Our Mission
We are Indigenous and non-Native people working with individuals, local organizations and governments to support Indigenous Peoples’ connection to land, raise Indigenous voices and practice right relationships with the Native peoples who lived in the Boulder Valley historically and those who live here today.
Vision Statement
The people of Boulder Valley are committed to building lasting relationships with Indigenous Peoples based on justice and collaboration.
Values Statements
Right relationship means:
- Acknowledging the irreducible and ongoing relationship that Indigenous Peoples have with their land and territory.
- Following the guidance of and supporting Indigenous-led initiatives and being accountable to Indigenous Peoples in our words and actions.
- Listening to and learning from Indigenous Peoples’ Knowledge and Wisdom.
Land Acknowledgment
We begin our work by acknowledging that the the land where we live today is the territory of the Hinono’ei (Arapaho) people. We honor Chief Left Hand (Nowo3), leader of the last Hinono’ei band to spend their winters in the Boulder Valley. Many Hinono’ei people were massacred by the US Cavalry at Sand Creek, Colorado, in 1864. The survivors were forced out of Colorado to reservations in Wyoming and Oklahoma, where most Hinono’ei live today. In our daily lives, let us remember that the Boulder Valley is home to the Hinono’ei people and to many other tribes that also camped, hunted and traded here for centuries. Native people of many Indigenous nations live here today.
Would you like to get Involved?
Guided by our mission, Right Relationship Boulder engages in a wide variety of activities, some of them ongoing and ohters more circumscribed. Our volunteer work is sectioned by Working groups.
Working Groups
Central to RRB’s ongoing activities are the efforts of our Wroking Groups. Each group is focused on a particular area of work whose aim is to foster Right Relationship. The working groups meet regularly to plan activities and then work in with the community towards their goals.
* Land
* Cultivating Connections (formerly Visiting)
Coordinating Council
Right Relationship Boulder Coordinating Council (CC) is formed by one or two members of each working group. The RRB Coordinating Council is currently formed by the following members:
Founders: Paula Palmer, Jerilyn Decoteau
Communications: Laurie Rugenstein
Cultivating Connections (formerly Visiting) Group: Sallie Ward Robinson
Land Group: Christine Yoshinaga-Itano
Education & Schools Group: Bonnie Sundance, Laurie Rugenstein
We thank our Fiscal sponsor Mediators Foundation
http://mediatorsfoundation.org/