Coloradoan: What do Indigenous peoples want for the Hughes land?
👇 THIS IS WHAT WE WANT… JUSTICE FOR NATURE AND WILDLIFE.
— Even advocates for the opposing Ballot Question 303 and Ballot Question 2H have mentioned their own Indigenous heritage.
That includes Elena Lopez and Melissa Rosas, who are leading both Friends of Hughes Natural Area and PATHS, which brought forth Ballot Question 303 asking to make the entire Hughes site a city-managed natural area.
Rosas, during a Sept. 2 City Council meeting, noted that members of the Indigenous community signed their petition for the 100% Hughes natural area and believe in those efforts.
Furthermore, she said the City Council's decision to put 2H on the ballot pits Indigenous and BIPOC people against each other for political gain — "one of oldest tricks in the book."
A natural area could still allow Indigenous cultural ceremonies, she told the civic assembly.
She later told council, "Icing out the Indigenous and BIPOC people that want to protect the land for everyone, not for special interests, is particularly disturbing while you are playing favorites with those that will, sadly, say, 'We'll take a few morsels so you can develop the rest of the land.'" —
