303-HISTORY, for more information.