HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 10/6/2020 - Memorandum From Sierra Anderson, Cheryl Donaldson, Janet Freeman, Zoe Shark Re: Fort Collins Land Acknowledgement Background
MEMORANDUM
DATE: October 1, 2020
TO: Mayor and City Councilmembers
THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Kelly DiMartino, Deputy City Manager
Jacqueline Kozak-Thiel, Chief Sustainability Officer
John Stokes, Interim Community Services Director
FROM: Sierra Anderson, Graduate Management Assistant
Cheryl Donaldson, Executive Director, FCMoD
Janet Freeman, Equity and Inclusion Coordinator
Zoe Shark, Public Engagement Manager & Interim Natural Areas Director
RE: Fort Collins Land Acknowledgement Background
Background
The purpose of this memo is to provide a response to Council’s inquiry regarding creating a Native
American land acknowledgement. The memo provides a summary of the City’s work with
Indigenous communities and how partner organizations like Colorado State University and other
municipalities have acknowledged Native American lands.
Land Acknowledgments in Fort Collins
Colorado State University (CSU) crafted a land acknowledgement that is used across all
departments. CSU’s land acknowledgement reads as follows and can be found online with an
accompanying video at: https://landacknowledgment.colostate.edu/.
“Colorado State University acknowledges, with respect, that the land we are on today is the
traditional and ancestral homelands of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute Nations and peoples.
This was also a site of trade, gathering, and healing for numerous other Native tribes. We
recognize the Indigenous peoples as original stewards of this land and all the relatives within it.
As these words of acknowledgment are spoken and heard, the ties Nations have to their
traditional homelands are renewed and reaffirmed.
CSU is founded as a land-grant institution, and we accept that our mission must encompass
access to education and inclusion. And, significantly, that our founding came at a dire cost to
Native Nations and peoples whose land this University was built upon. This acknowledgment is
the education and inclusion we must practice in recognizing our institutional history,
responsibility, and commitment.”
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Local Native American History
For over 13,000 years, many Native American cultural groups lived in the mountains and plains
of this area. Among them are the Native American Nations today known as the Ute, Arapaho,
Cheyenne, Lakota, Apache, and Comanche. Each possesses millennia of rich culture,
language, artistry, and tradition deeply rooted in the land upon which they live.
Partnerships Between Local Native American Community and the City
Numerous departments have worked with Native American communities over the past few
decades on various initiatives, however, the City does not have a staff member dedicated solely
to this work. Recent efforts include:
Environmental Services: Continues to engage with various Native American community
members and organizations as part of Our Climate Future work. Staff have received some of
the most detailed feedback on engagement plans from these partners, specifically to consider
how different cultures brainstorm and share ideas. Partners include:
Big Wind to learn more about indigenous history in Fort Collins region, and Big Wind is
now a member of the Community Advisory Committee for the Climate Action Plan.
One plan ambassador and one community partner (Northern Colorado Intertribal
Powwow Association) are participating in the Our Climate Future (OCF) Plan
Ambassador and Community Partner program.
Reaching out to Northern Colorado Intertribal Powwow Association to tailor OCF virtual
engagement to be successful for the native community in Fort Collins.
Museum of Discovery: FCMoD is committed to continue work with the local Native American
community and those Nations with traditional ties to the region to provide opportunities and
support a broader understanding of diverse Native American cultures. FCMoD efforts include:
Implementing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
Consulting with Tribes (for the management plan of Soapstone Prairie Natural Area and
Red Mountain Open Space as well as the FCMoD exhibition masterplan).
Supporting the Crossroads at the Council Tree Native American Music Festival.
Hosting a community specific event, in partnership with CSU's Native American Cultural
Center and the Poudre River Public Library District; an evening with Chief Sean
Sherman.
Natural Areas: Continues to work with the Native American community through educational
opportunities, signage, and management efforts, including:
Working with the CSU Native American Cultural Center and the Iron Family Dancers for
special events at Soapstone Prairie Natural Area in recognition of the site’s cultural
heritage, including the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration and the 2015 Bison Release.
Partnering the Public Engagement team with the Poudre Heritage Alliance to create
several interpretive signs at Arapaho Bend Natural Area focused on cultural heritage and
an event to unveil the signs with tribal representatives.
Collaborating on educational public tours with Dr. Jason LaBelle of Colorado State
University as he researched and excavated cultural sites at Fossil Creek Wetlands and
Soapstone Prairie natural areas. Dr. LaBelle was scheduled to begin an excavation
project and outreach at Soapstone Prairie Natural Area in 2020. Unfortunately, the tours
were cancelled due to COVID-19, but are scheduled for 2021.
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Utilizing two of the department’s skills-based volunteers to research and create a
thorough and detailed story map about the history of Native Peoples in Larimer County
that is being reviewed with tribal representatives and Native American historians before
publication.
Prioritizing new projects for and about the Native American community. Natural Areas
convened a new internal team in 2020 to focus on the management of cultural resources
in natural areas.
Social Sustainability: Has ongoing collaborative opportunities with various Native American
community members and organizations, including:
Collaborating with CSU’s Native American Cultural Center on the City’s diversity
appreciation banners. Native languages included on the banner are Ute and Arapaho.
Presenting to Poudre Heritage Alliance on representation and diversity issues.
Incorporating local historical touchpoints provided by CSU’s Native American Cultural
Center into a racial history timeline staff created for an internal racial justice curriculum.
Example Municipal Approaches
Recognizing land acknowledgement statements enable municipalities to move towards truth
and reconciliation and recognize what is known of past Indigenous occupancy of a land. Land
acknowledgements should work to ensure they do not inaccurately acknowledge entities and/or
territories, since this can have legal implications. Thus, municipal organizations should seek to
create statements specific to their jurisdiction that are based on legally recognized treaties or
traditional lands, or instead craft a general high-level statement.
Creating a Land Acknowledgement
Creating a land acknowledgement is a significant undertaking that would include specifically
focused research; robust stakeholder engagement with Native communities; a determination of
when to recite the acknowledgement; inclusion of tribal elders or leaders in event introductions;
and working to ensure the acknowledgment meets the necessary geographic needs based on
the City’s extensive property list. To achieve the necessary public engagement and project
management to create a land acknowledgement for the City organization, it would require a full-
time staff person dedicated to this project for a year. Without a dedicated employee in this
space, the City would need to divert staff from other projects.
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