Celinda Reynolds Kaelin
Refused to let the Indigenous history of this land disappear and spent decades making sure it couldn’t.
TBD
Long before this region had the name it carries now, it held something else - stone circles, prayer trees, medicine trees, petroglyphs, and trails worn deep by thousands of years of use. Most of the people who moved here after 1880 never knew any of it was there.
Celinda has spent decades making sure it can't disappear. A poet, ethnohistorian, and Cherokee grandmother trusted by elders from over seventy First Nations, she has mapped Ute sacred sites across the Pikes Peak region, documented the prayer trees the Tabeguache left on the mountain, and preserved oral stories some traceable back fifteen centuries.
She has written books. She has mapped hundreds of sacred sites. And continues to teach. The record exists - of the people, the land, the language, the stories - because she refuses to let it vanish.
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The Artist
Manuel Pulido
Sculptor, Muralist
Manuel Pulido is a Manitou Springs, Colorado based visual artist working across a range of mediums, including murals, paintings, sculptures, and photography.
"I believe all art forms should be a dialogue between the artist and the viewer. As a visual artist deeply rooted in my Indigenous and Mexican heritage, I have chosen a path that incorporates natural pigments and sacred waters into my work. My greatest influences come from my DNA, channeling ancestral storytelling to create a platform for my emotions, passions, and the history of my people.
As an artist, I feel it is my obligation to continue telling our story. My conduit of choice as it has been for thousands of years is art. A good artist shares their own journey; a great artist creates new ones for you."
