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Native American Heritage Month Spotlight Event:

Traveling Exhibition Opening – Americans  | Trinidad, Colo.

Trinidad History Museum | November 15, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 

The Smithonian’s acclaimed traveling exhibition Americans opens at the Trinidad History Museum on November 15, on view through January 12, 2026. Presented in partnership with History Colorado and the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street Program, the exhibition explores how deeply intertwined American Indians are in the nation's history, pop culture, and identity. It reveals how Native images, names, and stories such as Pochahontas, the Trail of Tears, and Custer’s Last Stand have shaped America’s collective history. 

To celebrate the opening, the museum will host a special program on November 15 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., featuring a talk and discussion with Fred Mosqueda Sr. of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, a short film screening, Q&A, and exhibit viewing. The Trinidad History Museum is the second of five Colorado museums to host Americans as it travels across the state. The exhibition is currently on view at the Fort Garland History Museum through November 9, 2025. Please RSVP here. 

Native American Heritage Month Resources Available Through History Colorado:

History Colorado sites across the state host exhibitions that highlight Native American Heritage and stories of Indigenous persistence. Created in close consultation and collaboration with Native American Tribes, these exhibitions share the history and living cultures of Tribes that call what is now Colorado home, including:

• The Ute Indian Museum in Montrose, which connects the historic and contemporary lives and culture of the Ute peoples, showing their deep traditions of adaptation and persistence through stunning exhibitions, a breathtaking Ute Ethnobotany Garden, and the Naturescape Playground
• Fort Garland Museum & Cultural Center, located at the foot of Mount Blanca in the San Luis Valley, has a number of exhibitions focused on Native American history and living culture such as:
  • Unsilenced: Indigenous Enslavement in Southern Colorado by jetsonorama, which brings to light the realities of Indigenous slavery in the American West 
  • Ute Knowledge, which highlights how the Ute peoples have always used science, technology, engineering, and math to survive and thrive in the Rocky Mountains
  • The Unquiet Utes, which shares the story of the “Absentee Utes” who traveled through Wyoming, South Dakota, and Utah in the early 1900s and discusses the Utes’ frustrations with U.S. government land policy, and other reasons for their journey
• Trinidad History Museum’s Borderlands of Southern Colorado: The Santa Fe Trail exhibition, which traces the long history of trade and travel along North America’s first “superhighway,” from its early use as trail systems for Indigenous Nations all the way to the transfer of territory, and the shifting of borders that can still be seen on the land today
• The Ute Tribal Paths online exhibition that explores the history and contemporary culture of Colorado’s longest continuous inhabitants

New Exhibitions and Featured Attractions in November:

Moments That Made US | Denver, Colo.

History Colorado Center | Opening November 21

Moments that Made US brings together fifty extraordinary artifacts spanning eight centuries of American history, revealing the struggles, triumphs, and resilience that have shaped the nation. Each artifact offers a window into the moments that defined who we are, and who we continue to become. Moments That Made US is part of the recognition of the America 250 - Colorado 150 anniversary, a public history initiative that invites Coloradans to reflect on the defining events that shaped our nation and our state history. 

 

Dia de los Muertos Commemoration | Pueblo, Colo.

El Pueblo History Museum | November 1, 2025, 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

El Pueblo History Museum honors the enduring Dia de los Muertos tradition with performances, family activities, and a community altar that blends Indigenous, Mexican, and European influences. Visitors are invited to contribute photos, poems, and memories throughout October. RSVP for this free event here. 

 

Veterans Day: 150 Years of Coloradan Military Service | Denver, Colo.

Stephen H. Hart Research Center | November 11, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. 

Honor Veterans Day with History Colorado’s Military Collections Specialist, Sydney Mauck as we explore 150 years of Colorado’s military history. Through artifacts and stories from every branch of service, discover the courage and sacrifice that defines Colorado's legacy of military service. Register for this free event here.
 

Additional November Events:

Low Sensory Morning | Denver, Colo.

History Colorado Center | November 1, 8:00 - 10:00 a.m. 

The History Colorado Center welcomes families and self-advocates to enjoy the museum in a calm, lower-sensory environment. During Low Sensory Morning, exhibits have reduced sound and limited attendance for a more comfortable experience. Please reserve free tickets here. 

 

How-To: Caring for Pottery | Virtual 

History Colorado | November 4, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. 

Join History Colorado’s Director of Curatorial Services, Melissa de Bie, for a virtual session on how to care for and preserve your pottery, including best practices for storage, handling, and long-term protection. Purchase tickets here.  

Night at the Museum | Denver, Colo.

History Colorado Center | November 8, 5:00 - 10:00 p.m. 

Discover Colorado’s story after dark during Night at the Museum. Explore more than 15 exhibitions and take part in this citywide celebration of art, history, and culture. Please reserve free tickets here. 

 

Women’s History Symposium 2025: We Can Vote, Now What? | Denver, Colo.

History Colorado Center | November 15, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

The 2025 Symposium, “We Can Vote, Now What?” explores the century following women's suffrage in Colorado, from 1893 to 1993, and examines how women shaped politics, movements, and civic life after winning the vote. Designed for educators, researchers, and community members of all backgrounds, the all-day event features panels, discussions, and a keynote address by Katherine Archuleta, the first Latina to lead the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Purchase tickets here.  

 

Portrait of Colorado at 150 Storytelling Initiative | Virtual 

History Colorado | November 19, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. 

History Colorado launches Portrait of Colorado at 150, a statewide oral history initiative for America 250 - Colorado 150. The project empowers communities to collect, preserve, and share local stories from every corner of Colorado. Join Kim Kennedy White, Ph.D., to learn how you can help document and celebrate Colorado's living history. History Colorado Affiliate members only, register here for this free event. 

 

Jamestown Rediscovered: Understanding Life in Colonial America | Denver, Colo.

History Colorado Center | November 19, 1:00 p.m. 

Join Historic Jamestown Senior Curator, Leah Sticker, for a fascinating look at the colony that influenced the later development of the United States. Discover how recent archeological work at Jamestown has uncovered millions of artifacts and revealed new insights into the people, politics, and events that shaped early Virginia and the nation to come. This lecture is part of the 2025-2026 Roseberry Lecture Series. Purchase tickets here. 

 

Museum Basics: Fundamentals in Collections Rehousing | Virtual 

History Colorado | November 19, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. 

Learn best practices for storing and preserving museum collections in this session from the 2025 Museum Basics Series. Tickets can be purchased here. 

 

Holiday Tea | Denver, Colo.

Center for Colorado Women’s History | November 29, 10:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. 

Celebrate the season with Holiday Tea at the museum, featuring a guided Women’s History Tour followed by a cozy tea service with sweet and savory treats from Miss Peabody’s Southern Tea Cakes. Purchase tickets here. 

 

About History Colorado
History Colorado is a division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and a 501(c)3 non-profit that has served more than 75,000 students and 500,000 people in Colorado each year. It is a 145-year-old institution that operates eleven museums and historic sites, a free public research center, the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation which provides technical assistance, educational opportunities, and other access to archaeology and historic preservation, and the History Colorado State Historical Fund (SHF), which is one of the nation’s largest state funded preservation programs of its kind. More than 70% of SHF grants are allocated in rural areas of the state. Additionally, the offices of the State Archaeologist and the State Historic Preservation Officer are part of History Colorado. 

History Colorado’s mission is to create a better future for Colorado by inspiring wonder in our past. We serve as the state’s memory, preserving and sharing the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through educational programs, historic preservation grants, collecting, outreach to Colorado communities, the History Colorado Center and Stephen H. Hart Research Center in Denver, and 10 other museums and historic attractions statewide. History Colorado is one of only six Smithsonian Affiliates in Colorado. Visit HistoryColorado.org, or call 303-HISTORY, for more information. #HistoryColorado