Hidden histories

A CRESTED BUTTE MUSEUM RESEARCH PROJECT AND EXHIBIT SHOW HOW DIFFERENT OUR VALLEY’S HISTORY LOOKS IF YOU’RE BLACK, INDIGENOUS OR A PERSON OF COLOR.

By Remy Schultz

Editor’s note: In September 2021, Remy Schultz, registrar at the Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum, took on a research project titled “Hidden Histories: Exploring BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) Past, Present and Future in the Gunnison Valley and Beyond.” The museum received a grant for the project from the Town of Crested Butte, because the council members felt it would contribute to the town’s goal of improving “diversity, equity and inclusion in its programs – maintaining an authentic and unique community and advancing the thoughtful management of our historic character.”

The exhibit will remain in the museum’s front showcase until December. You can find the report on the webpage, crestedbuttemuseum.com. Remy noted that the museum “will continue to incorporate stories of the same caliber from BIPOC individuals into future exhibits and highlight new ways to support these members of our community.”

After Remy’s extensive research, I asked her what she’d learned and how she’d been impacted by the project. This is her response.

I started to see the project as a response to the turmoil of the world at the time. A rise in police brutality, the general struggles faced by the Black community, rioting, and the following Black Lives Matter movement. Covid was still in full swing, and Asian Americans were seeing increased discrimination and violence as well (our country’s President at the time had referred to Covid-19 as “Kung flu” or “Wuhan flu”). It felt like the right time to take it all into account and reflect, research, draw comparisons to the past, think of solutions and hopefully invite readers to do the same.

After doing the research, my biggest take-away, not only from this project but about ALL of history, is that it

1961: Billy Bryan (right), the son of freed slaves and a well-known Gunnison musician, shakes the trainmaster’s hand on his retirement after 46 years with the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad.

is still here – it is living history. A living reminder of, in this case, a dark past of segregation and oppression of Black and indigenous people and individuals of color in the valley we call home. Homes still stand in downtown Gunnison and Crested Butte that once belonged to Black men and women, or housed them as slaves to white families. Before this project I had no idea about Gunnison’s and Crested Butte’s association with the Ku Klux Klan, or that Crested Butte commonly held “black-face” minstrel shows and KKK marches (my report includes sensitive photos of some of these events). I found only white men’s accounts of the relationships between Black folks and white folks in the valley, which makes me wonder how those relationships felt from a Black perspective. My report also touches on Cora Indian relations in the valley, Spanish and Basque history, Asian American discrimination, and Ute tribes in Colorado.

By connecting current events to past discrimination of BIPOC individuals, I acknowledge that a lot has changed; however, a lot more has not. Clearly, inequality is alive and well, and Colorado needs to continue to address this. Crested Butte, a small, rural and majority-white ski town, is not exempt from these issues. By reading my report, I hope people are inspired to act. Here are some actions to take. Find a way to do your part and educate yourself on the latest BIPOC issues in the news, because doing nothing is harmful, too. Look for credible information sources. Be an advocate and a safe place. Know that although people boast, “It’s not happening around here,” it likely is, perhaps in the form of microaggressions (avoidance, slurs, mistreatment and more). Know, too, that violence and discrimination could be taking place and going unreported due to fear or mistrust of the police force and court of law. Consider donating to the Melanin Mountain Project of Crested Butte and other organizations close to home that can make a difference.

I hope my project and exhibit have contributed in some way. When information is put into exhibition and made available to the public, readers become more aware and discover new ways to help. That’s exactly what I wanted to happen and what I hope readers will take away from the report and exhibit. Despite the “shock” of some local history that turned up, my goal is, as it has always been, to guide others to learn from the past – even the parts that are hard to swallow. It is supremely important to acknowledge what happened, bear it, learn from it, never let it happen again, and do something to spark change. b