THE LAND WE ARE ON

The land that is currently known as Bluff Lake Nature Center, at Martin Luther King Jr Blvd and Havana, in the county and city of Denver, in the State of Colorado, is ancestral territory of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Ute (Núu-agha-tuvu-pu) and Sioux (Očhéthi Šakówiŋ) Peoples. The Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851), the Treaty of Fort Wise (1861), and Cession 426 promised friendship, but resulted in the displacement of these peoples and the taking of their land. As the current caretakers of this land, we strive to support all of our human, animal, and plant life.

We believe it is important to acknowledge the indigenous lands in order to make clear that we were not the first people here and to provide exposure and an learning opportunity for individuals who may have never heard the names of the tribes that have and continue to live and learn from the land they are standing on. Acknowledging the land is also an indigenous/tribal protocol and the practice establishes a respectful routine and habit of supporting reconciliation.