History Colorado Hires Senior Director of Tribal and Indigenous Engagement

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DENVER — March 24, 2025 — History Colorado is pleased to announce the hiring of Phillip Gover III (Pawnee/Choctaw), as senior director of Tribal and Indigenous engagement. Gover brings nearly two decades of experience in Native American advocacy and engagement work to this brand new position at History Colorado, including most recently serving as the Tribal Affairs Specialist for the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS).

“We are grateful to announce that Phil has joined History Colorado to lead the necessary effort to uncover and reckon with the histories and ongoing traumas related to American Indian Boarding Schools in our state,” said Dawn DiPrince, president/CEO of History Colorado and state historic preservation officer. “Phil embodies a rare combination of professional and academic experience, a commitment to  community and relationships, a gift for patience and good listening, plus his own deep connection to tradition and knowledge that make him the right leader for this work”

In addition to his service at CDHS  — where he engaged in government-to-government consultation with Colorado’s resident Ute Tribes and worked closely with the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs — Gover has a legal background and was the Native Youth Advocate for Adams 12 Five Star Schools from 2015 to 2023. He has a B.A. in American Studies from Stanford University and a Juris Doctor from Arizona State University’s College of Law.

Gover’s legal experience includes serving as an advocate for both the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of Arizona. He is currently a member of the Denver American Indian Commission and serves on the board of directors for the Denver Indian Health & Family Services.

“I am so happy to have joined History Colorado to assist with the important work they are doing in partnership with Southern Ute, Ute Mountain Ute and the 49 other sovereign nations who have history tied to Colorado,” Gover said. “There are so many layers and levels of Colorado’s history to understand starting with the stories of the Tribal nations. Uncovering this multifaceted history is crucial to understanding how we got to where we are and informing our decisions for the future.”

As the senior director of Tribal and Indigenous engagement, Gover will help History Colorado as it strives to meet its broad obligations and goals to faithfully consult with — and present the histories of — Indigenous, Native and Tribal communities and histories. A central portion of Gover’s efforts over the next two years will be working closely with the American Indian Steering Committee created by House Bill 24-1444, and impacted Tribal nations and American Indian communities, to complete research into the physical abuse and deaths that occurred at federal Indian boarding schools in Colorado.

“I hope to help give voices to students who were voiceless while at these schools,” Gover said. “In the coming years, I will work with the communities impacted by Colorado boarding schools to preserve their stories and create avenues for understanding the lasting impacts of this history while being cautious of the trauma that was endured by the communities. This is important and long overdue work which has been needed ever since the first children were taken from Native families and forced to attend boarding schools.”

This ongoing effort is a continuation of the research conducted in 2022 and 2023 under House Bill 22-1327.

Gover will also serve History Colorado as a key team member in ongoing organizational compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act that was passed into law by Congress in 1990. Under Gover’s leadership, History Colorado will continue to partner with the Southern Ute and Ue Mountain Ute and the 49 other Tribal Nations with historic ties to Colorado as well as the urban Native communities and other members of the Native diaspora connected ancestrally or contemporaneously to the state.

About History Colorado’s American Indian Boarding School Research
Beginning in 1819 with the federal “Indian Civilization Act,” the United States government embarked on a systematic campaign of cultural genocide that included forcibly removing children from their families. Sent far away from their communities to boarding schools, these Native children were severed from their culture, language, traditions, and religion. Starting in May of 2022, History Colorado has been conducting research into the physical abuse and deaths that occurred at federal Indian boarding schools in Colorado.

To date, more than 523 Indian Boarding schools have been identified across the U.S. that were funded by the federal government, and often church-run, in the 19th and 20th centuries, including at least seven federal Indian boarding schools within Colorado.

In 2023, “Federal Indian Boarding Schools in Colorado: 1880-1920” was released in compliance with HB22-1327, which directed History Colorado, through the State Archaeology Office, to investigate the one-time federal Native American Boarding School in Hesperus, Colorado, also referred to as the Fort Lewis Indian Boarding School; as well as to identify potential burial places of students who perished while attending the school. This report included recommendations for additional Tribal consultation, and engagement with members of the Native diaspora as well as continued research and the crafting of recommendations for policy and actions moving forward.

Additional information about History Colorado’s American Indian Boarding School Research can be found here.