Vitrac-Kessler: Programs like this matter

The Aspen Indigenous Foundation is deeply grateful to the Aspen Thrift Shop for its continued support in bringing Native cultural programs to our beautiful mountain town. The Thrift Shop is a vital community hub, transforming donated items into essential funding that sustains local nonprofits, and its staff do remarkable work.

This funding allowed us to host a group of young adults and elders from the Lakota and Diné (Navajo) Nations. Through dance, song and drumming, they shared their traditional ways, stories and ancestral knowledge with local residents and visitors alike. Thanks to the Aspen Snowmass Ski Company, which provided complimentary rentals and lift tickets, many of them experienced skiing and snowboarding for the very first time.

Programs like this matter. They restore the presence of our valley’s original inhabitants, contribute to educate about their challenges and successes, help heal generational trauma and create space for unity. The audience joined in numerous inter-tribal dances, and everyone left with a renewed sense of belonging to our shared human family.

Deanne Vitrac-Kessler

Woody Creek