In collaboration with History Colorado and Ute Tribes, the Tread of Pioneers Museum is celebrating Native American Heritage Month by inviting the community to learn more about Ute culture through its current exhibit dedicated to Ute Tribes. 

The exhibit, called Ute Knowledge: Colorado’s Original Science Technology, Engineering & Math, opened June 20 this year and will be open to the public through May 2025.

“It is our honor and privilege to serve as a conduit for Ute Indian cultural appreciation in our community, through exhibits, oral history, events and youth education,” said Candice Bannister, executive director of the Tread of Pioneers Museum.

The exhibit offers videos and hands-on experiences to teach all ages about the Ute Tribe’s way of life. Tread of Pioneers museum wants the community to better understand the Native peoples who originally lived in the region.

“The Ute Indians were the original inhabitants of the Yampa Valley,” Bannister said. “We recognize that the establishment of this region greatly impacted the lifeways of Native people. In accepting this, we are called to utilize the museum as an educational institution, to teach about and connect to Native people, to honor their stewardship of the land and to continue our commitment of inclusion and respect of these Nations and their traditional values and ways of life.”

Tread of Pioneers Museum believes it’s important to celebrate Native American heritage not just in November but throughout the entire year.

In addition to the exhibit on display in collaboration with History Colorado, the museum also has a permanent interactive video installation that offers education on the Ute people who lived in the Steamboat Springs area.

The video installation also provides stories told by Roland McCook, an Uncompahgre Ute who was interviewed by the Tread of Pioneers Museum.

“(The Ute people) are a living, breathing, thriving people,” Bannister said. “We want to honor the original Native lifestyle and culture, but at the same time, we want current Ute people to reflect the current Ute culture.”

Tread of Pioneers Museum wants to encourage a community-wide curiosity about Native American heritage to further educate those who live in the Yampa Valley. In turn, the museum hopes to further strengthen community ties to the Ute people.

“It is with open arms that we welcome Native people to their ancestral lands here in the Yampa Valley,” Bannister added.

To learn more about the Ute Knowledge exhibit at the Tread of Pioneers Museum, visit Bit.Ly/4eotQr2.