Denver In Context: Stories for Native Americans

Danny Stange de Acatl

Last weekend, the City of Denver hosted an entourage of Tribal elders from the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute Mountain/Southern Ute nations to discuss history and contributions to the city development. Many other Indigenous nations are also recognized to have a strong ancestral tie to this place like Lakota tribe members from Standing Rock that were invited. Kiowa tribal members and Elders were prominent in the gathering and their historical presence was a critical discussion.

Comanche Indians were historically recognized to control all lands south of the Arkansas river in southeast Colorado, but their invitation was lost in the shuffle perhaps?

Historians have documented that Mount Blanca at the southeast entrance to the San Luis Valley, is one of the Four Sacred mountains of the Dine’ peoples that we call Navajos.

The city did acknowledge that the Denver American Indian Commission declares more than 200 Indigenous tribal members currently call the city of Denver home. They appear to view the issue as a complex situation because they assume that each tribe will request its own awareness and dignity or language interpretation or cultural nuances to be recognized. If there is anything that American politics has revealed it is the complete lack of respect or knowledge about the Indigenous perspective. They cannot even reconcile the ignorance of calling our people Indians when they are clearly not from India.

I know quite a few Native Americans that will defend the word Indian because they feel like they have earned the title and associate the meaning of it with what Russell Means talked about when he said that Columbus was using the term to describe the Taino-Caribes as being in “grace with God”, but the review of Christopher Colon’s written documents clearly notes him defining them as heathen savages. There are also written documents between the Vatican and the Friars that were living in New Spain, where they suggest keeping the erroneous title because the suffix “IN” can denote ‘without’ and because the people of this continent had never heard of Christ that they were In-Dios “without God”. Whatever the truth, we cannot deny that the term has endured because the Europeans have monopolized the narrative.

Euro-centrism has been the common denominator when issues arise about the way we define or describe the historical or even contemporary values of American exceptionalism. American values revolve around the way we display our works and successes. The elevation of movie stars and sports figures that dominate our collective conscience and admiration is a clear indication of this. So continual projects that our City promotes tend to include bolstering and bragging about the superficial achievements of people they choose to highlight. This was exactly what happened when former Denver Mayor Hancock co-opted a project in 2019 called “We Are Denver”. Subsequently, this became “I Am Denver” and now the City houses an Office of Storytelling who invited Tribal Elders to come share their stories.

One might think that digital storytelling is a new idea, the digital format is certainly not ancient, but the spoken word is increasingly recognized for its power. Native Medicine man Dave Swallows talked about the difference of the spoken word and the written word. He commented that the white man prefers the written word because they don’t trust each other. When conducting business or discussing compromise the white man is not honest with what is intended, and so they require a written document to record the promises and exchanges. When it isn’t written, it isn’t enforceable. The Native person on the other hand respects honesty above all and in some tribal communities a person that is proven to be a liar would get a mark on the face or maybe a tattoo on the face to let others know that person is untrustworthy. In rare cases, banishment or even death might be the verdict for a person that spoke malicious lies. Story tellers and keepers of tribal histories were also highly trained and respected for their social responsibility.

During the “I Am Denver” fiasco, somebody had made the observation that there was zero inclusion of the Indigenous stories that have shaped this land and territory from even before the arrival of settlers. So, the city rushed to bring a group of Native elders from outside of the city, from their respective ‘Indian Reservations’ and gave them a film crew and small entourage to drive around the town and into the mountain parks. They began at the McNichols building with a public evening event Friday night, and spent Saturday and Sunday morning with Elders. The event concluded with a gathering at the Denver Indian Center on Morrison Road. Rick Waters, Tribal elder and Denver Indian Center Executive Director, was an exceptional host and he shared a heartfelt prayer to open the occasion on Friday evening. He also reminded everyone of the importance that the center has played in keeping Native communities safe from the assimilation that society assails us with. The theme “Denver in Context” was described to utilize ‘context’ in its meaning of weaving together the stories and accomplishments of the past with the present. The final gathering at the Denver Indian Center was attuned to accomplish that.

The Denver Indian Center Inc. (DICI) is an urban cultural gathering center for the American Indian and Alaska Native community of the Denver Metro area. Incorporated in 1983, to meet the unique needs and challenges facing the of the Native community, the DICI supports our Native youth and community by providing guidance for economic empowerment and self-reliance programs that empower families and honor our elders, and by offering a space where Native culture can be preserved and celebrated.

This writer has attended many events at DICI for over 25 years and as a Chicano, the staff and community members have always made a welcome space. When the Elders from outside of Denver had questioned me about my tribal affiliation, my reply that “yo soy Chicano” was recognized with a smile. Selwyn Whiteskunk, Tribal Councilman, from the Ute Mountain Tribe was curious to learn more about my response, because he gets involved with many residents and youth in Ignacio, Colorado and they identify as Chicano. He commented that their cultural behaviors, beliefs and knowledge are comparable to his tribal customs.

If there is anything that American politics has revealed, it is the complete lack of respect or knowledge about the Indigenous perspective.

The event was a great pleasure from the beginning with songs and stories from Red Feather Woman who delighted the attendees at McNichols hall. The final gathering at DICI had Kiowa pow wow drummers and local grass dancers and jingle dress dancers. The attendees were surprisingly more Native than pale faced, and the food by Tocabe was naturally an important ingredient for the crowd. It was clear that the planning was intended for a larger group of people, but those who came were sincere and made a good effort at networking and sharing stories.

The resilience of Native communities to make the best of an uncertain situation was on display. As much as Denver city officials want to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive, they still miss the mark. Notwithstanding, the obvious division they create by bringing Indigenous Elders from outside the city that boasts 200 native representatives right here. They certainly suppress the inclusion of Chicano and Genízaro identifying residents in their project. The weaving of stories and experiences that was told to be the purpose of this event is a noble undertaking. In Nahuatl language – Tlazohteotl is an entity that Spanish priests erroneously call the goddess of filth. What she represents in reality, is the interwoven connection of life and love that mitigates the diversity of forms and creations we observe. Relationship building is the core of all American Indian ritual and ceremony. It is not an afterthought when you realize that you messed up or a conclusion when you see environmental disasters that are the result of your economic ambitions.

The equity of giving voice to the marginalized community has an arduous journey ahead. The value of independent media is another great example of where our society lacks representation. When you think about the value of your life story, consider the potential tragedy of giving a stranger the right to tell it. We are all not storytellers and sadly many of our community don’t see the strength of their personal story. Perhaps, the collection of our stories has the greater impact? Still, the evolution of social norms and practices are consistently returning to the values of our past. I would rather the City miss the mark on how it develops that curation of our stories, than to know that they won’t even listen.

The Chicano/Latino/Hispano community (or whatever we are calling ourselves these days) will definitely find a more prosperous future for our family when we share our stories.

This writer was fortunate to sit down with an amazing Native Elder, Shannon Francis, in our city that has been doing some incredible work. We had a short interview and were able to catch this busy woman for a brief moment to share her impact for our youth. She also provides free food shares delivered to Native American Elders in the City. A great example of that weaving of Tlazohteotl because her work is motivated by love (Tlazohtla) and her threads are incredibly strong. Read more about Spirit of the Sun. Thank you Shannon Francis!

Danny Stange de Acatl is a Denver Native and Cultural Activist that serves his community on various levels.