Indigenous Peoples' Day 2025

Indigenous Peoples’ Day October 13th, 2025

In 2025, Indigenous Peoples’ Day will be commemorated on Monday, October 13th, and the Boulder City Council wants to recognize the importance of the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Resolution in our community. In 2016, the Human Relations Commission and community members drafted the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Resolution (Resolution No. 1190), which was presented at the August 2nd, 2016, Boulder City Council meeting and adopted by the City of Boulder. Their collective and collaborative work in 2016 set a crucial foundation for the City of Boulder to reckon honestly with its past and for how we can honor, serve, and celebrate Indigenous Nations, Indigenous communities, and Indigenous organizations in Boulder. The Boulder City Council believes it is critical to underscore key acknowledgments in the resolution, along with additional information we have learned implementing the resolution, which continues to guide city Indigenous-related work: •

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Indigenous People in Boulder respect the interdependence of all humanity and living things and celebrate a vast and rich living tradition through ancestral recognition and diversity of knowledge and perspectives, including sustainable practices. Indigenous People in Boulder have, as in all parts of Americas, endured centuries of cruelty, exploitation and genocide. Boulder has benefited and continues to benefit directly from Indian removal policies that violated human rights, broke government treaties and forced many people from their homeland. For example: In 1858, Hinono’ei neecee ("Arapaho Chief"), Nowoo3 (“Niwot," "Lefthand"), and other Hinono’eino’ (“Arapaho”) Peoples told a party of gold-seekers camped in what is now known as Boulder that they could not remain on Indigenous land as defined by the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie.

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However, those men stayed. After gold was found west of Boulder in January 1859, many of those same gold-seekers helped found the Boulder Town Company on February 10, 1859, in violation of the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie. In August of 1864, nearly 100 Boulder County residents mobilized into Company D of the Third Colorado Cavalry of U.S. Volunteers at Fort Chambers. This company of 100 men trained at the fort before participating in the Sand Creek Massacre on November 29, 1864, from which the Boulder troops enjoyed a hero’s welcome upon their return. Among those killed in the massacre were women, children, elders, and chiefs, including Nowoo3 (“Lefthand,” “Niwot”) and Tsistsistas ("Cheyenne") Chief White Antelope. Today, Boulder is honored to be home of several prominent Native organizations including the Native American Rights Fund founded in 1970, which is the largest nonprofit law firm dedicated to asserting and defending the rights of Indian tribes, organizations and individuals nationwide.

The resolution also states the city acknowledges that 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. As we mark this year’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we recognize that we must ensure ongoing work to acknowledge and address the past to help inspire education and reflection and initiate meaningful action to help support Indigenous Nations, communities and organizations. This work is guided by the city’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day Resolution, the city’s Racial Equity Plan, guidance from American Indian Tribal Nations, agreements the city shares with Tribal Nations, the Open Space and Mountain Parks Master Plan, and engagement with Indigenous communities and Indigenous organizations in Boulder. Community members can learn about ongoing Indigenous-related projects through the city website.

We, the City Council of the City of Boulder, Colorado, declare October 13, 2025, as

Indigenous Peoples’ Day And urge all community members to begin or continue the process of listening to Indigenous Peoples, reflecting on the Indigenous presence in the Boulder Valley that has existed since time immemorial, and learning about the violent colonization of Indigenous lands. While the city is collaborating with Tribal Nations on several ongoing projects, we know we have more work to fulfill the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Resolution and help support Indigenous Nations and Indigenous communities and organizations in Boulder. We value their guidance and the opportunity to listen and learn from all of them as we reckon with and address our past with hope that it will make our collective communities stronger and more resilient.

_____________________________ Aaron Brockett, Mayor