The city of Longmont signed a sister city agreement with the Northern Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming in 2021. It was the city’s first sister city agreement with a tribal sovereign nation.
This sister-city relationship carries particular weight as Longmont sits on land that was once the ancestral home of the Northern Arapaho, before the tribe was forced onto reservations in the 19th century.
This past July, a group of 20 seniors from Longmont traveled to the Wind River Reservation as part of an elder-exchange program. Then, in November, Northern Arapaho elders made a reciprocal visit to Colorado.
Pina Leon-Gonzalez, who volunteers for the Hispanic group at the Longmont Senior Center, was part of the exchange. She said she was nervous the first time they met the Northern Arapaho elders.
“Before they came I kept thinking, ‘oh my gosh, I hope they are not too mad at us… I hope they don’t hate us,’” she said.
But those feelings quickly disappeared as soon as the seniors and the elders connected.
“And the people that sat with us, oh my God, they were so much fun… I was so worried about this and look, it’s so nice, and friends right away. So it was good.”
Leon-Gonzalez said there were hugs all around at that first meeting. “ You know, like you are hugging family.”
Jody Jorgenson with the Northern Arapaho agreed.
“You’re right. We hugged each other, you know, like long-lost friends… yeah. Yeah. Long-lost friends,” she said.
Mavis Willow with the Northern Arapaho also felt that instant connection.
“Oh, I felt comfortable as soon as, you know, I've seen 'em and shared with 'em… we give hugs and, you know, those are just hugs for comfort and enjoyment… we're glad to be with them, meet them,” she said.
Those bonds deepened earlier this month, when the two groups reunited in Longmont for a special day of activities in honor of Native American Heritage Month. The Longmont Senior Center screened a documentary about the sister-city program, and friends caught up, shared stories, and remembered their time together.
This wasn’t the Northern Arapaho elders’ first visit to Longmont. During their visit in March, they attended the Denver March Pow Wow and toured History Colorado’s exhibit on the Sand Creek Massacre.
For the Longmont seniors, the visit to the exhibit was especially impactful as they got to stand beside descendants of survivors of the massacre.
John Higgins chairs the Longmont Senior Citizens Advisory Board. He said he was moved by the experience.
“I turned to my right, there’s a man sitting there, one of the elders from the Arapaho, tears coming down his face,” he recalled. “And between videos I looked at him, he looked at me, he said ‘That’s part of my family’s oral history… something we actually lived and survived.’ And I was moved by his generosity of being there… the generosity of spirit was remarkable to me.”.
Jorgenson was also affected by the visit.
“You could almost imagine the atrocities that were committed there… it really took it out of you. I mean… it hurt. It hurt, you know? It hurt to hear all that had happened.”
For George Frey of Longmont, the most powerful moment of the exchange came on the final night of their July visit to Wind River, when their hosts invited them to take part in an honor dance.
“Afterwards, they lined us up and invited the community members to come and meet us. And we met kids at four years old and we met 94-year-olds,” he said.
“People came by and greeted us and shook our hands. And I learned afterwards that if somebody, after the dance, greets you and shakes your hand, it is the highest respect they can offer.”
For Jorgenson, one of the most meaningful parts of the exchange was seeing people from Wind River open up.
“By nature, Indian people are very reserved… but to come here and to open up to everyone… you know, the Indian people were just right in there with the different groups, talking and having a good time,” she said. “I really liked that… it was something good for our people, that they were able to open up that fast.”
High school students from each community have also taken part in exchange visits. Next year, another group of Longmont seniors and a new group of Northern Arapaho elders will continue the program.
Copyright 2025 Rocky Mountain Community Radio. This story was shared via Rocky Mountain Community Radio, a network of public media stations in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico, including Aspen Public Radio.
