City of Louisville, CO

Choose your own learning adventure for Native American Heritage Month!

Explore various facets of Native American culture by interacting with any of the resources found below that include articles, movies, maps, virtual tours, and more.

*Stay tuned for our virtual screening of a Native film offered by the National Museum of the American Indian’s Native Cinema Showcase during the week of November 17 to November 24. Movie selection and time will be shared as we get closer to the date.

Week 1-November 1-3: History

• Louisville timeline: learn more about Indigenous history in Boulder County
• Native American Code Talkers: read more about how the words from American Indians used language as a tool to subvert the enemy during World War I and World War II

Week 2-November 6-10: The Land

• Land Acknowledgments: want to do a land acknowledgment? Here are the things to think about before doing so.
• Visit the Mesa Verde National Park: a place that was home to Native Americans for more than 700 years.
• What Native land are you on? check out the link provided which shows which  Indigenous Lands you live on.

Week 3-November 13-17: The People

• *2023 Native Cinema Showcase: Watch a film as part of the National Museum of the American Indian’s Native Cinema Showcase that will be streaming the best in Native film. This year theme focuses on Indigenous perseverance that inspire, uplift and triumph against adversity starting November 17 and going until November 24.
• Crisosto Apache: On September 27 2023, the Louisville Arts and Special Events hosted a poetry reading and talk with author Crisosto Apache, an Indigenous Apache poet who shared their identity as Native American, the continued impact of colonialism, assimilation and acculturation, and experience as part of the two spirit LGBTQIA identity. The hyperlink above will invite you to read their poems.

Week 4-November 20-24: Activism

• Renaming Mount Evans: In November 2020, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes submitted a proposal to rename Mount Evans, a mountain named after a governor in office during the Sand Creek Massacre as Mount Blue Sky. Read more about the bill that was introduced to Congress on Tuesday October 17.
• The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS): This coalition has been working with members of Congress to reintroduce and pass the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act. This commission would conduct an inquiry into the policies of U.S. Indian boarding schools. You can be an advocate for it by supporting the bill.

 Week 5-November 27-30: Food

• 2023 Food Justice & Sovereignty Program: An opportunity for all, especially Black, Indigenous, and communities of color who want to reconnect or maintain their connection with the Earth by learning how to garden and grow healthy food.
• Visit Tocabe: An American Indian Eatery located in North Denver. See their delicious meals that come from Native and Indigenous producers.
• Toasted Sister Podcast: Do you love food? This radio podcast is fully dedicated to learning about Native American food