August 1 is Colorado Day. Colorado is famous for its beautiful vistas, where you can breathe hard at 14,000 feet altitude, or go down to the front range where you are only a mile high! And yes, we were among the first to legalize marijuana. Still need another reason to celebrate? How about this: for 14,000 years it was home to Ancestral Puebloans, Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Shoshone, and the Ute nations. That’s a lot of history! I am constantly reminded of their stewardship, in articles about how they used fire to keep our forests healthy, or why they honored bison for their role in keeping the prairies and their communities healthy and fed. Or, when I’m out walking among the aspens on a day like this one and the scent of wild roses follows me everywhere, knowing they would have experienced that too. That’s worth celebrating. I’m also going to celebrate because it's my birthday month (yes, I get a whole month), and if I didn’t live here, I would never have written my fantasy book series, The Netahs. So, thanks, Colorado. What are you celebrating? #nativeamericans, #celebrate
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