The second quarterly meeting for the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs (CCIA) was hosted at History Colorado in Denver, where members of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe were in attendance, Friday, Dec. 7.
As the meeting began, program assistant Morgan Ferris announced that this meeting will be the last chaired by Colorado Lt. Governor Donna Lynne.
Lynne was gifted Pendleton blankets, and honored with a song and beaded jewelry. This was all done for Lynne as a way to show the appreciation for her hard work and leadership both in and outside of CCIA.
Throughout her time as the chair of the Commission, Lt. Governor Lynne has “worked together with the two respective tribes in Colorado to understand what is needed,” Program Assistant Morgan Ferris stated “It has been outstanding.”
“We have been blazing a trail with how well we listen and work with tribal governments,” Lt. Governor Lynne expressed. In addition to keeping the working relationship between the Colorado tribes productive, Lynne has used her past experience to venture into advancing the Colorado Space Coalition by being a co-chair of the coalition. Lynn also sits on the Education Leadership Council where she works with educators, business leaders and governments to create a “level playing field” for all students in the state of Colorado.
After the expressions of gratitude from tribal leaders and government officials, Lt. Governor Lynne spoke on her service, “It has been a distinct honor and privilege to work with you all—thank you to all the staff, I appreciate all the work that we have done.”
CCIA program staff will carry out the work of the Commission until the remaining time that is left in Governor John Hickenlooper’s and Lt. Governor Lynne’s terms in office. “The work we have done with Ute Mountain and Southern Ute tribes is what I am most proud of,” Lt. Governor Lynne stated.
The next highlight of the meeting was the update given on the teacher trainings for “Nuu-ciu Strong” the Colorado Fourth Grade Resource Guide that helps educators learn more about the Ute people and will provide them with 24 lessons to support the teachings of Ute history.
Through the collaboration of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Colorado educators, History Colorado, the Ute Indian Tribe and many more this resource guide will be made available at a special professional development day. The training will be hosted at History Colorado on Saturday, Jan. 26. Where the participants will also explore the newly opened “Written on the Land” exhibit. “This is an absolutely phenomenal exhibit,” Executive Director of History Colorado Steve Turner shared. “We have an opportunity to share your [Ute] history with the rest of Colorado; I hope we have made you proud.”
The next CCIA meeting is scheduled for March 22, 2019 and will return to Denver.