(Denver, CO) – The Arapaho Warriors Legion Post 96, CPL Billy Farris, Hiinono ei’ Beni’iineno color guard was recently chosen as one of seven groups to present the colors at the December 2 Denver Broncos game last night, where the guard not only got to represent Veterans, but also the Northern Arapaho/Eastern Shoshone Tribes, the Wind River Reservation, Fremont County and Wyoming.
Members of the group who were involved in the ceremony included: Felicia J. Antelope (Northern Arapaho) US Army carrying the POW/MIA Flag; JD Schamp (half Northern Arapaho, half Eastern Shoshone) USMC carrying the American Flag; Martin Blackburn Sr. (Northern Arapaho) USMC carrying the Northern Arapaho Flag; and Hugo Sanchezolmos (Mexican descent, married to Inez Sanchezolmos who helped facilitate the group’s invite, and is Northern Arapaho/part of Native American Women Warriors), US Navy carrying the Colorado State Flag.
Arapaho Warrior color guard member Felica Antelope shared that the group got their own staging area when they showed up to Empower Field at Mile High, at which point one of her favorite moments occurred when she got to “touch the turf” to “see if it was artificial or the real deal.”
After the group rehearsed near the 30-yard line, they marched into place with the flags mentioned above for the official opening ceremony, and stood facing the crowd while the National Anthem was performed.
Antelope shared with County 10 that a “defining moment” of the ceremony was when they got to keep the Northern Arapaho Tribal Flag at attention during the National Anthem.
“Since the Northern Arapaho Tribe is a sovereign nation, we were able to keep the Northern Arapaho Tribal Flag at attention while the National Anthem was played,” Antelope explained. “Usually, you dip the flag, but we were able to keep it at attention because we’re a sovereign nation. Plus we had our eagle feathers on top of that too, so that was a real defining moment right there.”
Antelope also shared that the Warriors were the last ones on the field at the start of the ceremony, and the first ones to leave when they then got to lead the other color guards off the field.
“It was good to be in our homelands representing our people. That was a big moment for me,” Blackburn shared of the ceremony, a sentiment that was echoed by both Sanchezolmos and Schamp.
“It was a great opportunity for the Native American color guard to be able to be on the main field where the players obviously play,” Sanchezolmos stated. “And being among other active duty color guards, and the fire department and emergency services, that gave us a lot of pride being part of everything with them too.”
“It was really an honor to represent the Tribe on its original homeland,” Schamp commented. “I’m honored to be brought in by the Broncos team to be recognized to the rest of the world, and show that we are still here.”
After the opening ceremony, the group then got to sit down and enjoy the game (the Broncos ended up winning 41-32).
To learn more about the Arapaho Warriors Legion Post 96. CPL Billy Farris. Hiinono ei’ Beni’iineno color guard, click here.