The Colorado Native Americans were the first humans to live in the place. They inhabited the territory for more than thousands of years being a gathering and hunting tribes.
First Native Indians
Paleo-Indians were the first Native Indians and they were prehistoric. They lived before a single word was printed and information about them came from archaeologists who have dogged up their sites. The Anasazi Indians vanished with even a trace. They lived almost everywhere in Colorado but their existence was only discovered in excavations. Other areas found were ceremonial grounds or burial grounds of the earliest tribes. Pottery, arrowheads, hunting tools and such have been discovered all over Colorado.
famous Native Americans
The famous Native Americans in Colorado were the Ute, Cheyenne Arapahoe, and the Navajo. The Utes communicated, healed the sick, and prayed using the Native Scarred Trees. The Navajo were prominent in the Southwestern Colorado, The Utes in most part of Colorado particularly the Pikes Peak, and the Cheyenne Arapahoe in Colorado Plains.
Each tribe is rich in history and is known to be proud people. They had their own culture and it was evident in the territories where they settled. Unfortunately, like the other Native American Indian tribes, migration, and settlement of white settlers transpired so they had to move. It was an awful time for them knowing that they were the very first people to settle in the place.
Colorado Native Americans
Colorado Native Americans were normally peaceful people, like any other tribes, they fought for their lands that were taken from them. Many cruelties were done against them through all they wanted was to live peacefully in their own land.
The worst thing done against the Native Colorados was the Sand Creek Massacre. Also known as the Battle of Sand Creek, The Chivington Massacre, or the massacre of Cheyenne Indians, it was a killing during the American Indian Wars which happened on the 29th of November, 1864. The 700-man troops of Colorado Militia attacked and demolished the peaceful territory of Arapaho and Cheyenne located in the Southeastern part of Colorado. They killed and mutilated around 70 to 163 native Indians, two-thirds of which were children and women. The site has been labeled the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site and is managed by the National Park Service.
Today, successors of these tribes still consider Colorado as home. Every year, they get together to reminisce their culture and re-enact the happy times in their past.
More Quick Facts about Colorado Native Americans
- Characteristics, Geography, and Environment of Colorado State: dry high plains in the east, hills, and mountains at the central part, Rocky Mountains, deep narrow canyons and broad valleys at the west.
- Colorado Indian Culture: Cultural group and some adopted cultures such as the Great Plains culture and Great Basin culture.
- Languages: Apachean language, Uto-Aztecan or Shoshonean
- Lifestyle: Farming and Nomadic Hunting
- Shelters or Houses: Farmers lived in Pueblo (adobe) houses. Hunters lived in wickiups or brush shelters, Hogans, or tepees.
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