Indians are returning to their ancient holy land in the Garden of the Gods on Saturday for their first traditional powwow there in 32 years.
They were run out of the park in 1978 by the city after their annual cultural celebration attracted large crowds and caused trampled grass, damaged plants and noise, the city said.
Worse, the city claimed neighbors were upset at the drumming during the powwow.
The Indians, whose presence in the garden is traced back 3,400 years, were told to find a new home for their annual, day-long events.
In subsequent years, they were relegated to rodeo grounds, community centers and gymnasiums — barred from the place they consider their spiritual hub.
They’ve spent more time protesting in the Garden than celebrating their culture, dancing and praying in gratitude.
In the 1990s, Indians became upset about the commercial exploitation of the Garden. Some objected to Indians who danced for tourists. Others were upset at Indian trinkets and souvenirs sold in the park.
Then came the controversy over construction of a new visitors center.
A group of about 60 Indians returned to the park in 1997 for a World Peace Day event. They prayed. Danced. Drummed. No problem. But the powwows didn’t return.
Until now.
On Saturday, the Colorado Springs Indian Center is sponsoring a powwow that is expected to draw a large crowd to the Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site in the park.
It starts at 10 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m.
It will feature traditional dancers, craft vendors, fried bread.
And drums.
=================================================================================
Don’t get carried away with your adoration of the local ‘native Americans’ Bill. You gush by pointing to “traditional powwow in the Garden of the Gods — a place they consider sacred and where history shows 13 tribes of their nomadic ancestors hunted and camped as long as 3,400 years ago.”
Some of who have done serious historical study of the Pikes Peak region know that – until Colorado Springs (not Colorado City) came along in 1871 and got romantic about the ‘peaceful Indians’ there was no evidence that any tribe considered what Colorado City white men named – in 1859 – the ‘Garden of the Gods” as ‘sacred’.
The first ‘Pow Wow’ – called Shan Kive was organized for Colorado Springs promotional purposes in 1912. And yes, they insured that it was held along ‘Camp Creek’ with the Garden of the Gods as a photogenic backdrop. Promoting Palmer’s Denver and Rio Grande Railroad to attract easterners and foreigners – especially English, as ‘tourists’
BP (before Palmer) Indian tribes, while converging on Ute Pass to get up to the real hunting grounds across what we named “South Park” passed through the Garden of the Gods, especially after Colorado City was founded. And sure, the Manitou Springs was an Indian place that they thought spiritual. But Manitou Springs is NOT inside the Garden of the Gods.
In both 1866 and 1867, after a bad winter, the Ute tribe camped, NOT along small-flow Camp Creek, but opposite Colorado City (south side) of Fountain Creek.
Sure there may be a few (very few) Indian markings inside the GG. But I find it very interesting that neither pioneers who entered the Cave in the Garden of the Gods, which was occupied even by the Lawrence Party in 1858, when rainstorms forced some of them inside, never mentioned ANY Indian artifacts OR markings on the inside walls – where scores of Whites left their own names, nor by Park employees who entered it in the 30s ever found ANY Indian signs.
And even in the 1960’s after the sealed-over-cave entrance had been opened by juveniles, and the Park Department ordered an employee to search it and then close it up again, he – an avid Indian artifact collector – stated he found nothing in there.
I am afraid that later, and often politically-correct, whites have built up the Myth of the sacredness of the GG, and the place Indian tribes held Pow Wows far more than any tribal members have themselves.
Dave, I agree with you. Garden of the Gods is no more a sacred gathering place than Cave of the Winds is an ancient pueblo. I wish people would spend more time looking at simple evidence, and less time following the clueless romantics.
Thats the problem with some peoples opinions about Native American history…Im soory you guys dont know what you are talking about. So, I think stone henge was an ancient english appartment complex. I think will send some Native American sientists over there to prove it. What do you know about real Native American history, if it were up to people like you there would be a golf course in the Garden of the Gods!
I’m at a loss of how to reply to what is at best revisionist history or at worst a blatant lie to cover up the genocide put on a people that is so barbaric the people committing such acts will go to any length to cover it up and it seems that is so often perpetuated by unknowing people who have no first hand knowledge of there own bloody history or are blinded by choice because they don’t want to believe
i believe it is because of what has been this countries arrogant attitude of manifest destiny coupled with its poor education system that puts out lies and twisted facts as dogmatic truth delivered by a corrupt religious system
The first ‘Pow Wow’ – called Shan Kive was organized for Colorado Springs for promotional purposes in 1912. And yes, they insured that it was held along ‘Camp Creek’ with the Garden of the Gods as a photogenic backdrop. Promoting Palmer’s Denver and Rio Grande Railroad to attract easterners and foreigners – especially English, as ‘tourists’
this is an example of the simple facts that are distorted to fit the revisionist history
notice that there is no mention that the natives did this because it was the only way to connect to this place without being in violation of the law and having done to you what the nazi regime would do to us and having sand creek fresh in our memory we were looking to connect to creator not your agenda
it is easy to speak of simple truths when they support an imperial agenda and you choose not to listen to or include the views of people to whom you are discussing
one the reasons we were chased out with the rigid application of laws in 1978 was that we did not understand the laws or that they were in violation of treaty after treaty
the freedom of religion act has been a catalyst for people reconnecting but not limited to the history of the area and a fear that we would want to reclaim it as a people the way the people did at wounded knee 2 or alcatraz
this place has had a spiritual connection to many first nations people and that is the reason you will find little evidence of our living there
it was a gathering place for many nations and its sacred nature is the very reason that then in 1978 when the freedom of religion act was passed
that wether stated in your history books or not
scared people, because of what had happened with aim and the indian civil rights movement fresh in there mind had to limit our gathering at this place
our connection to this place and our memory of this place
for what seems like the same old story that always put non-natives in our country
men like custer and chivington were never allowed off the masters chain unless it was about acquisition of our resources
and now its seems to be about maintaing the revisionist views and diminishing any other history than the one that has the empires stamp of approval
if one does the research on this area not only will they find out this is as i say “true indian country” shared by many
but an example of how a diverse group of people can come together for spiritual community building in this ever advancing world but alas there are deeper more complex political agendas behind the mentality shared here i fear
one could assume that the gold found hear or norad or the land with its riches that continue to produce are some of the reasons for pushing us out of our homelands or that the total disregard for our spiritual beliefs has anything to do with this attitude but that as well would only be a half truth
the many reasons that are why were driven out is why you have to try to understand the many reasons so many of us are reconnecting with this place
so i hope we can consult to come to a place of unity justice and advance this broken system forward with dignity and respect
a descendant of the many tribes of this area whose mother the government forcibly sterilized in 1974 and relocated us to washington in 1976 who regrets missing the 1st gathering and will do all he can to support this movement who graduated from cascadeia indian school in 1985 and now has come to be aware and strives to share these things so we discover our story with others and for gods sake i hope that as we have moved the canoe journeys forward and the people have connected in the northwest i pray the journey of our people grows and reconnects us of this area and our people start to stand up and reclaim there history
Toby Lloyd Tafoya Joseph
I guess it is all about how everybody defines the word SACRED. If you new anything about native american beliefs, everything in nature is considered sacred, including Garden of the Gods, the spirit living in the naturial springs of Manitou and yes V.L Cole Cave of the Winds was believed to be home of the wind spirit. No romantics, just facts