The Western landscape has been
influenced by Native Americans and later by European and Hispanic immigrants. A
diverse mix of different cultures adapted their lives to this landscape, while
the landscape itself also shifted to meet these cultures’ needs. These mutual influences show how the
landscape and culture interact together, not just in the past, but especially
in the present. This contact between the landscape and culture is my main topic
of analysis and observation. Qualitative research based on participant
observation was done during the days of 29th and 30th of
January in the area of Indian Hills, which is situated 30 minutes west of
Denver and includes Mt. Falcon Park.
The landscape of Indian Hills has
features typical of western nature with frequent rocks and boulders, meadows,
valleys surrounded by hills of ponderosa pine, and views of distant mountain
peaks. Turkey Creek runs through the settlement with log houses on both sides.
The name Indian Hills clearly expresses the town’s connection to its landscape
and culture. The area’s landscape was earlier influenced by the Ute Indian
tribe. The Utes used a part of Indian Hills as a summer camp until the area’s
first settlers came. The first European immigrant settlers came to this area in
the second half of the 19th Century and started to create some new
features within the landscape.
My first observation that comes to
mind is of the entrance to Indian Hills from the highway to Fairplay. On a
little turn to the right is a wood sign with “Indian Hills,” a depiction of two
Indians, and the town’s elevation of 6,800 feet written. After some curves and
driving a little bit through town, it is visible that Indian Hills is hidden in
the nature of surrounding mountains. Not many people in Denver even know that
this town exists because of its perfect seclusion from the highway and other
main roads. Going through the valley it seems that not many people live in this
community, but after exploring the many different roads copying the topography
of this place, it is quite surprising to see so many houses hidden in the
forest. With balconies and porches sometimes on stilts against the hillside,
the town’s houses are adapted to the area’s hilly landscape. Most of the houses
and cabins are from log, but there are also a few modern stone and pueblo style
homes. Some of the log houses are interestingly decorated with Indian portraits
and totem poles, and others have symbols of western life and of the area’s
history. For example, deer antlers and bull skulls can be found around some
house’s main doors, old wagons are in yards, and very old looking saddles hang
over fences. Some driveways show tall, wooden arches that are typical of
western ranch entrances. Most of the houses probably use a fireplace for
heating during the winter because many stacks of firewood were outside. Houses
usually do not have a fenced yard and if some property does, it is usually an
ordinary, short natural wooden fence. These fences do not have an exact shape
like those in city yards, but correspond more with the landscape around.
The
main asphalt road going through Indian Hills is very curvy and the main
facilities are situated around this road.
The Sit ‘n’ Bull Saloon, Post Office, coffee shop, Mirada Fine Art
Gallery and school are all just off the town’s main road. Side streets are
notable in that they are natural and dirt only and that their names are
primarily of Indian tribe´s names, such as Ute, Cheyenne, Cherokee, Nissaki,
Natshi, Kiowa, Hopi, Navajo, Shoshone, Pawnee and many others. In contrast,
newer streets are named for natural aspects like Mountain Spirit or Giant
Gulch. The main road, Parmalee Gulch, is named after one of the area’s first
settlers, John D. Parmalee.
Indian Hills’ location makes it a
prime spot for wildlife. To see fox, deer, and moose is an everyday observation
for local people. Mountain lions, rattlesnakes and bears are not as visible,
but some people have experience with them and when this happens, there is
usually a warning posted on the board next to the Post Office. Related to
domestic animals, horses are the town’s most characteristic animal and small
ranches and facilities for horses are frequently seen across Indian Hills. The
biggest horse facility with dressage and stables is “Tall Timber” and is
considered one of the biggest horse breeders in Colorado.
The local saloon Sit ‘n’ Bull is a
good place for observation. Inhabitants of Indian Hills often go there after
work to chat and have a beer. I consider this place a great source of
information. The log saloon has cowboy decor with a typical bar. Most of the
saloon’s customers wear western style clothes.
Probably the most well-known part
of Indian Hills, Mt. Falcon Park has spectacular views of Denver and beyond.
Integrating Mt. Falcon Park into the analysis of Indian Hills is important
because the park so well corresponds with the area’s landscape, its natural features
and the area’s history. The park´s trail map says, “Each trail will reveal a
bit of history and nature´s awesome views.” For example, trails in the park
like Old Ute Trail, Castle Trail, Walker’s Dream Trail, and Devil’s Elbow speak
to the park’s history and geography.
Anthropological
analysis considers aspects that are related to the relationship between culture
and landscape. The relationship to a specific area is usually very strong and
nostalgic topics appear in many works. The reason for this is that today we
also understand the word “landscape” as place of memories, including our
childhood, way of life and situations that were brought into our lives. The
landscape is natural and cultural and both of these aspects cannot be separated
because of their mutual connection. Landscape is a natural determinant of
cultural development. Not only did the first settlers of Indian Hills have to
submit to the conditions of nature to create their new life in this place, but
today´s inhabitants are also in touch with the local landscape. Their everyday
life is full of contact with animals and weather, including hard conditions
during winter and the risk of summer fires. The views from Mt. Falcon Park that
now attract hiking tourists were probably also used in the past by Utes to
observe newcomers from the plains. The landscape and natural aspects here also
influence culture and creates some framework of settlement structure that is visible through the
community’s social arrangement, and which differs from a city arrangement. For examples, houses are scattered over
hills without specific order and they have to adapt perfectly to the natural
conditions.
The
memory of the landscape of Indian Hills depends on the natural aspects like
relief, climate, water and surface of land. That is the likely one reason why
Mt. Falcon Park named trails after natural features of this area. The cultural
aspect of memory in Indian Hills is shown in monuments and historic sights. The
saloon Sit ´n´ Bull name carries the word “saloon,” which speaks to the town’s
western heritage. Also, the name “Sit ´n´ Bull” shows memory of Indian history
as a play on the name of an Indian chief. Street names remember the first
inhabitants of Indian Hills, but cultural diversity is also shown by modern communities of Native Americans and
their pueblo style homes or typical ranches of European settlers.
Landscape
is a place of ethnic identity. Observation brought out the fact that most
Indian Hills inhabitants usually live in old log houses that remind me of the
style of architecture used by the first western settlers and also shows close
contact with local nature. House decorations show the town’s awareness of its
earlier inhabitants, the Ute Indians and cowboys. These decorations are very
common in Indian Hills. Little ranches with horses around express people´s
thinking about western life and identify them with their ancestral way of life.
In the pub, not just the architecture, but also the customer’s style of
clothing is western. At the time of my visit, seven out of the total nine
people inside wore cowboy hats and boots, and their conversation was about the
handcrafting of custom-made cowboys hats.
My
main observation of the town’s ethnic identity and landscape then is the
approach of today´s way of life to the physical landscape and its cultural
past. Houses continue to use natural features for architecture and residents
remain aware of their history and continue to identify with the cowboy way of
life. Landscape continues to influence the culture and vice versa in this
dynamic process and place.
REFERENCES:
Brush, Helen N. and Dittman,
Catherine P.
1976 Indian Hills: the place, the times, the people. Denver:
Graphic Impressions.
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