John,

In November, 1864, more than 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho people, mostly women, children, and elders, were murdered in the Sand Creek Massacre at the command of Colorado Territory Governor John Evans.

Nearly 160 years later, after years of public pressure, the US Geological Survey finally removed Governor Evans’ name from the mountain named after him.

In honor of the Cheyenne people, whose annual ceremony of renewal of life is called Blue Sky, and the Arapaho, also known as the Blue Sky People, the impressive 14,265-foot tall mountain was renamed Mount Blue Sky.

However, unlike the mountain, only Congress can change the name of the national wilderness area surrounding Mount Blue Sky, and now, we have the opportunity to do just that. Four members of the Colorado congressional delegation have introduced legislation to rename this beautiful 75,000-acre preserve the Mount Blue Sky Wilderness.

Send a message urging your two senators and your representative to co-sponsor and pass the Mount Blue Sky Wilderness Act! Click here to send a pre-written letter, or feel free to edit it with your own comments now.

Tribes and local communities led the years of negotiations to remove the Evans name from the mountain, and now renaming the surrounding wilderness is the logical next step to address the atrocities suffered by the Cheyenne and Arapaho people. Renaming the wilderness area as well will honor the tribes’ legacy while freeing them from the daily reminders of the Governor responsible for the massacre of hundreds of their ancestors.

It’s time to build bipartisan support for the Mount Blue Sky Wilderness Act from members of Congress nationwide. Send a message to your senators and representative to co-sponsor and pass this bill now.

Thank you for your support for the Cheyenne and Arapaho peoples, whose roots are in this beautiful land.

- Amanda

Amanda Ford, Director
Democracy for America
Advocacy Fund