All the world's a stage for these historic reenactors in Colorado
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FORT LUPTON, Colo. — When John Bell Junior, 84, decided to start a reenactment troupe to tell the story of the Buffalo Soldiers, he had no idea of the challenges that lay in store.
Bell traveled the country collecting oral histories from former members of the unit. He scoured auctions to acquire authentic McClellan saddles. But the biggest hurdle was finding fellow history buffs who knew how to ride a horse.
Bell studied history in college, but his teachers never mentioned the Buffalo Soldiers — black cavalry units that served in the American West after the Civil War. When Bell learned that his own father was one of the last Buffalo Soldiers, he wanted to keep the story alive.
The Brighton-based Buffalo Soldiers' performance came just months after the Department of Defense purged thousands of images and pages from its websites that recognized the contributions of women and people of color — from the Navajo code talkers to the Tuskegee Airmen and Jackie Robinson. Scholars say President Donald Trump’s administration is attempting to erase non-white history.
For the past 40 years, Bell has led the group at performances around the country.
“When you take part in it, you realize the troubles that the old pioneers had, the good things and the bad things,” said Bell.
In May, Bell’s group joined 169 reenactors at the Fort Lupton Heritage Fair. The annual event included performances by Vikings, fur trappers and civil war cannoneers.
Players with the Colorado Vintage Baseball Association dress in historic uniforms and play baseball games following 1864 rules. No gloves allowed. Video: Cormac McCrimmon, Rocky Mountain PBS.
Jackie Smith, the president of the South Platte Valley Historical Society, said attendance at the event has declined the past three years.
“History’s taking a hit,” said Smith, who worries that young people are more interested in social media than learning about the past.
In Ancient Rome, gladiators reenacted military battles, including naval fights at the Coliseum. Historical reenactments gained popularity in the United States as the country celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the Civil War.
But today the hobby is on the decline. Civil War reenactments, like the one held at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, drew up to 30,000 reenactors and 50,000 spectators in 1998. Participation at the event and visitation to Civil War battlefields have declined.
“The fatal 2015 shooting of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, S.C., by a white man who had embraced the Confederate battle flag and the 2017 white-nationalist rally around a Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, Virginia, has transformed how people view Confederate imagery and, in turn, Civil War-related historic sites,” wrote Cameron McWhirter in the Wall Street Journal.
“A lot of us are just nerds,” said 21-year-old Micah Wright.
When Wright turned seven, he asked his grandmother to make him a Union Civil War uniform. At 14, he and his dad joined a Revolutionary War group in Colorado and started participating in historical performances.
Roughly half of the acts at the Heritage Fair were military themed.
“Wars are times in human history where a lot of change happens, but also a lot of documentation. It’s easy to find information about the war period,” said Wright, who wore a Korean War uniform.
Wright said that many reenactors steer away from portrayals of the Korean and Vietnam wars.
“Korea, it's called the forgotten War. It's not talked about in schools. It's very difficult finding books and resources on it,” said Wright. “Vietnam, purely because it was so controversial. The pain and hurt from it is still very poignant to a lot of people.”
Derik Lief Stevens, a blacksmith dressed in deer skin pants and a loin cloth, reenacts the fur trade era between 1640 and 1840. He said there are few Native American actors at larger fur trade era reenactments, like the Rocky Mountain Rendezvous, that will take place in Lonetree, Wyoming this year in July.
“I feel like our society poisoned their society so badly and destroyed their culture and so it’s hard for them to go back and role play because it was their life,” said Stevens.
Stevens' act extends well beyond events like the heritage fair. He lives without electricity or running water in Ward, Colorado.
“This is not a costume,” said Stevens.
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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