1. Colorado History

2. Native American Tribes of Colorado
Native Americans were the first people to live in the area we now call Colorado.
The original inhabitants include:
The Apache Nation
The Arapaho Nation
The Cheyenne Nation
The Pueblo Tribes
The Shoshone Tribes
The Ute Nation
The Comanche Tribe
The Kiowa Tribe
The Navajo Tribe

3. Native Americans Early 1800s
In the early 1800s, there were 2 groups of Native Americans that lived in the southeastern part of what is now Colorado. They lived south of the Arkansas River.
The they were the Comanche Indians and the Kiowa Indians.
The Arkansas River in Colorado
The Comanche Indians ^
The Kiowa Indians >

4. The Ute Indians – Colorado’s Oldest Permanent Residents
About 500 years ago, the nomadic Ute people came to Colorado’s mountain areas. They have lived in what is now Colorado, longer than any other group. The Utes lived in the valleys by mountains and lakes, they called themselves the “Nuche” and they used horses to hunt buffalo, antelope and deer.

5. The Ute People
 Ute Wickiup
The language of the Utes is Shoshonean. The Utes were a large tribe occupying the great basin area. They lived in tipis, wickiups and other Native American houses. An entire Ute village could be packed up and moved in one hour.
The Ute people were hunter-gatherers. The men hunted, deer, elk, buffalo and small game. The women gathered roots, pine nuts, seeds and fruit.
The Ute people used story telling to teach their children about nature and history.
Ute Tipi 

6. The Anasazi – Cliff Dwellers
Cliff Dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park
The Anasazi lived in the Four Corners area between 700 and 2,000 years ago. They are also known as Cliff Dwellers. Archeologists, historians and researchers give credit for the fascinating cliff pueblos to the Anasazi.
Cliff dwellings could only be reached by climbing and made for a great defense system against traveling Indian tribes.
The Anasazi created roads and irrigation systems for watering their crops. They were also great architects.

7. The Anasazi – Cliff Dwellers
How the Anasazi lived and what they left behind has really defined the American Southwest today. Some of the pottery designs that the Anasazi created are still duplicated and displayed today.
Eventually, the Anasazi left their cliff dwellings. They relied on plants and animals for food. A lack of rain would have affected the food supply, so they may have moved to find a place where food and water was more plentiful.

8. European Explorers and Traders Arrive
Spanish explorer, Francisco de Coronado was the first European to visit Colorado in He traveled through the region searching for gold. He didn’t find any and left.
Spanish explorers traveling north from Mexico came into what is now Colorado with the intention of claiming new lands for Spain and acquiring new riches. Likewise, the French arrived from New France to claim ne land and expand their trade.
The Europeans claimed land for their countries, but the Native Americans who already lived on the land did not believe that land could be owned.
In 1682, French explorer, Robert de La Salle entered eastern Colorado. He claimed the land for France and it became part of France’s Louisiana territory. 

9. Cultures Connect and Collide
The Spanish
In the 1500s, Spain was the most powerful monarchy in Europe. The Spanish wished to enrich themselves with natural resources from the New World. They enslaved indigenous peoples to grow crops and mine for gold, silver and other valuables. The Catholic missionaries were not very successful in converting the natives to Christianity. Many native people died due to illnesses brought by the Spanish. Intermarriage between Spanish men and native women was common.

10. Cultures Connect and Collide
The French
The French colonies in North America did not attract many French settlers. Instead of enslaving Native Americans in farming and mining, the French exploited existing inter-tribal alliances and rivalries to establish trade relationships with the Huron, Montagnais and Algonquin. Native Americans had an active trade with the French for animal pelts, in exchange for textiles, weapons and metal goods. The Jesuits managed to convert many Huron to Christianity because their priests learned native languages.

11. The Louisiana Purchase
By the middle of the 18th century, France controlled more of the present-day United States than any other European power. In 1762, during the French and Indian War ( ), France ceded French Louisiana west of the Mississippi River to Spain. In 1801, Spain signed a secret treaty with France to return the Louisiana Territory to France.
In April 1803, President Thomas Jefferson was able to successfully purchase the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon Bonaparte (France).

12. Early Settlers and the Gold Rush
In 1958, Green Russell discovered gold in Colorado. That began the gold rush. Gold was discovered, panned from streams in the South Platte River Valley at Pikes Peak, this set the entire eastern region of the U.S. into excitement about the thought of striking it rich and living out their dreams by finding gold in Colorado. This brought about a great migration in Some people even dared to go out in the winter of 1858 to try to get a head start, mining for gold.
In 1861 produced 150,000 ounces of gold and 225,000 troy ounces in The led Congress to establish the Denver Mint.
Green Russell 

13. Railroads and Silver Mining
Colorado railroads were born out of necessity. It was an easy way to transport gold from the mines and to bring trade, settlers and tourists into the territory. In 1853, The U.S. govt. sent an expedition westward into Colorado to survey for a transcontinental railroad. Citizens of Denver formed a Board of Trade and built the Denver Pacific railroad line that met up with the Union Pacific line in Cheyenne, Wyoming. In June 1870, the line was finished. This coincided with a silver spike from a mine in Lebanon, CO. Within 5 years, Colorado’s population tripled.

14. Railroads and Silver Mining
Within 5 years, Colorado’s population tripled and a the Kansas and Pacific line was built into Colorado.
In 1870, another railroad, the Denver Rio Grande laid its line for travelling between the mountains and canyons of Colorado.
Not only did the railroads increase revenue for the state, but it also paved the way for future westward expansion. Some of these railroad lines are still functioning all over Colorado.

15. Railroads and Silver Mining
Silver had been discovered in Colorado in the 1860s. But this was largely overshadowed by the discovery of gold. The low price of silver made it unprofitable for mining companies to extract silver. In 1978, Congress authorized the use of silver in coins. Govt. demand raised the price of silver, thus making it profitable for mining companies. In 1879, a lode of silver was discovered in Leadville, leading to the Colorado Silver Rush. This boom made $82 million worth of silver. This resulted in huge increases in wealth and population for Colorado.