Richard Williams, (Oglala Lakota and Northern Cheyenne), will share the truth about American Indian history and treaty rights in Colorado. Rick’s presentation details information on a two-year study by the Truth, Restoration, and Education Commission (TREC) and the People of the Sacred Land revealing Colorado’s untold history of Native land displacement and genocide. The TREC’s focus is on restoring the Tribal Nations’ status and fostering wellness for Indigenous communities in Colorado.

Please join us in the sanctuary as we learn how we can be allies in this effort of providing restorative justice for them. For more information, you can visit People of the Sacred Land’s TREC reports and click here to view the TREC Fact Sheet.

About Richard Williams: Richard B. Williams (Oglala Lakota/Northern Cheyenne) is a passionate and committed advocate and fierce champion of Native education in the United States. From 1997- 2012, he has served as president and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, a national non-profit scholarship fundraising organization for American Indian students attending tribal colleges and universities which provide culturally based education and are run by the tribes. At NARF, Williams worked on landmark cases concerning the civil rights of American Indians in prison. With the assistance of Wallace Black Elk, a Lakota medicine man, he helped build the first sweat lodge at a correctional institution. He also developed a plan to build a 50-bed minimum-security prison on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota, where he served as the first warden. It was during this time that Rick learned and studied the political and social processes that influence the effectiveness of tribal governing entities. At the American Indian College Fund, Williams has raised more than $200 million for scholarship support for Native students and support for the Tribal Colleges and Universities since 1997, including helping 17 faculty members complete their doctorates. In 2007 Williams received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island for his work in Native education.