(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The Third Annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day Sunrise Celebration is being held on the summit of Pikes Peak on Monday, Oct. 13.

The sold-out, early-morning event honors the vast cultural and spiritual connections that tie Indigenous people with Pikes Peak through a ceremonial blessing led by Tribal Nation Elders. According to an official release from the City of Colorado Springs, this year’s celebration will be the largest gathering to date, with representatives from seven of the 10 Tribal Nations of Pikes Peak attending the event.

Following the sunrise blessing, new Kiowa Tribe and Comanche Nation interpretive signs will be unveiled at the Summit Visitor Center, highlighting their respective tribes’ native-language names for America’s Mountain.

“At least 48 federally recognized tribes have deep connections to the Colorado landscape and continue to foster their relationships with this land. These tribes include, but are not limited to, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe, the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, the Jicarilla Apache Nation, the Comanche Nation, the Pawnee Nation, the Kiowa Tribe, the Northern Arapaho Tribe, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes.  We recognize and honor these indigenous peoples as the original inhabitants and stewards of this land while we also acknowledge their present and future relationships to this place.” 

Pikes Peak: America’s Moutain and the City of Colorado Springs

Out of respect for the participating Indigenous nations, filming and photography will not be permitted in the area of the ceremonial sunrise blessing.