Today's activity could not be terribly far away, because I was going to go hear my husband K play in an ensemble at the ClarinetFest today. The activity I chose didn't open until 10, which meant I got to sleep in until 9. Hurrah!
I was out and on the road at 9:51, with 24891 on the odometer. I'd already planned where I was parking and I was in the Art Garage at 10:18 (24905). My destination was History Colorado a.k.a. History Colorado Center, the Colorado state history museum. It was a pleasant 10 minute walk.
I walked along the side of the museum and saw this really great looking statue. I just loved the outfit that the sculptor had put her in. It immediately evoked a time. The statue was titled "A New Beginning" and it was by Veryl Goodnight. Besides looking cool, it was dedicated to the Teachers of Colorado. You looked at her and saw a new teacher arriving in town, ready for the adventure of teaching in the Old West.
Reaching the front of the building, there was an impressive statue of a buffalo, an animal I have never seen in this state, but know that there used to be so many of them here. The title of this was "On the Wind" and it was by. T.D. Kelsey. You looked at the animal and just saw power.
The front windows of the first floor were decorated with a slogan in English and Spanish.
I went inside and paid the $15 admission fee, with no discounts available. One of the reasons I'd chosen the museum was to see their Sand Creek Massacre exhibit. I could have driven out to the National Park out there, but it is a hike. I figured I could learn all about it here. I was told that some found the exhibit difficult and that there was a healing room.
Before heading upstairs to the exhibits, I headed to the restroom. I liked this sign there.
When I got upstairs, I looked at the elevator door and noticed how beautiful it was. I looked over the railing at the tipis on the first floor. I also took time to appreciate the Corn Mother statue from 2017 by Rob Yancey "El Guero".
The exhibit actually started in the hall.
I live in a state where the governor bans children from learning anything from history that will make them feel bad or guilty. I'm out to make sure my granddaughter learns those things, when she is old enough. So, I took pictures of every single sign.
I liked that there were signs allowing the Native Americans to tell us about their tribes. If you are reading this, then you get to learn about them, too. First, the Arapaho. This is just some of what was shared. Isn't that lattice cradle beautiful?
Next up were the Cheyenne.
I really liked the Cheyenne attitude toward women.
There was some more history about the area. Even my high school U.S. history class, which used primary sources as much as possible, didn't cover this from the Native American viewpoint.
With each succeeding reading, I became more and more depressed. I had to keep reminding myself that this is the kind of stuff the governor and the legislature don't want taught, because it made me feel bad and a bit guilty.
Next came the massacre information. They included first-hand accounts from soldiers who did not participate in the atrocities ( which I will spare you, though they are seared in my brain as examples of man's inhumanity to man).
The aftermath was discussed, including how the massacre led to war. Evans, that governor with the sick proclamation? Evanston, Illinois is named for him, as was Mt. Evans, which, thankfully, was renamed Mount Blue Sky, finally, in 2023, at the request of the Cheyenne and Arapaho.
Of course, the massacre was not the only thing perpetrated against the Native Americans. But, they are working to reclaim their heritage.
White people have tried to come to grips with what happened with varying degrees of success. The University of Denver is very good about saying they were founded on Native land.
I did sit in the contemplation room for a bit. There, it had video of the landscape of Sand Creek. That was soothing and helpful.
Next stop was an exhibit that included these two great posters.
Then, it was on to an exhibit on another tribe, the Ute. Utah bears their name, but they covered a lot of states.
There were some beautiful examples of beadwork. This pouch has a mountain in its design, appropriately enough. I was stunned at the amount of beadwork put into this toy cradleboard, which was used to help young girls learn caretaking skills. It's a lot of work for a toy.
Look at this amazing basketry water jug. Piñon pine pitch allows it to hold water.
This exhibit was not focused on one bad event like the previous one. Rather, it was meant as an introduction to the peoples.
So very much work goes into creating these beautiful garments.
There was so much good information about their way of life.
As usual, when the U.S. government comes up when discussing indigenous people, the government comes off very badly.
The exhibit emphasized that the Ute are still here. They still treasure their traditions. These are some modern day outfits for traditional dances.
Today, the Utes are divided into three tribes: Ute Mountain Utes; Southern Utes; and Uintah-Ouray. They live on three tribal reservations.
The next exhibit was Zoom In- The Centennial State in 100 Objects. It was described as:
This exhibition has 100 stories to tell. Zoom in on 100 powerful artifacts to see how Colorado became Colorado. Culled from the vast collections of History Colorado, every object on view had a role in shaping our state—from the age of the Paleoindians to Jack Swigert's Apollo 13 flight suit and beyond.
I found the sign immediately inside the exhibit to be very interesting.
It was a little surprising how many of the objects were clothing: Kit Carson's coat; shag beaver felt top hat; "Daisy" Yuen's wedding dress; Molly Brown's opera cloak; and Jack Swigert's Apollo 13 inflight cover garment.
There were objects from the Colorado Gold Rush and a Coors malted milk container from Prohibition. There was Aspen Ski Lift No. 1 Chair. There were things to not be so proud of. There were excellent explanatory signs.
Out in the hallway there was a sort of photo essay called "The Dry: Black Women's Legacy in a Farming Community". Talk about perseverance!
Another exhibit hall had "Denver A to Z", with something for each letter of the alphabet. It's a cool concept.
Of course, I learned things. The official name of the boot they put on your car to keep you from driving is the "Denver boot".
Other panels told the history of the city according to different letters. The one for S (silver) talked about the Brown Palace hotel, which has featured in several of Hallmark's Signed, Sealed, Delivered movies, which I love. At the end, you could put money in a canister to vote as to which group of Denverites you belonged to - native, came for school, came for health, came to live in the city, to strike it rich, for the landscape or climate or recreation- and the canister listed people who belonged to that group.
The next area was about Colorado history and they did not shy away from the bad parts. The KKK was terribly active- and large- here a century ago. There was a mountain resort just for Black people back then.
Skiing is a big deal in Colorado, of course, and there was some info on its origins.
Another dark period in US history touched Colorado in a big way. This was the internment of Japanese-Americans in camps. In Colorado, it was Amache. There was a sample living quarters to enter and explore, but, as they noted, it had to be built to Americans with Disabilities standards, which meant it was significantly bigger than the real thing.
As has happened elsewhere in this country, Hispanics have also faced discrimination in Colorado.
Out on the balcony was a really cool sculpture of the 4 main rivers of Colorado called, appropriately, Four Rivers, by Rik Sargent. The rivers are the Rio Grande, Colorado, Arkansas, and Platte. Some cool miniature details on it, too.
Water is a very important topic in the West, particularly as it pertains to taking it from rivers. There was a terrific model that showed how the water fell on the two sides of the Rockies and the results of that.
Another set of exhibits focused on another tribe native to the area, the Pueblo. I'll be honest- even though I know there is a Pueblo, Colorado, I've never thought of those people, when I've thought of Colorado. I've always thought of them as being in Arizona. Of course, tribes covered a wide territory back in the day.
The exhibit focused on their food sources, such as corn and wild turkeys, although they eventually sort of raised the turkeys. There were exhibits showing the various uses of yucca as well as one of beautiful pottery. The latter noted that clay pots were better at keeping out vermin and for cooking.
You might recall that upstairs, I'd been able to look down and see tipis. On the ground floor, there were signs. I learned that one was Arapaho and one was Cheyenne.
I don't remember what it was apropos of, but a sign showed that anti-German language sentiment during the World Wars was not just an East Coast thing.
As many state museums do, this one had a life-sized selection of portions of an old town named Keota to teach about old towns.
The national uproar over Civil War monuments touched Denver, too. Their statue was of a Union soldier and that might have been left alone, except for a couple of points, one of which was that the statue had a plaque of the laudable actions of the Union soldiers, including at Sand Creek, which was called a battle. Of course, it was not. It was a massacre. In 2002, the legislature added a plaque condemning that action. Besides signs explaining the history of the statue, there were signs with the opinions of Denverites about taking it down. There was also a photo of its plinth after its removal and covered with Black Lives Matter graffiti. I think a history museum is an appropriate location for it.
On the way to the shop in the lobby, there were some neat chairs that saluted the skiing that Colorado is famous for.
In the shop, I looked at the children's books, but saw that I could get them cheaper online. I did get the small paperback that was the companion to the Sand Creek Massacre exhibit, thinking I can share it with my granddaughter when she is 12 or so. I can't trust Florida schools to teach these things. Heck, I didn't learn them when I was in school.
After the shop, I realized that it was 2;30 and I hadn't eaten lunch. I didn't really have time for lunch. So, I opted for a snack of what turned out to be a terrific brownie washed down with a Diet Coke.
On my way to the parking garage at 2:55, I passed a rock that had a painted BLM on it.
When I turned the corner of History Colorado, I could see the Art Museum parking garage across the street and could admire its beautiful paint job.
It cost me $10 to get out of the garage at 3. On the way out of downtown, I saw this great mural by Pat Milbery.
There was some rain, but the drive was uneventful. I parked at the hotel at 3:25 (24919) and hurried upstairs to dump my supplies.
K was performing with the professors' choir soon. So, I left again at 3:31 and drove to the nearby Marriott, arriving at 3:40 (24920). I had a bit of difficulty finding a parking spot and then figuring out where to go inside. Cell coverage was spotty, at best, and I was a bit concerned about the folks checking badges to enter the rooms. Luckily, when I came out of the restroom at 3:47, I ran into K in the hall. He handed me his clarinet to carry and I walked into the performance space with him. It was basically a small ballroom. I sat in the very back, but I could still see him at times.
The concert was from 4 to 4:20 and was very enjoyable. I waited around for K afterwards and he went with me at 4:40 to return to the Westin. So as to get him to his next event, I dropped him at the front door at 4:46 and I went to park across the street (24921).
I had time to do Facebook and Instagram posts and enjoy the view.
K and I met at 6:36 to have dinner at Kachina again. It was good food and easier than taking the time to leave and find some place else. I ordered a K'Ohanna White Sangria for a rather pricey $12 and K got Ellie's Brown Ale for 7. We both enjoyed our drinks.
We found two meals to split: Chopped Taco Salad for $19 and Fry Bread Taco Plate with The Southern Colorado and The Pueblo for $19, as well. Those were the names of the two kinds of tacos on there.
The place was really busy. In fact, we were at a high table tonight. We had to ask for the check and it took a while to come. In fact, K had to leave at 8 to get to the concert that had just started. The meal was charged to the room and I left at 8:10.
I decided to explore the patio area a bit. First, there was the impressive statue of Chief Little Raven, who, once again, had ties to the Sand Creek Massacre. It seems to be my theme today.
From here, I had a good view up to our room at the base of the supports to the left of the center of the building.
The light posts had informative signs on their bases. They covered topics such as mountain men, dinosaurs, bison, the Colorado gold rush, Rocky Flats, tribes of the Plains and more. The pond also made for good photographs.
I took my last photo at 8:16 and then headed upstairs. There I found a terrific sunset out the window. It was a nice farewell to the last night in Denver. By 8:25, it was almost over.
I spent the rest of the evening packing. When K came back, he did his packing. Due to his schedule in the morning, I'd be the one checking out. So, his stuff had to be all ready to go.
The phone said I'd walked 4,911 steps for 1.8 miles today.
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