Arapaho culture presented by Fred Mosqueda

Fred Mosqueda, the Arapaho Language and Culture Program Outreach Specialist Coordinator for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, presented an overview of the culture and history of his people, the Southern Arapahos, to a packed audience at the Left Hand Grange Hall on March 13.

The lecture was presented by the Niwot Historical Society as the first in the 2024 Now & Then Lecture Series. The presentation commenced with a three-minute Arapaho prayer, which Mosqueda explained typically spans four days, and was followed by a recounting of his people's history.

Mosqueda said, "That history says we were farmers but it was so long ago no one remembers. The Arapahos use five directions and we came from the north." According to Indian lore, he described his tribe's journey from the north, encountering a terrible snowstorm. When the storm cleared, they were disoriented, so seven elders started to pray for help, asking the Father to show them a path forward.

Suddenly, they heard a sound in the sky and beheld sandhill cranes circling above the tribe. The elders said the cranes would know where the land was, prompting the tribe to follow them, leading his people to their homeland. Mosqueda said, "Generations later, the Arapaho Indians continue to dance in a circle, reminiscent of the graceful circling of sandhill cranes above them."

Mosqueda said the Arapaho people lived on the Front Range when settlers arrived looking for gold in 1858. During this period, the settlers met Chief Niwot. Mosqueda said, "Left Hand was named Left Hand because there were no left-handed Arapahos."

During his youth, Chief Niwot learned English from his brother-in-law, John Poisal, a trader residing in Denver who was wed to his sister, Snake Woman. Since other leaders, such as Chief Hosa, known as Little Raven, and the Cheyenne chiefs Black Kettle and White Antelope, could not speak English, they relied on Niwot as an interpreter and mediator. Chief Niwot became a diplomat and interpreter who negotiated for peace between white settlers and the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes during the Pike's Peak gold rush and Colorado War.

In 1851, the United States government negotiated with all the tribes in Fort Laramie, leading to the Fort Laramie Treaty, also known as the Horse Creek Treaty. The treaty's goal was to allow passage of white settlers through the Indian territory, reduce hostilities, protect the Indians against violent acts by the people of the U.S., and allow the U.S. government to establish roads, military posts and other outposts.

Mosqueda recounted that by 1861, life had become increasingly challenging for his people due to the settlers' infrastructure, particularly fencing. The Arapaho relied on buffalo for sustenance, clothing, shelter, and weaponry. Mosqueda said, "The buffaloes were their Walmart, which is why they followed the herds."

However, the encroaching infrastructure hindered the herds' movements and the Arapahos' traditional way of life. As a result, in 1861, another treaty, known as the Treaty of Fort Wise, was enacted. This treaty designated a reservation for the Arapaho and Cheyenne people along the Arkansas River in eastern Colorado.

Mosqueda explained that in 1861, the Arapaho and Cheyenne people peacefully moved away to southeastern Colorado. but shortly after that, rumors started that the tribes were coming together to attack and wipe out the settlers. During this time, hostilities increased among the U.S. government, settlers, and Indians. There were unprovoked attacks on Cheyenne villages in Colorado Territory, and warriors retaliated by raiding mail and freight wagon trains and outlying farms. This began a period of conflict known as the Indian War of 1864.

Tragically, on November 29, 1864, at dawn, Col. Chivington ordered his troops to attack the Arapaho and Cheyenne encampments at Sand Creek, and the soldiers massacred over 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho, including approximately 150 women, children, and elderly. Chief Niwot was among the victims.

Mosqueda shared a memory of when he was a little boy. He said, "There would always be some old ladies sitting on a wall beside the bank where I grew up, crying and I asked my grandmother why they were crying?" His grandmother responded, "They were remembering a dark time, the massacre."

Following the Treaty of Fort Wise, another treaty emerged proposing the relocation of the Arapaho to Kansas. However, Mosqueda said, "Kansas did not want them and Colorado wanted them gone." Consequently, President Grant issued an executive order to move Mosqueda's people to Oklahoma.

Once they settled on the reservation in Oklahoma, the tribes faced intimidation to send their children to boarding schools. Authorities threatened to withhold a family's allotment card, which supplied food, if they refused. During this period, the children underwent the elimination of their cultural heritage and identity. Mosqueda's grandmother recounted that by the age of 12, her entire family had perished, and she was given away to his grandfather at 13 years old.

Mosqueda represents the Southern Arapaho as the Sand Creek Massacre Representative under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). NAGPRA is a human rights and cultural heritage law, giving Native American tribes and lineal descendants the right to cultural items and human remains.

Mosqueda continues to retrieve the remains of children who perished at boarding schools, frequently interred in unmarked graves. His responsibilities entail locating their relatives and facilitating the return of the children for respectful burials according to their customs.