Evening Star, the Mother of all Pawnees, gave us corn atop Pike’s Peak. At the same time, she showed us the source of all the buffalo and told us how they would feed our people and provide us with robes for warmth and leather for tipis. Without the buffalo, our Sacred Bundles could not be maintained and ceremonies using their meat and fat as prayer offerings could not be performed.
Tribal Trust Responsibilities
To honor our legal trust responsibilities with tribal nations, Amache National Historic Site consults with and co-stewards the site with 14 federally recognized tribal partners.
These tribes have longstanding cultural, historical, religious, and spiritual connections to these lands prior to establishment of Amache National Historic Site. Each sovereign nation has their own unique culture and language.
Tribal Partners of Amache National Historic Site:
Apache Tribe of Oklahoma
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma
Comanche Nation of Oklahoma
Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana (Gros Ventre/Assiniboine)
Jicarilla Apache Nation
Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma
Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico
Northern Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming
Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation
Osage Nation of Oklahoma
Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma
San Carlos Apache Tribe of the San Carlos Reservation
Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
Silver Horn (Kiowa) created drawings on ledger notebook paper during the late 1800s-early 1900s that depicted Kiowa life.
Painting, Silver Horn (Kiowa), 1877-1885, watercolor, pencil and ink on paper, 9 1/2 x 7 1/4 in. Photo by Addison Doty. Cat. No. SAR.1990-19-3a, courtesy of the School for Advanced Research
Commitment to Respecting Tribal Sovereignty and Meaningful Consultation
We respect Tribal sovereignty and are committed to meaningful consultations seeking common agreement, appropriate treatment, and respect for Tribal interests in all undertakings that may affect traditional, cultural, and spiritual resources of park-associated Tribes.
Access and Traditional Use of Ancestral Lands
We are committed to supporting access to cultural sites, ethnographic resources, and traditionally harvested resources for traditional and religious purposes by park-associated Tribes and Tribal members. We are committed to creating formal agreements, partnerships, and programming with mutual benefit to Tribes and the public that foster education, ethnographic study, and Traditional Use of Ancestral Lands by park-associated Tribes and Tribal members.
Cultural Activities in the Park
As a unit in the national park system, all are welcome to enjoy and recreate respectfully within Amache National Historic Site. We are committed, through tribal trust responsibilities with park-associated Tribes, that tribal members and communities are provided an opportunity to participate in organized group events involving resources of significance in Ancestral Lands. Depending on the nature of the activity and location, expressed support from a park-associated Tribal Nation may be required.
We are committed to ensuring Tribal Nations are provided an opportunity to have an active role in ownership and distribution of cultural knowledge to the public at large. Tribal sacred ceremonies and gatherings involving religious, private, or family knowledge, or activities protected under the American Indian Religious Freedom Act or other federal Indian laws shall be respected.
During the late 1800s, in addition to hides, Plains tribes began drawing in accounting books that were used by US military, Indian Agents, and traders. Known as ledger drawings/art, this adoption of a new paper material was used to record significant events and history by warriors of the Plains.
Drawing book (front cover), Unknown Manufacturer, c. 1877-1885, ink on paper, 7 3/8 x 9 5/8 in. Photo by IARC staff. Cat. No. SAR.1990-19-1c , courtesy of the School for Advanced Research
Government-to-Government Tribal Consultation
Our Park Tribal Liaison Program supports Government-to-Government consultation with tribal partners of Amache National Historic Site. As a federal agency trustee under the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service adheres to United States Treaty obligations with federally recognized tribes whose ancestral usual and accustomed territories fall within present-day park lands.
Our program engages Tribal partners in regulatory compliance with the federal laws, federal Indian laws, and other United States federal statutes, Executive Orders, and policies related to historic properties of religious and cultural significance, and practices to Native American tribes:
Archeological Resources Protection Act
American Indian Religious Freedom Act National Historic Preservation Act
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, Public Law 93-638
National Environmental Policy Act
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
Executive Order 13175 on the Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments
Executive Order 13007, on Indian Sacred Sites
Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Interagency Coordination and Collaboration for the Protection of Tribal Treaty Rights and Reserved Rights
Best Practices for Identifying and Protecting Tribal Treaty Rights, Reserved Rights, and other Similar Rights in Federal Regulatory Actions and Federal Decision-Making
Gathering of Certain Plants or Plant Parts by Federally Recognized Indian Tribes for Traditional Purposes
Tribal Liaison Program
High Plains Group of Parks
Amache National Historic Site, Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site, Capulin Volcano National Monument, Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
35110 State Highway 194
La Junta, CO 81050
Phone: 719 383-5025 Email us here.
Last updated: March 26, 2025
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Contact Info
Mailing Address:
Amache National Historic Site
PO Box 44
Granada,
CO
81041
