Longmont and Northern Arapaho Tribe create historic union in sister cities signing

Sep. 19—The Northern Arapaho Tribe was welcomed home on Saturday.

The sovereign nation was recognized as Longmont's newest sister city during a ceremony at the Longmont Museum. The union made history as the first sister city relationship between a sovereign tribal nation and a U.S. city.

"First of all, to my fellow Arapahos on the stage and out there, we are home," said Lee Spoonhunter, co-chair of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, as he looked out over the Stewart Auditorium.

The crowd responded with a burst of applause.

Colorado is the Northern Arapaho Tribe's ancestral homeland, but an 1860s treaty and loss of land from the gold rush left the native people without a place to go. The tribe was forced onto the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming — the nation's seventh largest reservation at 2.2 million acres. The Eastern Shoshone tribe also lives on the reservation.

"We are trailblazers today, each of us working together," Spoonhunter said. "The sky is the limit for us. We are a sovereign nation working with our sister city and we are going to blaze a trail, hopefully that many other cities, counties and states will do with other tribes ... so that this time in America, we will get it right."

Leading up to the signing between Spoonhunter and Mayor Brian Bagley, the American Legion Post 32 performed an honor guard ceremony, posting the American flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Following that, the Wind River Reservation's Arapaho Warriors Color Guard presented both the American flag and the tribe's own flag. The Arapaho sister-city ceremony attendees from the Wyoming reservation then recited the Pledge of Allegiance in the Arapaho language.

This portion of the ceremony was determined as a compromise, following controversy in the weeks before the signing when the pledge originally wasn't going to be part of the ceremony. Members of the American Legion Post 32 had raised an issue about the initial decision to not say the Pledge of Allegiance, which led to a discussion with the Longmont Sister Cities and eventual determination early this month of what the ceremony procedure would look like.

Addressing the crowd Saturday, Bagley said it must be acknowledged that the city sits on the traditional territory of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Ute and other indigenous peoples.

"There's a commitment to face the injustices that occurred when the land was taken and to educate our community, ourselves and our children to assure that these injustices do not happen again," Bagley said. "One way to make sure that happens is an exchange of love."

Bagley shared how a Longmont delegation visited the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming three years ago to learn more about the Northern Arapaho Tribe — sparking what would be an effort to unify as sister cities.

After the signing, representatives of the city and tribe put on several performances. A Longmont High School drumline performance was followed by a series of traditional dances by Northern Arapaho Tribe members.

Janice Rebhan, president of Longmont Sister Cities, welcomed the tribe home.

"This association between the Longmont and Northern Arapaho is unique and hopefully the first of many between sovereign nations and local jurisdictions," Rebhan said. "We have much to learn from each other and together we will build a brighter future."

The tribal nation marks Longmont's third sister city, alongside Chino, Japan and Ciudad Guzman, Mexico.