City Announces 2026 Indigenous Peoples Day Events

Each year, the City of Boulder provides support to organizations that recognize Indigenous Peoples Day through events and celebrations honoring the existence, culture and contributions of the original inhabitants of North America. Through this support, the city and its community partners work to promote knowledge about Indigenous Peoples and honor the city’s Indigenous Peoples Day Resolution. The City of Boulder recognizes the second Monday in October each year as Indigenous Peoples Day.

This year, the city’s Housing and Human Services department and Office of Arts and Culture have provided funding for several community events to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day 2026. Community events are free and open to the public. Find information provided by event organizers below.

• Saturday, Oct. 10 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration for Boulder Valley Residents
  • Where: San Juan del Centro Pavilion, 3164 24^th St., Boulder, CO 80301
  • Details: Family-friendly celebration of Indigenous Peoples, cultures, traditions and community. This event will include a land acknowledgment, Indigenous speakers, traditional and contemporary dancing, music, storytelling, cultural food, and opportunities for community gathering and connection. Hosted by the Family Learning Center and Hear Us Now See Us Now, the event will provide an opportunity for attendees to learn directly from Indigenous community members about Indigenous history, culture, traditions, and lived experiences while celebrating the continued presence and contributions of Indigenous peoples.
• Saturday, Oct. 10 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. - Indigenous Peoples Day First Nations Celebration
  • Where: Rocky Mountain Equality, 3340 Mitchell Lane, Boulder, CO 80301
  • Details: This event will include traditional Indigenous dance, Indigenous cuisine, local Indigenous-operated organizations and businesses, Two-Spirit and Indigenous speakers, storytelling, and a workshop on Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge. The event will provide opportunities for community members to learn about First Nations history and living traditions, Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ history, and Indigenous communities in Boulder County while connecting with local Indigenous organizations and resources.
  • Register online
• Sunday, Oct. 11 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. - Indigenous Peoples Day: Celebrating Culture and Honoring Ancestors
  • Where: Mi Chantli Studio, 1750 30^th St., Boulder, CO 80301
  • Details: This event will include traditional Aztec dance and drumming, Indigenous art and bookmaking workshops, mural creation with a local Indigenous artist, traditional foods including tamales and tortilla making, and educational presentations on Mexica culture, the Aztec calendar, and Nahuatl language. The event will create opportunities for community members to learn about and engage with Indigenous Mexican heritage, traditions, food, art, and cultural knowledge.
• Sunday, Oct. 11 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. - Conocimiento indígena: Partería y nuestros cuerpos como comunidad de cuidados - Indigenous Knowledge: Midwifery and Our Bodies as a Community of Care
  • Where: Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80302
  • Details: This bilingual event will include a presentation by an Indigenous speaker from southeastern Mexico sharing the knowledge and experiences of traditional Indigenous midwives (parteras), along with interactive activities focused on ancestral health practices, culturally relevant health care, and Indigenous heritage. This free community event will also feature live music, mindfulness activities, Acudetox, Indigenous inspired art and make-and-take activities, children’s crafts, and wellness kits, creating opportunities for participants to learn about and celebrate Indigenous knowledge, traditions, and lived experiences.
  • Register online

In 2016, the Human Relations Commission and community members drafted the Indigenous Peoples Day Resolution (Resolution No. 1190), which was presented at the Aug. 2, 2016, Boulder City Council meeting and adopted by the City of Boulder. It declared the second Monday of October of each year to be Indigenous Peoples Day. The resolution also guides the city’s ongoing collaboration with American Indian Tribal Nations and ongoing work to correct omissions of Indigenous Peoples' presence in places, resources and cultural programming.

For additional information about Indigenous Peoples Day visit the city’s website.

The City of Boulder appreciates the opportunity to listen and learn from American Indian Tribal Nations who are collaborating with the city on including the first half of the city’s Tribal National Ethnographic-Education Report which was developed in partnership with Tribal Nations and informed by in-person interviews with Tribal Representatives. City staff are also working on a proposed Interpretive experience, formerly referred to as the ‘Healing Trail,’ that has a community connection to the Sand Creek Massacre. For information on the city’s ongoing collaboration with Tribal Nations, please visit our Tribal Engagement and Consultation webpage.

• Saturday, Oct. 17 from 2 to 4 p.m. – The Land Returns Film Screening and Panel Discussion
  • Where: First Congregational Church, Plymouth Hall, 1128 Pine St, Boulder, CO 80302
  • Details: This new documentary film features three Land Back stories: a private landowner in Nebraska who returned land to the Pawnee Nation; the town of Eureka, California, that returned an island to the Wiyot Nation; and BOULDER, COLORADO, where we are still working to return land to the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute nations. After the one-hour screening, filmmaker Margaret Jacobs will be joined by Jerilyn DeCoteau, an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and co-founder of Right Relationship Boulder, and Rick Williams, Cheyenne and Lakota, president of People of the Sacred Land. Sponsored by Right Relationship Boulder and First Congressional Church.
  • Register Online