BY RICK SALLINGER
UPDATED ON: OCTOBER 7, 2022 / 6:04 PM / CBS COLORADO
The beat of a drum in Bergen Park is a prayer with a wish to change the name of a mountain from Mount Evans to Mount Blue Sky, one of several options.
Paul Soderman with the Ancestral Healing Circle who had a relative in the military back then said, "Governor Evans was complicit in the Sand Creek Massacre and that is a historical fact."
As the leader of the Colorado Territory Governor John Evans is blamed for instigating the 1864 massacre of hundreds of Native Americans in the southeast part of the state.
On this day, part of an ongoing reconciliation. Anne Hayden, a great great Granddaughter of Gov. Evans was welcomed by Philip Little Thunder senior to join in their effort.
Hayden told CBS News Colorado, "I'm here because I believe it's important because if the indigenous people want a different name on the mountain that we as non-natives stand back and let them decide what that name should be."
Philip Little Thunder Sr. of the Rosebud Sioux tribe was pleased, "That was heartwarming and peaceful. She has been on the journey, I can tell," he said.
This walking, running and riding journey began at the site of the Sand Creek Massacre now a national historic site. It will be joined by others this weekend at Echo Lake at Mount Evans.
Hayden explained, "It's part of a long time healing process it's going to take a long time and it's one of the things." The new name she believes should be up to the tribes here before her family. The days-long journey from the massacre site to Mt. Evans concludes this weekend. The final decision on the name is not expected until next year.