The Niwot Historical Society Now & Then Lecture Series presented Arapaho Culture in a
speaking engagement by Fred Mosqueda to a full house at the Left Hand Grange Hall in
Niwot.
Fred is the Arapaho Language and Culture Program Outreach Specialist for the
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. He also represents the Southern Arapaho as the Sand
Creek Massacre NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection And Repatriation Act of
October 1990).
As an Arapaho speaker, Fred works to support his tribe in presenting the culture,
language, and traditional practices and ceremonies.
Fred’s ancestors, the Southern Arapaho, wintered in the Boulder Valley where, he said,
“The land took care of us. We could survive the roughest winters right here.”
The Sand Creek Massacre took place on November 29, 30 in 1864. This year will mark
the 160th Anniversary.
The Boulder Valley was Native American tribal territory. Do you realize that where we are
right now, in the heart of the present community of Niwot, this is the ancestral homeland of
the Hinóno’éi (Arapaho), Tsistsistas (Cheyenne), Nʉmʉnʉʉ (Comanche), Sosonih
(Shoshone), Očeti Šakowin (Lakota/Dakota) and there are 40+ other tribes with historical
ties to Colorado for their homeland.
Tom Myer
Please enjoy the video of this lecture on YouTube.