Context
Niwot, Colorado, is named for Chief Nowoo3 / Chief Niwot / Left Hand, a Southern Arapaho leader connected to Boulder Valley history and the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre. The community also carries histories of Arapaho and Cheyenne presence, white settlement, public memory, Native art, public land, and Boulder County’s relationship to Sand Creek.
From Municipal Consultation Support to Community Relationship-Building
The Niwot effort grew from Phillip Yates’s earlier City of Boulder work supporting Tribal consultation, public-history communication, and relationship-building efforts involving representatives from 16 Tribal Nations, including Arapaho and Cheyenne representatives Fred Mosqueda and Chester Whiteman.
That work included helping support the Tribal Ethnographic Education Report, The Peoples’ Crossing renaming, land acknowledgment communication, Fort Chambers / Poor Farm communication, and planning for a community event with Tribal Elders to honor city-Tribal relationships.
Phillip is especially grateful for guidance from Southern Arapaho Elder Fred Mosqueda and Southern Cheyenne Elder Chester Whiteman in communicating the history of Fort Chambers, the mobilization site for Company D before the Sand Creek Massacre.
Building Arapaho, Cheyenne and Niwot Relationships
As part of Niwot’s 150th anniversary, Phillip helped support a community gathering with Southern Arapaho Elder Fred Mosqueda and Southern Cheyenne Elder Chester Whiteman focused on meaningful historical storytelling, Niwot’s connection to the Sand Creek Massacre, honoring Chief Nowoo3 / Chief Niwot / Left Hand, and exploring how the Niwot and Boulder-area community can build relationships with Cheyenne and Arapaho people.
Digital Content System
Niwot Living History includes public-facing history, event documentation, video resources, educational materials, relationship-building pages, public art preservation information, and community programming information.
Related Work
- Building Arapaho, Cheyenne and Niwot Relationships
- Niwot Native Art Market
- Niwot Film Festival planning
- Public art preservation
- NiwotCarvings.org
- Native murals and Niwot Tree Carvings documentation
What This Demonstrates
- Meaningful historical storytelling
- Community relationship-building
- Public-history content systems
- Video documentation
- Public communication
- Native art and public art preservation support
- Accessible history
- Ethical boundaries around Native voice and Tribal sovereignty