Indigenous Connections Summit
Indigenous Connections Summit: Beyond the Land Acknowledgement
Presented by Golden History Museum & Park
March 18–20, 2025 — Golden, Colorado
Attend the inaugural Indigenous Connections Summit in Golden, Colorado, March 18–20, 2025, hosted by Golden History Museum & Park and 1st Tribal Consulting LLC. The summit will bring together Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPOs) and Tribal representatives from some of the 51 federally recognized Tribes with historic ties to Colorado with museum, cultural and municipal/county leaders for two days of learning and exchange.
The goals of the Summit are to increase cultural professionals’ Indigenous cultural awareness and competency, forge relationships between Tribal representatives and museum/agency leaders, and build a regional network of cultural agencies that wish to elevate Indigenous voice and representation in their institutions and communities. Sessions and workshop content will include topics such as NAGPRA law and compliance, working with Native American advisory boards, co-creation of exhibits, Indigenous community engagement strategies, re-Indigenizing public spaces, and learning from and avoiding mistakes when working with Native communities. Dr. Tink Tinker (Wazhazhe, Osage Nation), Professor Emeritus, Iliff School of Theology, is the Summit’s distinguished keynote speaker. The second day of the conference will be a forum to learn about THPO offices and duties, issues from the field, and a networking session for museum leaders and Tribal representatives. Registration also includes two lunches and a reception at the Golden History Museum.
Schedule (subject to change)
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
5 pm: Tribal Leadership Gathering & Dinner, for Tribal leaders only—by invitation
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
8–8:45 am: Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:45–9:15 am: Welcome and Invocation
9:15–10:30 am: Concurrent Sessions
10:30–10:45 am: Break
10:45 am–12:00 pm: Concurrent Sessions
12–12:30 pm: Break/Transition
12:30–2 pm: Lunch and Keynote Speaker, Dr. Tink Tinker (Wazhazhe, Osage Nation), Professor Emeritus, Iliff School of Theology
2–2:30 pm: Break/Transition
2:30–4:15 pm: Concurrent Sessions
4:30–6 pm: Reception at Golden History Museum
Thursday, March 20, 2025
8–8:45 am: Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:45–9:15 am: Welcome and Invocation
9:15–11:15 am: What is a Tribal Historic Preservation Office?
11:15–11:30 am: Break
11:30 am–12:30 pm: Guest Speaker TBA
12:30–1:30 pm: Lunch and Roundtable Conversations
1:30–2:00 pm: Q&A, Closing Ceremony
Location
Summit activities will be held in Golden at two separate locations, within two blocks of each other.
Registration, Sessions, Workshops, Keynote, & Meals
Golden Community Center
1470 10th Street
Golden, Colorado 80401
Wednesday, March 20 Evening Reception
Golden History Museum
923 10th Street
Golden, Colorado 80401
Registration
Registration for the Indigenous Connections Summit is $260. Fees include attendance to all sessions and speakers, two continental breakfasts, two lunches, and Wednesday evening reception at Golden History Museum.
At the conclusion of the Summit, all participants will be provided discounted admission to the world-renowned Denver March Powwow that begins Thursday night and continues through the weekend at the Denver Coliseum.
To cancel a registration or to ask any questions, please contact conference@goldenhistory.org. Registrations cancelled up to two weeks prior to the conference will be refunded at 50%. No refunds are issued for cancellations received less than two weeks before the start of the conference.
Accommodations
The Indigenous Connections Summit partner hotel is Hampton Inn Denver-West/Golden located at 17150 W. Colfax Avenue, Golden, Colorado, 80401. Special conference rate is $119 per night. Make a reservation here or call the Hampton Inn Denver-West/Golden at 303.278.6600. Deadline to reserve a room at the special rate is March 1, 2025.
About Golden, Colorado
Nestled along Clear Creek in a valley between the volcanic Table Mesas and the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Golden, Colorado is situated within the ancestral territory of multiple tribes. The Clear Creek Valley provides an access corridor between the interior Rocky Mountains and the Plains. As an ecological transition zone, over 180 plant species found within the Golden region have documented Indigenous uses and names, and these serve as a foundation for Native American continued use and connections to the area. In the oral histories of the Núuchiu (Ute), the area now called the City of Golden is located within the origin places of the Moghwachi, Tabeguache, and Uncompahgre bands and has been significant since time immemorial. The oral histories and documentary record of the Tsétsėhéstȧhese or Tsistsistas (Cheyenne) and Hinono’ei (Arapaho) reveal a history that began in the eighteenth century or earlier and encompassed the Front Range of Colorado. Painful tribal histories, including the forced removal of the Utes from a large portion of their ancestral lands, and the removal of the Cheyenne and Arapaho from Colorado following the Massacre at Sand Creek, are historically linked to the development of the City of Golden and are therefore essential components of Native American interpretation of the area. (Excerpt from Indigenous Connections: Native American Ethnographic Study of Golden, Colorado and the Clear Creek Valley,” 2021).
City of Golden Land Acknowledgment
We begin by acknowledging the First Peoples, the Hinono’ei (Arapaho), Tsistsistas or Tsétsėhéstȧhese (Cheyenne) and Núuchiu (Ute), as the stewards and relatives of this ancestral territory that was seized from them in what is now known as Golden, Colorado. With respect to their elders, past and present, we recognize the original caretakers of this land, air, and water.
We make this statement to show respect, honor the truth, and encourage more substantive, sustained action to correct the false narratives and hostile practices that seek to erase Indigenous peoples’ histories, cultures, and daily presence in a colonized world.
We commit to highlighting true stories of the people who were and are already here and to address harm, work to build trusting relationships, and engage in restorative collaboration with Native communities.
We recognize as we move forward in the spirit of diversity, equity, and inclusion, that we must hold ourselves and each other accountable so that we can move forward with a spirit of belonging, reconciliation, and justice. We recognize that all members of the community of Golden, Colorado are needed in this work.
ADA Statement
Please contact Kathleen Eaton at (303) 277-8713 or send an email to conference@goldenhistory.org at least one month prior to the event to request disability accommodations. In all situations, a good faith effort (up until the time of the event) will be made to provide accommodations.