Northern Arapaho Partnership
In 2016, Strasburg High School reached out to the leaders of the Northern Arapahoe to see about the possibility of forming a partnership. The intent was to learn more about the people who had once inhabited the area we now call Strasburg and to make sure Strasburg High School's use of the Indian mascot was done in a way that was respectful to those people. We did an audit of our use of the Indian mascot. One of the Northern Arapaho elders, Mr. Ben Ridgely, redesigned the look of the Indian mascot which Strasburg adopted.
We have had members of the Northern Arapaho visit our school on multiple locations to demonstrate traditional dances, songs, dress, crafts, and language. Strasburg High School is committed to teaching its students about the Northern Arapaho and honoring them and their culture.
History Colorado Museum has opened an exhibit about the Sand Creek Massacre.
On the morning of November 29, 1864, Chief Black Kettle and other chiefs of the Arapaho and Cheyenne and 750 of their people mostly women, children, and the elderly, were encamped along the Big Sandy Creek near Fort Lyon at the direction Colorado Territorial Governor John Evans. Colonel Chivington leading elements of the 1st Colorado Infantry Regiment of Volunteers attacked the encampment at around 6:30 am. Over the course of the next eight hours, the troops killed more than 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho people. In recognition of our partnership with the Northern Arapaho, Strasburg High School remembers the Sand Creek Massacre and the devastating impact it had on the Arapaho and Cheyenne people.
Representatives of Strasburg High School and the School Board attended the blessing and opening of the new exhibit on November 18, 2022.
Northern Arapaho Spring 2022
The most recent visit from members of the Northern Arapaho was in the Spring of 2022. A flag raising ceremony was held. Strasburg High School flies the American flag and the flag of the Northern Arapaho. A demonstration of traditional dances and songs was held afterward.
