Histories and Legacies of Displacement and Removal

Day One – Wednesday, September 28, 2022

8:15am – 8:30am: Light Breakfast

8:30am - 8:45am: Blessing and Opening

• Eugene Blackbear Jr. (Southern Cheyenne Nation)

8:45am - 9:20am: "Campus Reckonings"
Hear from our leaders on the importance of the symposium:

• Marjorie Levine-Clark is CU Denver’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Associate Dean for Diversity, Outreach, and Initiatives and Professor of History
• Constancio Nakuma is CU Denver’s Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs
• Antonio Farias is CU Denver’s Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Nolbert Chavez serves on the University of Colorado Board of Regents (CD-7) and is CU Denver’s Chief of External Initiatives

9:30am -10:45am: "Touching Our Past"
The founding of the town of Auraria during the Gold Rush of the mid nineteenth century displaced the Indigenous Arapaho and Cheyenne nations, on whose territories Auraria was built. By the 1920s, Auraria had become a primarily Hispanic neighborhood. The decision in the late 1960s to redevelop the area into what would become the Auraria Higher Education Center displaced the long-settled Hispanic community. This session explores relationships to the land and the continuing resonance of this double displacement. Presenters will share their perspective on the histories and legacies of displacement and removal.

• Eugene Ridgely (Northern Arapaho Nation)
• ​Gail Ridgely (Northern Arapaho Nation)
• View Eric Hernandez's Documentary Film "Auraria" and engage with the filmmaker

11:00am - 12:15pm: "Voices of Auraria"
Panelists share their unique experiences of displacement:

• Eric Hernandez is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker who wrote/directed the documentary film “Auraria” for Rocky Mountain PBS.
• Nancy Littleford is a first-generation American, native of Denver and a displaced Aurarian. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from the University of Colorado Denver, a Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from Regis University, and is a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice.
• Sheila Perez is an Auraria Historical Advocacy Council member and displaced Aurarian. She retired after a 30+ year career as a Pediatric Animal Assisted Recreational Therapist and is the owner of the pioneer 4-legged at Denver Health. 
• Abenicio Rael is the former Director for Latinx Student Services in the Center for Identity and Inclusion at the University of Colorado Denver, received his Doctorate in Education from CU Denver, and is a displaced Aurarian.
• Frances Torres is a retired licensed clinical social worker, an Auraria Historical Advocacy Council member, and displaced Aurarian. Her family was a mainstay in the neighborhood and her father was referred to as “Mayor of 9th.”

12:30pm - 1:45pm: Interactive Lunch Session or Walking Tour

Option A: Enjoy a catered lunch while engaging in a moderated discussion on “The Aurarian Historical Advocacy Council and the Future of Activism.” This interactive session will be moderated by Milo Marquez, a fifth generation Denverite and longtime community organizer. Milo is currently the Director of the Latino Action Council, a coalition of 90+ Latino organizations across Colorado advocating for Latino priorities. He is also the Chair of the Latino Education Coalition.

Option B: "Auraria as We Remember it" Walking Tour - Sign up for an in person guided walking tour! Space is limited and will be offered on a first come/first served basis.

2:00pm - 3:15pm: "Current Case Studies of Displacement Pressures in Denver"
The experience of residents in Auraria in the early 70s is one in a long, cyclical history of institutions forcefully intervening in the lives and trajectories of communities of color in Denver. These experiences, building on legacies of exclusion and segregation, lead to displacement pressures in present-day that cause us to question what, and who, cities are built for. This session engages both community members and university panelists to draw parallels between current case studies across the Metro area facing displacement pressures related to institutional investment. This panel will provide an opportunity to recognize the continued harmful legacies of institutions and create space for imagining next steps in partnership with community members towards a more inclusive, accessible city for all. Panelists include:

• Mercedes (an Elyria-Swansea community resident) & Valentina Serrano Salomón, MA Student, Sociology
• Quiedah (a Sun Valley community resident) & Carrie Makarewicz, PhD, Urban and Regional Planning
• Inda (a Westwood community resident) & Marisa Westbrook, PhD Candidate, Health and Behavioral Sciences

3:30pm - 4:45pm: "Indigenous Communities Now and Future"
Indigenous leaders will speak to present and future considerations for their communities and their continued relationship to land and place. This panel of Sand Creek Massacre descendants will provide an opportunity to learn about the impacts of displacement on Indigenous communities and actions communities are taking to address harm and to protect the future of the next generations.

• Conrad Fisher (Northern Cheyenne Nation)
• Ryan Ortiz (Northern Arapaho Nation)
• Ben Ridgely (Northern Arapaho Nation)

4:45pm: Closing

• Gail Ridgely (Northern Arapaho Nation)

5:00pm - 6:30pm: Reception or Walking Tour

Option A: Network with panelists and fellow participants during the reception. The reception will be held in the Tivoli Baerresen Ballroom, room 320 on the third floor of the Tivoli Building. 

Option B: "Auraria as We Remember it" Walking Tour - Sign up for an in person guided walking tour! Space is limited and will be offered on a first come/first served basis.

Day Two – Thursday, September 29, 2022

8:45am – 9:00am: Light Breakfast

9:00am - 9:15am: Blessing and Opening

• Eugene Blackbear Jr. (Southern Cheyenne Nation)

9:15am - 9:30am: Welcome

• Marjorie Levine-Clark, CU Denver College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Associate Dean for Diversity, Outreach, and Initiatives and Professor of History

9:30am - 10:45am: "Community and Social Justice in Auraria Commemoration Projects"
This interdisciplinary session highlights research from three different academic areas (History, Geography, and Political Science). History Professor Rachel Gross shares her collaborations with students and community members to create commemoration projects relating to Auraria's past. Geography Professor Brian Page and his research team apply modern digital research tools to a set of long-established research questions concerning urban renewal and social displacement. And lastly, Professor Tony Robinson shares the history of several agitational and explicitly political Auraria “service learning” campaigns over the last twenty years to provide an opportunity to reflect on the role of the university in catalyzing social change.

• Community Collaboration to Rewrite Historical Narrative on the Ninth Street Historic District
  Presenter: Rachel Gross, History
• Urban Renewal and Social Displacement Revisited: Geospatial Analysis of Community Relocation in Denver, 1972-1974.
  Presenter: Brian Page, Geography and Environmental Sciences
• Dare the School Build a New Social Order? Reflections on the Role of Auraria as Urban Social Justice Advocate
  Presenter: Tony Robinson, Political Science

11:00am - 12:15pm: "Student Researchers, Activism, and Campus History Projects"
Higher education institutions are increasingly studying and placing into context the histories of the forgotten, excluded, or marginalized along with the buildings, programs, and contested lands that contributed to their establishment and growth. Student research projects, from oral history collecting to curriculum work to updating National Register documents, are a core component of this university-wide effort. This panel will examine ongoing campus history projects at CU Denver led by graduate students in the Public History Program.

• College Experiences of the Displaced Communities
  Presenter: Maggie Graber-Heisinger
• Procedural Injustice in the Relocation of Auraria Residents
  Presenter: Bianca Barriskill
• The Politics of Memory and the Legacy of Urban Renewal on Denver's Auraria Campus
  Presenter: Whitney Roberts
• Curriculum Development of Auraria History
  Presenter: Jake Wilkes

12:30pm - 1:45pm: Interactive Lunch Session or Walking Tour

Option A: Enjoy a catered lunch while engaging in a "Q&A with Indigenous Leaders and Descendants of the Sand Creek Massacre". This Q&A is an opportunity for symposium participants to ask questions of and engage directly with the following panelists:

• Eugene Blackbear Jr. (Southern Cheyenne Nation)
• Conrad Fisher (Northern Cheyenne Nation)
• Ryan Ortiz (Northern Arapaho Nation)
• Gail Ridgely (Northern Arapaho Nation)

Option B: "Auraria as We Remember it" Walking Tour - Sign up for an in person guided walking tour! Space is limited and will be offered on a first come/first served basis.

2:00pm - 3:15pm: "Art and Activism: Remembering Westside Artists' Participation in the Chicana/o Movement and Transformation of Communities Amid Displacement"
Panelists will recall and tell the stories and counter-stories about the artistic work that took place amid struggle and displacement of communities. To frame the discussion, Dr. Moreno will begin with cuentos about the St. Cajetan’s parish to which her grandmother and family belonged—a parish that included the wider Chicana/o community. Artists' work, like that of Carlota Espinoza, had at its heart a strong focus on Catholicism. Her iconic mural (also displaced, whitewashed and covered up) at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church is one example, and the iconography often associated with the early days of the Chicana/o Movement often included the religious. Indeed, Fresquez’s famous painting of St. Cajetan’s is a homage to Denver’s Chicanas/os. This panel will remember and recall unknown histories and forgotten stories, with its emphasis on counter-story and cuentos. Panelists include:

• Carlota Espinoza, Muralist and Artist
• Carlos Fresquez, Professor at Metropolitan State University's Art Department
• Dr. Renee Moreno, California State University Northridge's Chicana/o Studies

3:30pm - 4:45pm: "Archival and Digital Methods in the Classroom to Understand Displacement and Removal"
This session provides examples for bringing the work of the symposium to our classrooms. Learn about the collaborative work of Professor Rebecca Hunt's 2016 Museum interpretation class, an extensive story mapping project in Geography and Environmental Sciences that integrates the memories of displaced Aurarians with digital visualizations of the old neighborhood, and the modern documentation of stories led by Professor Michelle Comstock.

• Auraria Exhibits: Building three-dimensional and digital interpretation of the Auraria Neighborhood History: A Multi-institutional Collaboration
  Presenter: Rebecca Hunt, History
• Community-Based Narrative Story Maps of the Lost Auraria Neighborhood
  Presenter: Amanda Rees, Geography and Environmental Sciences
• Podcasting, Sonic Archives, and Local Narratives of Gentrification and Displacement
  Presenter: Michelle Comstock, English

4:45pm - 5:30pm: "Moving Forward"

• Nolbert Chavez, University of Colorado Regent and Chief of External Initiatives at the University of Colorado Denver. CU Denver's lead on the project to restore the 9th St. homes of displaced Aurarians.

5:30pm: Closing

• Eugene Ridgely (Northern Arapaho Nation)

Walking Tours

Please note that "Auraria as We Remember it" walking tours will be available on a first-come first-served basis during the following three timeslots:

• Weds. 9/28 at 12:30pm
• Weds. 9/28 at 5:00pm
• Thurs.9/29 at 12:30pm

If you are interested in joining a guided walking tour, you can sign up in person when you arrive at the symposium.

Open House Tours

Open house tours of the Casa Mayan and the Golda Meir House Museum will be available during the symposium. Feel free to visit these spaces at the following times:

Casa Mayan: 

• Weds. 9/28 from 3:00pm-5:00pm for a tour with Virginia Castro
• Thurs. 9/29 from 11:00am-12:00pm for a tour with Gregorio Alcaro
• Thurs. 9/29 from 3:30pm-4:30pm for a tour with Gregorio Alcaro

Golda Meir House Museum:

• Weds. 9/28 at 3:00pm
• ​Thurs. 9/29 at 11:00am
• ​Thurs. 9/29 at 3:30pm