Jack, sign and send the petition to Congress: Begin to heal historic harms of the Sand Creek Massacre now.

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In recognition of the Cheyenne and Arapaho history and its relationship to the land, which includes the area west of Denver, Congress members have introduced legislation to rename the 75,000-acre preserve currently called Mount Evans Wilderness to Mount Blue Sky Wilderness.

This name recognizes the spiritual significance the land has for the Cheyenne people, whose annual ceremony of renewal of life is called Blue Sky, and the Arapaho people, who are known as the Blue Sky People. It also begins to repair the historic damage of violent removal and land grabs experienced by the Cheyenne and Arapaho.

More than 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho people were murdered–mostly women, children, and elders–during the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864. Despite Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs of the Colorado Territory John Evans’ role in the massacre, the mountain and wilderness were named in his honor 30 years later as he continued to deny and even defend the brutal slaughter of Indigenous people.

Sign and send the petition to Congress: Begin to heal historic harms of the Sand Creek Massacre now.

SIGN THE PETITION
Removing Evans’ name is the logical next step in working to reframe the history of Colorado and heal the harms caused to Native peoples who are forced to endure living each day reminded of the Governor responsible for the massacre of hundreds of ancestors.

Since the 1960s, the Native community has pressed for the name change. The U.S. Geological Survey’s Board on Geographic Names agreed to rename the mountain Mount Blue Sky last year -- but only Congress can change the name of the adjacent wilderness.

Sign and send a message calling on your Senators and your Representative to co-sponsor and pass the Mount Blue Sky Wilderness Act now.

SIGN THE PETITION
Thanks for all you do,
Erin Tulley, Daily Kos