Our center is located at the foot of the great divide in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, on sacred land that was forcibly taken by the US Government from many Native American tribes, including the Arapahoe, the Ute, and the Cheyenne.
So much of Boulder and the surrounding area is named after Chief Niwot of the Arapahoe. Translated into English, Niwot means ‘Left Hand’. The town of Niwot, Left Hand Brewing, and the canyon that leads up to our center, Left Hand Canyon are just a few of examples. Although records are unclear, Chief Niwot was most likely killed in the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864, along with an estimated 230 Arapahoe and Cheyenne people, comprised mostly of women, children, and the elderly.
In addition to violence, displacement and genocide of Native American Tribes, our Ecodharma center has also emerged from a settler-colonial and capitalist culture that allowed at least 175 lynchings of Black, Chinese and other residents in the state of Colorado between 1859-1919. As late as 1922, more than 200 hooded and robed members of the Ku Klux Klan slowly drove down Boulder city’s Pearl Street in 63 automobiles. A hundred years ago, in 1924, the Klan burned a 53-foot cross on Flagstaff Mountain in Boulder County: a blatant example of white supremacy and racism.
There are no words sufficient enough to capture the legacy of ongoing systematic oppression, stealing of land, labor, bodies and cultures that positions us today to be attending retreats at the Ecodharma center in safety.
In 1922, more than 200 hooded and robed members of the Ku Klux Klan slowly drove down Pearl Street in 63 automobiles. In 1924, the Klan burned a 53-foot cross on Flagstaff Mountain.
Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center acknowledges that we occupy land that was forcibly taken from many communities of people who continue to live in deep relationship with our Earth, including, the Arapahoe, the Ute, the Shoshone, the Apache, the Comanche, and many others. And we celebrate the continued presence of these people here today.
We express our heartbreak and acknowledge that we carry the legacy of these atrocities of theft of land, rape, lynching, and genocide, and we declare that we are committed to bringing ourselves into right relationship with this land and all the people who have lived, and continue to live here. It is a long path toward right relationship, and we commit ourselves to engaging wholeheartedly with every step of the journey, knowing that we have only just begun.
We acknowledge that there is an immeasurable connection between the teaching of the Dharma and the ancient wisdom of indigenous traditions, and that Ecodharma cannot exist without great effort to heal the ancient wounds of racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, Islamaphobia, anti-semitism, emperialism, colonialism, and violence in all its forms. In response, RMERC is committed to decolonizing our relations within and without our organization.
As we challenge ourselves to learn, grow, and change, we invite you to do the same. The Buddha taught that both suffering and liberation live in every human heart. If there ever was a time to be brave, this is it.
Let’s be brave together.