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RESOLUTION NO. 3457
A RESOLUTION REGARDING A CITY-WIDE
JAMES P . BECKWOURTH DAY
WHEREAS, the mountain men and fur traders of the Rocky
Mountains were stout , rugged men in spirit with stamina, and were
the trailblazers who discovered and cleared the passes which led
to the development of the far west territory of California and
Oregon; James P. Beckwourth, a Black mountain man, was a founder
of Pueblo, Colorado; a fact which is supported by many highly
reliable sources : Leroy R. Hafen, a Colorado historian and ret±rdd
professor emeritus from Brigham Young University, verifies and
supports this in the anthology, The Mountain Men and the Fur Trade
of the Far West. Under the editorial supervision of Leroy R.
Hafen and within the biographical writings of Delmont R. Oswald,
the claim is further verified and stated as follows: "They
(Beckwourth and companions) moved to the Arkansas River near the
mouth of the Fountain Creek where he (Beckwourth) opened a small
trading house and continued to conduct business among the Indians
as well as with the families who settled in that Fort."
WHEREAS, in addition to the previously mentioned validating
source, other reliable sources are listed as follows :
1. ".Beckwourth, James Pierson, " Encyclopedia International,
1974 , II , p. 4.67.
2. "Beckwourth, James Pierson, " Encyclopedia Americana,
1971, III , p. 428 .
3. The Men and the Mountain, William Brandon, p . 6 .
WHEREAS, in his autobiography, The Life and Adventures of
James Pierson Beckwourth, which was edited by Thomas D. Bonner,
Beckwourth described the following: "On the first of October, 1842,
on the upper Arkansas , I erected a trading post and opened a
successful business. In a very short time, I was joined by from
fifteen to twenty free trappers with their families. We all united
our labor and constructed an adobe fort sixty yards square. By
the following spring, it had grown into quite a settlement, and we
gave it the name Pueblo. " and,
WHEREAS, James P. Beckwourth was a Black man and is an
accredited founder of Pueblo, Colorado; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PUEBLO, COLORADO,
that:
SECTION 1.
October first be proclaimed James P. Beckwourth Day in
recognition of his role as a founder of Pueblo, Colorado.
SECTION 2.
The Pueblo branch of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People, Black Action Association, Black
Coalition Association and Black Mothers , as well as other
interested groups , sponsor an annual James P. Beckwourth Day
Parade.
SECTION 3.
The City of Pueblo helps other public and private entities
in a cooperative effort to make James P . Beckwourth Day an out-
standing celebration of community involvement and human dignity.
INTRODUCED December 9 , 1974
BY. PAT, KELLY
Councilman
APPROVED:
W _
President of the Council_
ATTEST:
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