Indigenous Peoples Day

Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations are part of a national effort to recognize and honor the existence, culture and contributions of the original inhabitants of North America on the day that has been observed as Columbus Day since 1934.  

Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations have been adopted by cities and states across the United States. As of 2022, 14 states and more than 130 cities celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead of or in addition to Columbus Day. For the last seven years, the City of Boulder and community organizations have worked together to host annual events and festivities to promote knowledge about Indigenous Peoples and honor the city’s Indigenous Peoples Day Resolution. 

Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations take place on the second Monday of October. For the past few years, hundreds of community members have participated in celebration activities including dances, poetry, teach-ins, film screenings and performances to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day. 

Sunday, October 8

“Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration,” Right Relationship Boulder

• 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut Street Ste 1, Boulder, CO 80302.
• Presented by Right Relationship Boulder, the Indigenous Peoples Day mission is to honor Indigenous Peoples Day, in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples, bring cultural and educational programs to engage Boulder Valley area residents and raise awareness of the City of Boulder’s Indigenous Peoples Day Resolution. Our goal is to plan and implement engaging and educational programs with Native tribes for Indigenous People and residents of the city of Boulder. The event is scheduled to be a whole day event, free and open to the public, with four educational panels, Dancers, Drummers, and Vendors. We will provide appropriate honoraria for all the Native performers and presenters. With our partner organizations, we will assure the participation of Native and non-Native youth, elders, university students, and community members. Right Relationship Boulder is committed to facilitating this process. With the support of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies and CU, we plan to record the sessions for future educational use. Equity issues will be addressed directly during the event and throughout the year. 
• Learn more about this event on the Right Relationship Boulder website.

“Tiahui (say chi a whee): Weekend of Danza, Bookmaking, and Indigenous Language Workshops,” La Vecindad at Mi Chantli

• 1 to 6 p.m., 1750 30th Street Unit 22, Boulder, CO 80301.
• Presented by La Vecindad at Mi Chantli, this event will embrace, honor, and celebrate indigenous culture and heritage though the lens of ancient Mexican traditions. This event will engage the community through art, songs, dance, food and bookmaking workshops, to help amplify and reclaim indigenous heritage and wisdom. From Oct. 8 and 9, we’ll hold activities such as bookmaking workshops pertaining to Aztec glyphs from the Aztec Sun Stone. In Danza Azteca, newcomers observe while performers begin with an ofrenda followed by ceremonial dance and rituals that vary with the season. Mi Chantli will facilitate creating art and books using printmaking techniques with urban stamps. The projects and workshops are intended to educate and teach the Mexican language, Nahuatl. Traditional native foods will be served and prepared. Tamales will be offered and tortilla making stations will be set up to discuss and expand on the blessings and importance of the corn to the many indigenous tribes of this continent. 
• Register for any of these workshops through Mi Chantli's Google Form.

"Indigenous People's Day,” Out Boulder County

• 5 to 7 p.m., Dairy Arts Center, Out Boulder County´s Equality Center of the Rocky Mountains, 3340 Mitchell Ln, Boulder, CO 80301.
• Presented by Out Boulder County, this Indigenous People’s Day Celebration will celebrate the intersection between queerness and indigeneity. The event will center and uplift indigenous artists and promote awareness of two-spirit people in Boulder. There will be catered food, dance performances from indigenous artists, as well an educational component consisting of a presentation and/ or a speaker on the topic of indigeneity and its intersection with queerness.
• Learn more and register for this event on Out Boulder County's website.

Monday, October 9

“Tiahui (say chi a whee): Weekend of Danza, Bookmaking, and Indigenous Language Workshops,” La Vecindad at Mi Chantli

• 12:30 to 6 p.m., 1750 30th Street Unit 22, Boulder, CO 80301.
• Presented by La Vecindad at Mi Chantli, this event will embrace, honor, and celebrate indigenous culture and heritage though the lens of ancient Mexican traditions. This event will engage the community through art, songs, dance, food and bookmaking workshops, to help amplify and reclaim indigenous heritage and wisdom. From Oct. 8 and 9, we’ll hold activities such as bookmaking workshops pertaining to Aztec glyphs from the Aztec Sun Stone. In Danza Azteca, newcomers observe while performers begin with an ofrenda followed by ceremonial dance and rituals that vary with the season. Mi Chantli will facilitate creating art and books using printmaking techniques with urban stamps. The projects and workshops are intended to educate and teach the Mexican language, Nahuatl. Traditional native foods will be served and prepared. Tamales will be offered and tortilla making stations will be set up to discuss and expand on the blessings and importance of the corn to the many indigenous tribes of this continent. 
• Register for any of these workshops through Mi Chantli's Google Form.

Wednesday, October 11

“Honoring Indigenous Food Sovereignty,” CU Boulder Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

• 4 to 7:30 p.m., CU Boulder, Kittredge Central, Multipurpose Rooms A & B, 2480 Kittredge Loop Rd., Boulder, CO 80309
• Presented by the CU Boulder Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Amidst the pervasive impacts of settler colonialism resulting in the continued desecration of Indigenous land, Native peoples continue to fight and regain control of their food supplies. This event highlights local Indigenous chefs who are keeping Indigenous food traditions alive. Join us for an evening of good food, community, and celebration of Indigenous knowledge. 
• Learn more and register on CU's website.

Saturday, October 14

“From ENOUGH of the Zapatistas to the construction of Alternatives,” Luna Cultura

• 1:00 to 4 p.m., Atlas Black Box Theatre at CU Boulder, 1125 18th Street, Boulder, CO 80302.
• Presented by Luna Cultura, this event will create a participatory space from which history, resilience and the construction of alternatives for well-being are collectively recovered by connecting with the past and present of the ancestral peoples of our ancestors that we are part of and that nourish our identity. Polyphonic dialogues. Construction of alternatives for good and good living. The goal of the event is connectivity, coexistence, identity recognition and exploration, exchange, recovery and appreciation of the ancestral and contemporary wisdom of indigenous peoples. Activities include presentation, oral tradition, music and food.
• Learn more on the Luna Cultura website.

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 work community members and the HRC did to create the resolution set a critical foundation for the City of Boulder to reckon honestly with its past and how the city can honor and serve Indigenous communities in the future. The resolution acknowledges that: 

• The Boulder area encompasses ancestral homelands of Indigenous Peoples’ Nations. 

• Indigenous People in Boulder have, as in all parts of the Americas, endured centuries of cruelty, exploitation and genocide. 

• Facing and acknowledging our past, good as well as bad, makes our community stronger and more resilient. 

• Boulder has benefited directly from Indian removal policies that violated human rights, broke government treaties and forced Indigenous People from their homeland. 

• Those now living on these ancestral lands recognize that harm was done and acknowledge that we have a shared responsibility to forge a path forward to address the past and continuing harm to the Indigenous People and the land. 

Beyond celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day in Boulder, the Indigenous Peoples Day Resolution specifically directs the city to: 

• Correct omissions of the Native American presence in public places, resources and cultural programming.  

• Work to implement “accurate curricula relevant to the traditions, history and current issues of Indigenous People inclusive of and as part of our shared history.” 

The City of Boulder is collaborating with American Indian Tribal Nations to help fulfill that community direction by creating education and interpretation materials that provide accurate, truthful Indigenous Peoples’ stories – both past and present. Recently, the city collaborated with Tribal Nations to rename “Settler’s Park” to “The Peoples Crossing” to help fulfill part of the Indigenous Peoples Day Resolution. The city resolution has helped to guide other city work, including a city staff land acknowledgement and its Fort Chambers / Poor Farm Management Plan.