Some of Colorado’s best kept secrets are held in the El Pueblo History Museum. If you haven’t made the hundred or so mile trip to Pueblo, you might want to put it on your list of ‘things to do.’ Once there, you’ll find that southern Colorado’s economic and cultural hub was founded by one of the early West’s most iconic but mostly unknown, African Americans.
James Beckworth, along with a few other pioneering men and women, led a life of adventure. It was a life that began as a slave, but once emancipated, an odyssey that included the life of a rugged frontiersman, trapper, military scout and even an Indian chief. Though, while he interacted with a number of tribes, the title may certainly have been ceremonial.
He moved with ease among the various Native American tribes, including the Crow as he navigated across the years and the West. He arrived in Pueblo in 1842, and Fort Pueblo was both named and born.
“Some would say that he exaggerated his feats,” said Dianne Archuleta, Director of History at the El Pueblo. He certainly may have. History, after all, is riddled with mystery. But Beckworth, also spelled Beckwourth, has his name on California’s Beckworth Pass and various passages in history books place him at various moments and locations in the 19th century West. By all accounts, said Archuleta, “He went on to help westward expansion.”
While Pueblo’s African American population has historically been meager, the museum nonetheless pays homage to not only persons like the iconic Beckworth, it also honors African American contributions to the region and state.
Black History Month at the El Pueblo, located at 301 N. Union Avenue, will also host a screening of “Buffalo Soldiers Fighting on Two Fronts,” on February 21st. Dru Holley, who directed and produced the film, will be part of the evening to answer questions from the audience following the film. Archuleta said there will be no cost of admission.
The Buffalo Soldiers were African American soldiers who served mainly across the early West. In all, there were six all-Black cavalry and infantry regiments created by an act of Congress. Lore has it that they got their name, Buffalo Soldiers, from Native Americans who thought the darkness and texture of their hair was similar to the buffalo that roamed the plains.
Another theory is that it was the ferocity with which they fought—like buffalo—that earned them the name. Whichever it was, the name now belongs to history.
Archuleta said the museum will wind up February and Black History Month with the NAACP’s ‘Sound of Freedom’ concert. Scheduled for February 27th. The performance will feature students from Pueblo’s Corwin International Magnet School.
But while Black History Month is celebrated each February—for now—Black history, said Ami Bajah Onyejekwe, is every day. Onyejekwe, a native of Nigeria, and now faculty coordinator of the Colorado State University-Pueblo School of Nursing, says students in the program receive hands-on diversity training.
“We try and reflect different backgrounds,” she said. Students train on “mannequins that portray real complexions,” with skin tones that reflect the spectrum of patients they may one day encounter. “The goal,” said the African born Onyejekwe, “is to expose students to diverse backgrounds, how to do assessments.” Students learn that nursing is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ experience. Students, she said, learn how to “treat and relate” to each person.
Being non-native to the U.S., Onyejekwe says she appreciates the country’s celebration of Black History. “It and all history are really important,” she said. As a relative newcomer but one whose forefathers may have been brought here centuries ago, the Pueblo educator knows the critical role played by African Americans in the American story. “It’s important we showcase” the things they did. “Knowledge is good. It’s key and helps understanding.”
