City of Boulder award a significant grant through the Colorado State Historical Fund to supporting statewide historic preservation projects.
The Office of Equity & Belonging, a division of the City Manager’s Office, was awarded a significant grant through the Colorado State Historical Fund, the nation’s largest preservation program dedicated to supporting statewide historic preservation projects. This grant aims to safeguard places and stories that connect Coloradans to their shared past while fostering a stronger, more inclusive future.
The City of Boulder is being awarded $214,605 to be disbursed from 2026 to 2028, funding a continuation of vital ethnographic field interviews and anthropological research in collaboration with Tribal Nations whose ancestral lands in the Boulder Valley have been called home since time immemorial. The grant will enable the city to expand upon work underway to produce ethnographic-education reports focusing on Tribal history in Boulder County. These reports will serve as invaluable historical resources and educational tools for both city staff and the community at large.
The ethnographic reports are rooted in the City-Tribal Memorandum of Understanding, which formalizes the partnership between the city and Tribal Nations to provide accurate, respectful educational content about each Tribe’s and Indigenous Peoples’ history in Boulder and Jefferson Counties.
Living Heritage Anthropology, LLC (LHA), a recognized woman-owned small business certified by the Small Business Association, has been contracted to lead this critical work. Specializing in high-quality ethnographic and Tribal consultation, LHA has conducted visits with five Tribes and those reports are anticipated to be released to community in early 2026. The grant will enable visits and reports to be completed with more Tribes who share a history in the Boulder Valley. LHA is committed to Community-Based Participatory Research, ensuring Tribal voices and goals are central to the research process.
This initiative underscores Boulder’s commitment to honoring Indigenous history, fostering community collaboration and promoting educational equity through the preservation and dissemination of Tribal heritage.
Learn more about the city’s tribal consultation work on the city website.