Pueblo, a major center of industry in Colorado, was once one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse cities in the American West, owing to turn-of-the-century immigration that brought foreign workers to the steel mills in the city. The city and surrounding land, originally colonized by settlers of European descent in the 1850s, remains home to various Native American communities. In September 2018, the StoryCorps mobile recording studio visited Pueblo to record the stories of the people who live there. The American Pilgrimage Project draws from the stories recorded in Pueblo to explore the practice of Native American rituals today.
The interview below was recorded by StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.
September 15, 2018
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Itsa Eagle Bear Shash and his nephew Flint are members of the Apache community, where they find a sense of spiritual belonging while performing Native American rituals. In this conversation, the relatives reflect on how Native American spirituality has shaped their approaches to life and consider the close connection between Native American religion and the land.
This story was produced by David Dault at Sandburg Media, LLC.
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