On Saturday, February 7, Landmark Preservation staff and the American Indian community celebrated the culmination of more than three years of work to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of Denver’s current American Indian population, who have come to Denver from Tribes across the country, as well as Tribal Nations with cultural and historic ties to the land that is now Denver. The oral history project "We are the Land: American Indian Life, Legacy and Future in Denver" aims to recognize how the traditional knowledge and oral histories of American Indians are integral to Denver’s cultural identity.
Along with the release of the oral history project, the project also includes an accompanying documentary produced by Off the Road Productions. The "We Are The Land" documentary will premiere on Denver's Channel 8 and online on Denver8.tv and will be available online on the City and County of Denver's YouTube channel thereafter.
We Are The Land Documentary Broadcast Premiere
7:30 p.m., Thursday, February 19, 2026
Download and read "We Are The Land"
Grounded in Community Connection
Through this historic context, Landmark Preservation aims to recognize how the traditional knowledge and oral histories of American Indians are integral to Denver’s cultural identity. By identifying places associated with each of the context chapters, we connect this knowledge and history to our physical environment and enable the use of city policies and initiatives like demolition review, historic designation, citywide survey, and citywide/neighborhood planning to preserve places of significance for future generations.
This project is a first step in creating long-lasting, collaborative, and reciprocal relationships with the American Indian community of Denver and Tribal Nations with historic ties to the land. We Are the Land focuses on establishing meaningful and lasting relationships between the City and County of Denver and the American Indian community.
This historic context is just a beginning. No one document can encompass the vast scope of American Indian history in Denver. There are many more histories, stories, experiences, and perspectives to share. Landmark hopes this context will provide a starting point for further work, including community partnerships, identification of additional significant places, further documentation of traditional knowledge and oral histories, and designation of and/or interpretation of places of significance.
Project Components
Oral Histories
Oral histories are central to this project. The themes for the historic context were developed directly from themes that emerged in the oral history interviews conducted by Project Mosaic. The context includes substantial excerpts from interviews, with other text provided as supplementary material to offer background and a broader framework for these community narratives.
Documentary Film
Filmmakers Alan Domínguez and Raúl O. Paz-Pastrana of Off the Road Productions created a documentary film, which will be screened as part of the release event for the historic context.
The goal of the documentary film is to provide a visual component that engages the public, can be shown at events, and can be shared online, including on YouTube. The film includes interviews with community members and serves as both a companion and an introduction to the historic context project.
National Register of Historic Places Nomination
Completion of a National Register nomination was a requirement of the grant from the National Park Service. Landmark Preservation asked the community what places in Denver were important to them, and the Denver Indian Center was the overwhelming choice. Principal City Planner Abigail Christman, who co-led the historic context project, research and wrote a National Register nomination for the Denver Indian Center. This nomination relied heavily on American Indian voices from oral histories, archives, and newspaper articles. Portions of this research were also incorporated into the historic context.
Tribal Convenings
Tribal Convenings were not originally envisioned as part of the project, which initially focused on collaboration with Denver’s local American Indian community. As the work progressed, the team recognized a gap in engagement, knowledge, and perspective and therefore organized the first Tribal Convening to collaborate with Tribes with a historical connection to Denver. This was first intended to be a single event but based on feedback from participants and from Denver’s American Indian community, a second convening was organized to continue conversations, strengthen relationships, and increase community involvement. Community members have requested that these convenings continue. Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resilience hosted a convening in 2025, and the plan is to continue rotating hosting responsibilities among city departments.
Youth Art Contest Winners
Community engagement was central to the Denver in Context: American Indian and Indigenous Peoples project. Engagement opportunities were designed not only to collect information of places significant to the community, but also to create spaces where community members could share stories and the ways they want their heritage to be represented. Community engagement ensured that the historic context reflects both the tangible and intangible dimensions of Indigenous presence in Denver—landscapes, buildings, and cultural practices—while also supporting relationship-building that extends beyond the life of the project. By integrating community voices at every stage, the project team sought to create a context rooted in respect, reciprocity, and cultural continuity. The community also inspired us to try to push the boundaries of what a historic context can be and how the city works with the community.
Engagement Activities
- Kick-off event at the Denver Indian Center in February 2023
- Booths at Denver March Powwow in 2023, 2024, and 2025
- Tribal Convening in 2023 including a community celebration at the Denver Indian Center
- Tribal Convening in 2024 including a welcome event at TallBull Memorial Grounds
- A Community Roundtable event at the Denver Indian Center in October 2024
- Youth Art Contest in 2025
- Regular updates to Denver’s American Indian Commission 2023-2025
- Monthly Advisory Board meetings 2023-2025
Sharing Stories
Community stories are the backbone of the historic context. This includes discussions during two Tribal convenings and 17 oral history interviews. Project Mosaic played an essential role, facilitating conversations with Tribal Representatives during the convenings and conducting oral history interviews.
Tribal Convenings
Landmark Preservation, with support from Project Mosaic, organized Tribal convenings in 2023 and 2024. These gatherings were designed to establish reciprocal relationships with Tribal Nations, provide space for dialogue and reflection, and invite Tribal representatives to guide the direction of the historic context study.
From these conversations, several key themes emerged: the importance of reconnecting to homelands and sacred places; the need for healing from past trauma; the central role of collaboration and relationship-building; the importance of Native languages in telling Colorado’s history; and the power of storytelling to sustain culture across generations.
Together, the 2023 and 2024 Tribal convenings created essential spaces for dialogue, guidance, and connection. They provided a foundation for the historic context project that is rooted in the voices of Tribal Nations and Denver’s Native community, while also fostering relationships that extend beyond the scope of the project itself.
Today, Denver stands as a beacon of American Indian excellence—a city where Native people don't just survive but thrive, create, lead, and inspire. The children dancing at the Denver March Powwow, the families gathering at TallBull Memorial Grounds, the entrepreneurs at Tocabe, the activists at Four Winds – and thousands more – all carry forward the sacred responsibility of their ancestors while building something uniquely adapted to this time.
Some of the recommendations made are specific to city government, while others express broader community needs and potential roles for community organizations and partnerships. Many of the recommendations focus on how to give land, stories, and cultural traditions back to the American Indian community. Recommendations can be grouped into the following broad categories: collaboration, language, traditional practices, education, recognition/respect, and community resources.
Collaboration
Tribal representatives emphasized the importance of maintaining a government-to-government relationship with Tribes through both official and more informal methods
- Tribal representatives want to be included in any discussions related to the Tribes or Tribal members living in Denver.
- Tribal representatives are open to regular zoom meetings to discuss pressing issues. Suggested quarterly meeting to help Tribes understand all of the efforts Denver is undertaking to follow up on suggestions from convening.
- Tribal representatives suggested that the City and County of Denver pursue business development with Tribal Nations.
- Tribal representations suggested repeating convening events on a yearly basis and including Denver City Council and any other groups that regularly collaborate with Tribes. Additional youth participation was also suggested.
Language and Culture
Tribal representatives discussed how language is part of their cultural identity. They would like to see more incorporation of American Indian language in Denver. Native place names show how their ancestors and relatives viewed the world. Language tells the story of the people and the use of more Native places names in Denver would be a source of pride for the community. Suggestions included adding Native American place names to signage (street signs, park signs, directional signs). It was also suggested that Red Rocks be available for use by the American Indian community for inter-tribal gatherings.
Traditional practices
Tribal representatives also had several recommendations focused on stewardship and respect for the land. These included:
- Bringing back native plants in Denver: introduce native plants in Denver parks along with signage talking about Tribes and how they used these plants
- Recognizing traditional elder expertise on land management practices
- Partnering with Tribal Nations in land management
- Focusing on regenerative agriculture and land restoration
- Establishing a land management partnership with the city
- Creating more places for the Native American community to come to maintain and collect medicinal and culturally significant plants
- Sharing Traditional Ecological Knowledge with Denver youth
Education
Tribal representatives made recommendations related both to the education system and community education. These included:
- Including Native history in school curricula at all levels (not just 4th grade Colorado history) and making sure that American Indian perspectives such as traditional land management practices are included
- Creating a curriculum for Denver schools that teaches about animals in Denver ecosystems from an Indigenous perspective and include collaboration with the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance and Denver Parks
- Working with universities to provide American Indian youth with a free education
- Providing cultural education to Denver’s American Indian community for cultural healing and a sense of identity
- Expanding Native American apprentice and training opportunities in Denver
- Launching events like “Taste of Native America” with vendors, food, and education for the broader Denver community
- Hosting Native storytelling events, sponsored by the city
- Collaborating with Tribes on a permanent exhibit at the History Colorado Center that tells stories of all 48 Tribes with ties to Colorado
- Working with Tribes to map historic sites in the city
Recognition and Respect
Tribal representatives suggested several ways that Denver could show more respect for Tribal Nations and to recognize their cultural ties to this land. More acknowledgement in public spaces is key. Recommendations include:
- Making sure that all state maps displayed in Denver include the current boundaries of the Ute reservations (Ute lands are currently not shown on the state map displayed at the Red Rocks) as well as the general locations of traditional territories in the region
- Providing more interpretive signage (or QR codes) in parks and other city spaces that recenters American Indian history, particularly at Confluence Park, along the South Platte River, and at Red Rocks Amphitheater. Bring Native stories into the fabric of the city and make sure the many layers of history are represented
- Going beyond the land acknowledgement and making it a living land acknowledgement that it is not just something that we say but something that we dedicate each and every time that we come together, including giving certain spaces back to American Indians within the city Land acknowledgements should symbolically and tangibly bring Tribal Nations back to their homeland
- Making the Denver airport a place that acknowledges the 48 Tribes with connections to Colorado such as having the word hello in all their languages somewhere prominent in the airport. DIA is also encouraged to create a permanent Native American art display to reflect the city's true cultural roots and living heritage.
Community Resources
Tribal representatives were very supportive of a proposal to establish some sort of embassy or interpretive center for Tribal Nations in Denver. Such a venue could serve multiple purposes, including:
- Providing a gathering place (and office space) for Tribal representatives coming to Denver for consultation with the City, regional governments, the State of Colorado, foundations, businesses and community organizations
- Hosting Native conferences
- Creating a place to share Native stories and knowledge
- Providing Native community members with resources and support from their tribes, governments, and nonprofits like Denver Indian Center, Denver Indian Health and Family Services, Denver Indian Family Resource Center and others
- Offering American Indian/Alaskan Native newcomers information about resources in Denver when they arrive