Note: The remarks below are gratefully republished with permission. They were written by Elleni Sclavenitis with help from Alexa Roberts, and read virtually on Monday evening, July 28, by Elleni Sclavenitis during a Denver City Council hearing on the Vibrant Denver bond proposal. The American Indian Embassy Project has thankfully been included among the bond’s many projects, and $20 million have been allocated to it within the measure, pending the decision of Denver voters on the overall bond this November. Should the bond pass, the $20 million earmarked for the embassy would very likely need to be paired with additional funds to fully fund, develop and build it.
Good evening. My name is Elleni Sclavenitis and I serve as the Executive Director for the Sand Creek Massacre Foundation. I’m speaking in support of the proposed Budget Package, which would allocate funds to the development of the American Indian Cultural Embassy in Denver.
The Sand Creek Massacre forced Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes out of their homelands in what is now Colorado, yet they continue to return, refusing to let history be forgotten.
Every year, Cheyenne and Arapaho massacre descendants bring their youth back to Colorado to learn about their history, connect with their homeland, and honor those lost at Sand Creek, with the determination to show they are still here.
Yet, tribal members have no official presence in the State: no reservation, no allotments, not even a place to gather and meet.
Over the many decades that Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal members, officials and representatives have returned to Colorado to hold memorial events, worship at sacred sites and consult with state and federal officials about matters that affect their tribes, they have made hundreds of treks to Colorado from Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.
The time has come to acknowledge the tribes’ forced removal from their Colorado homelands and honor their unbreakable, eternal connection to this state. The proposed American Indian Embassy would allow the Cheyenne and Arapaho and other indigenous people of this land to reclaim a small part of what was once theirs and recognize that they are welcomed home.
