On June 20 of each year, many Native American communities and organizations observe a National Day of Prayer for the Protection of Native American Sacred Places. In 2024, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) invited the public to attend a sunrise ceremony at the NARF Boulder Office to observe the event together.
“We wanted to hold a ceremony to focus prayers and attention on preserving, protecting, and re-establishing access to the sacred places of Indigenous peoples in the United States, as well as the rest of the Western Hemisphere and the world,” said NARF Managing Attorney David L. Gover.
At 7 a.m. Thursday morning, people gathered in the park in front of NARF headquarters, an organization created to defend Native sacred places and human rights, to hold governments accountable to Native people, and to defend tribal lifeways and treaties. As the sun rose, former NARF staff member and current Project Mosaic Expert Richard B. Williams (Oglala Lakota) opened the ceremony and led the prayer for the protection of sacred places.
After the ceremony, prayer participants stayed for a light breakfast and attended a presentation on Treaty Rights in Colorado, given by Rick Williams. The 2024 public ceremony was the first day of prayer hosted by NARF in its new building and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The first National Prayer Day was conducted on June 20, 2003, on the U.S. Capitol West Lawn and nationwide to emphasize the need for Congress to protect Native sacred places. That need still exists today and only can be met through the intentions and contributions of many,” said NARF Executive Director John Echohawk.
Thank you to everyone who prayed with us for sacred places. Whether you were able to join us in Boulder or participated from your homes or elsewhere, we thank you. It was a pleasure to come together in community and dedicate our morning to this ceremony. Learn more about NARF’s ongoing work to protect sacred places.
