Reflections on 3/21 Fort Chambers Concept Meeting

We are deeply embedded in Native community here through found family, friendship, ceremony, and a collective effort to unforget the true history of the land and people here in the context of vitalizing an Indigenous future. We attended the March 21st concept meeting to better understand how the Boulder community sees this process. After multiple follow up conversations to sort out my thinking, I want to share some of my personal reflections:

• There was one comment to “not forget the white story”. In the recounting of this history, there is no white vs Native story. There is one story and that includes the truth of all that happened. It’s everyone’s story. This comment illuminates a problematic dynamic I’ve seen elsewhere in related conversations that usually means more precisely “don’t forget the White perspective”. It’s hard to forget the White perspective … it’s been the dominate perspective here since White people first invaded Colorado. And it’s not only often incomplete but untrue. I am not advocating for a biased shift in any other direction … simply the full truth and from an honest perspective.
• Calling it a “Healing Trail” is incredibly problematic and an example of the deeply embedded White supremacies in our community. Healing who and how? I won’t speak for any Native person living here, especially one with ancestors and relatives directly affected by the Sand Creek Massacre, but I will attempt to amplify the voices I’ve heard. Before healing, we need remembrance and restoration of the truth. And this includes those of us who have benefitted directly or Indirectly from such atrocities unpacking our connections and how we got here, and then doing the work to understand personal accountability and commit to revoking unjust privilege with a goal of restoration, reparations, and reconciliation. I believe we need at least all of that before we can heal.
• I also saw comments requesting a celebration of things like organic agriculture being or have been done on this land. While an issue of vital importance in this day and age of industrialized food (and I worked as an advocate for small farms and local foods, including organic, regenerative, ethical, etc. food systems, for over a decade) this does not seem the place for all that. It is clear to me that by far the most important thing to deal with here is this land’s relationship to one of the worst atrocities in US history. There are plenty of other opportunities to talk about our food systems (and some of the other similar comments I saw) that do not dilute and attempt (intentionally or unintentionally) to erase the most important aspects of its history.

Thank you for listening.