We are currently working at the Milk Creek Battlefield Park. Those of you who have been there have seen our accomplishments. We have the only monument in the United States dedicated to warriors of the Ute Nation. Installed by Utes. A couple of years ago we put up signs that tell the story of the battle. This earned us accolades from around Colorado in the form of the question, “Have you seen what they have done there? Wow! You gotta go!” Just yesterday a guy from Craig said, “I’m coming back! One visit is not enough.” Those of you who have worked to make this place a reality take pride in your accomplishments. You are story tellers.
A Ute woman told me that what we have done at Milk Creek passes the heritage of the people from one generation to the next building and preserving their culture. A year ago a man from South Africa sat with me in the gazebo and said that what happened here happens around the world. When he returns to Africa, he will build a gazebo like ours where people can talk and share similarities and differences in the hope that fighting will stop and shared problem solving can begin. What a wonderful dream the volunteers of Milk Creek have fostered. Your story telling is heard around the world.
Some people have questioned, “Milk Creek is finished? There is nothing left to do?” My response is that if there is not growth there is only death waiting. A soldier of Vietnam vintage stopped one day when we were cutting grass there. He came over to us and said, “I want to thank you for taking care of this place for those men on both sides who fought, shed blood, and died here. They know what you do in honor to them, and they are grateful. A Ute told me that the ground of Milk Creek holds the blood of both Ute warriors and U.S. soldiers. In death that blood can never be separated. They are one in the land. Therefore, we here are one people inseparable. The story we share holds us together in history. We listen with open hearts.
The Rocky Mountain Youth Corps invested a day in clearing rocks and preparing the land at the site | COURTESY PHOTO
There is a vision for the future at Milk Creek. History is intertwined with the future potential of different outcomes. We cannot fix the past, but we can shape the future. Recently a team of landscape designers and master gardeners have begun planning to create a welcoming environment at Milk Creek. The goal is to use native plants that are important to the Utes to create a garden where people can find comfort in nature. A beginning step was to travel to the Yampa Valley Botanic Garden where, as a team, we talked about design and vegetation. We also spoke of how we can use artifacts such as lodge poles and wagon wheels to define pathways around the signage to give additional meaning to the story. We also spoke of how we can obtain and use water to give life to what we want to do. In this way we will add dimension to the stories we share and depth to their meaning.
The Rocky Mountain Youth Corps invested a day in clearing rocks and preparing the land. We had 13 volunteers from Steamboat, Meeker, Rangely, Grand Junction and as far away as Nebraska. As we travel together, Linda, Janet, Michelle, and I talk about our communities throughout Rio Blanco County. We spoke of our similarities and differences. But most of all we spoke of our hope for the future. How do we contribute to making our culture better? What are the challenges we face and how can we tell the story in ways that bring us together? In the end volunteering isn’t just about what we do at Milk Creek, it is the story we carry forward. These stories are enriching each of us through shared thoughts and friendships. Volunteers are the bedrock of how we live together.
What you get from volunteering is to be involved in shaping the future.
By JAY SULLIVAN – Special to the Herald Times
