INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY

A SAN MIGUEL COUNTY TRADITION SINCE 1998

Annual Indigenous Peoples Day: A Weekend of Healing and Education

Pawnee legal scholar Walter Echo-Hawk commented several years ago at a conference in Boulder, “Until the U.S. makes reconciliation with the indigenous peoples of this continent for the genocide that accompanied the nation’s founding, America will never be at peace.”

In our own limited way, the Telluride Institute has partnered with San Miguel County, the Telluride Historical Museum, Between the Covers Bookstore, Ah Haa School of the Arts, Telluride Ski & Golf Co, Telluride Sports, Jumping Jan’ Productions and the Wilkinson Public Library to work towards just such a reconciliation, inviting Ute youth to ski free, holding roundtables and workshops, and sponsoring the Indigenous Peoples Day events.

Ute Wisdom, Language and Creation Story | Larry Cesspooch | TEDxYouth@ParkCity

2021 IP Day Events and Activities:

This year due to the continued pandemic Telluride Institute focused on a few smaller events and activities to celebrate Indigenous People’s Day. These events and activities included a wonderful presentation from Ernest House Jr. of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe to the Telluride High School, the continuation of Ute Youth Ski Day and hosting a wonderful discussion with Indigenous author and poet Linda Hogan. We look forward to returning to more public presentations, discussions and projects for 2022. In 2022 we look forward to spreading events and activities throughout the year and collaborating more with other organizations in order to make Indigenous People’s Day every day!

2020 IP Day Schedule:

Our Indigenous Peoples Day programming is all virtual this year due to the pandemic. Listen on the radio at www.KOTO.org to hear from our Ute neighbors. We will also be offering a program with TellurideLibrary.org.

Join us on Zoom on Sunday, October 11, at 6 pm for our next Borderlands of Southern Colorado online lecture. In this discussion, activists and organizers Red Fawn Fallis and Sky Roosevelt Morris will address the roles of protest, ceremony, and community in 21st century Indigenous resistance. The event is open to the public with a suggested donation of $5. Our Online Borderlands Lecture Series is generously supported by the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area and Colorado State University Pueblo.

(Artwork by Lauren Metzger)