The Spanish Conquistadores occupied Colorado in the seventeenth-century and annexed it into the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México as part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It wasn’t until 1846 when the United States went to war with Mexico that a treaty was finally reached in 1848, giving the territory to the United States.
Most white settlers avoided the rugged terrain, until 1858 when a
party from California discovered gold around Pikes Peak. More than one thousand
people converged on the Territory of Colorado to find gold. Within a decade, hard
rock gold, silver, and other minerals, including coal, gave impetus for
prospecting. Some grew rich; most didn’t. Immigrants from Scandinavia, Scotland,
Ireland, Italy, Germany, and Russia provided labor for mining, railroads, and
farming. Experts in mining technology from Europe flocked to exploit the land. In
August 1876, Colorado officially became the thirty-eight state of the union.
When the Spanish first arrived, they set up a system of trade with Native Americans, and between 1832 - 1856 traders, trappers, and settlers established trading posts along the Arkansas, South Platte, and Sain Vrain Rivers, carrying on a robust trade. Most prominent among them were the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Ute who lived on the plains and moved west along the Front Range of the Colroado mountains, or in the south near New Mexico. These people had their own colorful culture, customs, and religious traditions.
Yet, with immigration came increased pressures for land and resources. Native Americans were pushed off their lands, their sacred burial grounds trampled, diseases like tuberculosis raged through their tribes, and treaties were signed and broken. Cheyenne and Arapaho joined forces against the calvary as skirmishes took place, the two deadliest being the Sand Creek (1864) and Summit Springs (1869) against the Native Americans. Though eventually Native Americans reluctantly accepted reallocation to reservations, strife continued through the twentieth century.
In the twenty-first century, great strides have been made to educate people about Native American culture and traditions, such as the Denver Indian Market & Southwest Art Fest held every January to bridge the gap. If the history of humanity teaches us anything, it ought to be to value and respect all human life, created in the image of God, wherever it may be found.
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