Pikes Peak - America's Mountain Land Acknowledgement
We recognize, publicly and intentionally, that we live, work, and organize on stolen and occupied traditional land that is just one piece of a larger, boundless terrain for Indigenous Peoples; Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe, the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, the Jicarilla Apache Nation, the Comanche Nation, the Pawnee Nation, the Kiowa Tribe, the Northern Arapaho Tribe, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. This mountain is home to multiple Native tribes and is considered a sacred mountain to many.
At least 48 federally recognized tribes have deep connections to the Colorado landscape and continue to foster their relationships with this land. We would like to pay our respects to their elders, past and present, and choose to honor and acknowledge the original stewards of this land in hopes of building mutual respect and understanding across all cultures – those that reside here and those that pass through here today and in the future.
What is a Land Acknowledgment?
A land acknowledgment is a formal statement that recognizes and respects Indigenous Peoples as traditional stewards of this land and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories.