To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: N/A
Prepared By:
prepared
Michelle Halstead, Director, Commissioners’ Office
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Subject:
title
A proclamation establishing November 29, 2022, as Sand Creek Massacre Commemoration Day, memorializing the Cheyenne and Arapaho people who lost their lives during the Sand Creek Massacre and honoring their descendants
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
Adoption of Arapahoe County’s first formal proclamation, establishing November 29, 2022, as Sand Creek Massacre Commemoration Day.
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Background and Discussion: In late-August, a contingent of Arapahoe County commissioners and staff traveled to Wind River, WY to meet with the Northern Arapaho Business Council and their colleagues, touring the community and discussing how to advance the newly formalized relationship between the County and the Northern Arapaho Tribe. This was the County’s first official visit to the area since the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Tribe this past June, and an early success for the Board’s work around advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
The MOA identifies ways the County can work with the Northern Arapaho around objectives such as increasing awareness of and education about the Northern Arapaho culture and the concerns facing modern Native peoples; establishing events and commemorations around historical incidents such as the Sand Creek Massacre; coordinating advocacy efforts that publicize Arapaho Tribal issues; and welcoming Tribal representation at appropriate County events and ceremonies.
This proclamation is consistent with the tenets of the MOA.
Alternatives: N/A
Fiscal Impact: N/A
Alignment with Strategic Plan:
☐Be fiscally sustainable
☐Provide essential and mandated service
☒Be community focused
Concurrence: N/A