By Richard Bangs
Douglas Land Conservancy honors the Indigenous peoples who have stewarded the lands we now help protect. As we care for more than 28,000 acres under conservation easement, we recognize that these landscapes have deep cultural, ecological, and spiritual significance to the original stewards of this region. Today and every day, we strive to uphold their example of deep respect and connection to the land as we work to preserve the natural beauty and cultural heritage of our community.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is recognized in Boulder, Denver and other Colorado cities to be on the second Monday of October, though it is not a statewide holiday. Boulder officially adopted the holiday in 2016 through a resolution promoting the recognition of Indigenous presence in public spaces and educational resources. Denver also recognized the day in 2016 with a city council vote. In 2021, United States President Joseph Biden issued a proclamation recognizing the day as a special event, although not as a national holiday. Douglas County has not recognized Indigenous Peoples’ Day as special holiday.
Many tribes traveled through this area in hunting parties and made seasonal homes here. As they did this, they strived for balance with the land, leaving much as they found it as it provided game and shelter needed for their survival. Evidence dating back thousands of years proves people lived in Douglas County almost as far back as the last ice age in a continual coming-and-going, looking for good hunting grounds and places to shelter from cold winters.
In northwestern Douglas County is Lamb Spring, an archaeological site that reveals the bones of prehistoric mammoth, horse, camel and bison. Found among the bones were artifacts left by humans that indicate people hunted and camped around the Spring for the past 9,000 years, and possibly much longer.
Two and a half miles south of Franktown is the Franktown Cave, now protected by the Lost Canyon Ranch conservation easement. A prehistoric archaeological site in a large rock shelter that contained artifacts from human occupation over 8,000 years ago. Some of the findings include rare perishable artifacts manufactured from hide, wood and wood fiber, and plant material.
The occupation of Douglas County by Native Americans continued through the early history of the area to present day. A study by E. Steve Cassells states the Ute tribe and the Apache were frequent visitors to the Front Range in the early 1700s- the Ute from west of the Front Range and the Apache from the plains. Between 1700 and 1750 the Comanche began to push the Apache south and by 1820, according to Cassells, they had been pushed out of Colorado. The Ute was still dominate west of the Front Range and made frequent visits to Douglas County. By 1820 the Arapaho and Cheyenne were moving into Colorado, pushed south by the Sioux after being pushed westward from the Great Lakes area by European settlement and forced removal. They, in turn, pushed the Comanche south, and by the late 1870s the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes dominated the eastern plains of Colorado and Douglas County. They had frequent exchanges with the Ute people, who still used the Front Range of Colorado for hunting.
As more and more settlers, gold seekers and explorers pushed into eastern Colorado, the Native American tribes were forced onto smaller and smaller pieces of their homelands and battled with United States and Colorado forces. They were forced to move from place to place as treaties were violated and settler colonialism took over their sacred lands.
As we reckon with this history, it is crucial to remember there is still an active presence in Douglas County of Indigenous cultures. On 70 acres of Daniels Park, a Denver Mountain Park, stands the Tall Bull Memorial Grounds, reserved for Native ceremonies and activities. Denver set aside the parcel in 1977 for a consortium of organizations. It became known as the Tall Bull Memorial Council. Tall Bull was a major Southern Cheyenne Chief, war chief and Dog Soldier leader. In 1864 approximately 500 people were following him in eastern Colorado, western Kansas and Nebraska. He was shot and killed in the 1869 Battle of Summit Springs in Colorado by Major Frank North, leader of the Pawnee Scouts.
So, as you travel about the county, remember that your footprints are simply the latest to leave marks in this area that has been occupied by and sacred to Indigenous people for more than13,000 years.
Tread lightly.