CU News
News from the University of Colorado in Boulder.
No more Columbus Day Boulder Announces 2025 Indigenous Peoples Day Events
Oct 2nd
Boulder replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day to acknowledge the devastating impact of colonization and honor the resilience and continued existence of Indigenous peoples. The movement to replace the holiday gained traction due to recognition of Christopher Columbus’s record of enslavement and violence against native populations and was supported by community members and Indigenous leaders. 
Events honor the existence, culture and contributions of the original inhabitants of North America.
BOULDER, Colo. – Each year, the City of Boulder provides support to organizations that recognize Indigenous Peoples Day through events and celebrations honoring the existence, culture and contributions of the original inhabitants of North America. Through this support, the city and its community partners work to promote knowledge about Indigenous Peoples and honor the city’s Indigenous Peoples Day Resolution. The City of Boulder recognizes the second Monday in October each year as Indigenous Peoples Day.
This year, the city’s Housing and Human Services department and Office of Arts and Culture have provided funding for several community events to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day 2025. Community events are free and open to the public. Find information provided by event organizers below.
- Sunday, Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Breaking Barriers to Native Education For All
- Where: Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut Street, Boulder, CO, 80302
- Details: Right Relationship Boulder Presents Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2025: “Breaking Barriers to Native Education for All.” This event will foster cross-generational connections through Native-led panels, art, education, and healing activities, highlighting local Native voices and perspectives. Attendees will engage with interactive discussions, a Native art market, education resource fair, and food vendors, while learning to support Native-designed curricula and commit to building lasting, inclusive community relationships.
- Free tickets are recommended but not required.
Sunday, Oct. 12 from time 12 to 6 p.m. – Indigenous People’s Day Celebration
- Where: Mi Chantli, 1750 30th St. Boulder, CO 80301
- Details: La Vecindad presents an Indigenous People’s Day Celebration that will feature art, music, dance, food, workshops, and storytelling to honor and reclaim Indigenous heritage, language, and wisdom. Highlights include Danza Azteca, bookmaking and printmaking workshops, a tamale tasting competition, tortilla-making stations, traditional foods, community elder talks, and a performance by Los Mocochetes.
- Sunday, Oct. 12 from 2 to 5 p.m. – Indigenous People’s Day: Games, Poetry, and Ancestral Mathematics
- Where: Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80302
- Details: Presented by Luna Cultura, this event will include food and live music; a lecture on Mother Earth teachings from Indigenous oral tradition; a poetry and storytelling workshop; an ancestral mathematics session creating the Nepohualtzintzin; play-based healing activities; and community connection time with closing reflections. It celebrates Indigenous Peoples’ Day by honoring Indigenous legacies in science, art, and literature while fostering intercultural, intergenerational dialogue and blending art and science for holistic personal and community well-being.
- Register online.
- Sunday, Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. – The Boulder Roots Music Festival – Indigenous People’s Day Showcase
- Where: Savannah Bee Company Stage, 1222 Pearl St, Boulder, CO 80302
- Details: Presented by Roots Music Project, this event will include performances by Indigenous artists, showcasing diverse cultural music traditions and personal stories to amplify Indigenous voices. This programming will create an accessible, vibrant space for the community to deepen appreciation of Indigenous culture and its influence on contemporary music.
In 2016, the Human Relations Commission and community members drafted the Indigenous Peoples Day Resolution (Resolution No. 1190), which was presented at the Aug. 2, 2016, Boulder City Council meeting and adopted by the City of Boulder. It declared the second Monday of October of each year to be Indigenous Peoples Day. The resolution also guides the city’s ongoing collaboration with American Indian Tribal Nations and ongoing work to correct omissions of Indigenous Peoples’ presence in places, resources and cultural programming.
For additional information about Indigenous Peoples Day visit the city’s website.
The City of Boulder appreciates the opportunity to listen and learn from American Indian Tribal Nations who are collaborating with the city on several ongoing projects, including the proposed new Healing Trail that has a community connection to the Sand Creek Massacre. For information on the city’s ongoing collaboration with Tribal Nations, please visit our Tribal Engagement and Consultation webpage.
Petition to Reopen Investigation into CU Boulder Student’s Death Gains Traction
Aug 28th
Boulder, CO – August 28, 2025 – A petition urging authorities to revisit the investigation into the death of University of Colorado Boulder student Megan Trussell has garnered over 1,000 signatures, fueled by ongoing concerns from her family and supporters. The 18-year-old’s death in February 2025 was officially ruled a suicide by the Boulder County Coroner’s Office, but questions about the case persist, prompting calls for further scrutiny.
Megan Trussell was found deceased near the 40-mile marker of Boulder Canyon Drive on February 15, 2025, six days after she was last seen leaving her dorm, Hallett Hall, on February 9. The Boulder County Coroner’s Office determined her death resulted from the toxic effects of amphetamine, with hypothermia as a contributing factor, classifying it as a suicide. The ruling was based on toxicology results, undigested prescription medication found during the autopsy, and other investigative findings, according to Coroner Jeff Martin.
Trussell’s family, led by her mother Vanessa Diaz, disputes the suicide determination, citing what they believe are inconsistencies in the investigation conducted by the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO). Diaz has pointed to details such as Trussell’s purse being found nearly six miles from her body and her body missing one shoe. Additionally, some of Trussell’s belongings were found scattered in the area near homeless encampments along Boulder Canyon Drive during the week her body lay undiscovered. Detectives interviewed members of the local unhoused community and recovered items, including Trussell’s phone, which was sold at a resale kiosk by an individual who claimed no direct contact with her. The BCSO concluded there was no evidence of foul play involving those interviewed.
The Change.org petition, launched by Trussell’s cousin Rebecca Perez, calls on the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and Attorney General Phil Weiser to reopen the case. The petition gained significant traction following the release of the University of Colorado Police Department (CUPD) case report on August 25, 2025, which outlined how investigators determined Trussell walked from her dorm to the location where her body was found in approximately one hour and 15 minutes. The family questions how she could have made this journey alone, given the distance, terrain, and scattered belongings.
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office described the situation as “heartbreaking” but has not commented further on the petition. Sheriff Curtis Johnson previously stated that the investigation, which involved CUPD, the FBI, and local forensic teams, was thorough. The Boulder County District Attorney’s Office supported this conclusion, stating, “Our review included the Coroner’s determination, autopsy findings, police reports, witness interviews, video evidence, cellphone data, and more.” They found no evidence to support a criminal case.
Diaz remains resolute in seeking answers. “When I hear about support like this, it just makes me feel so uplifted and hopeful,” she said of the petition. The family has hired a private investigator and lawyer and is pursuing an independent autopsy. They are also distributing care packages to the unhoused community in hopes of gathering new information about Trussell’s final days.
The CU Boulder community continues to grapple with the loss. “This has been an incredibly difficult time,” said Interim Chief of Police John Monahan. The university has made counseling and support services available to students and staff.
As the petition circulates, the family awaits further testing of the pill material found in Trussell’s stomach, hoping it will provide clarity. The investigation remains closed, but the sheriff’s office has indicated it could be reopened if new evidence emerges.
For those in need of support, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office encourages contacting the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
Channel 1 News, Boulder
Reddit Community r/MeganTrussell Takes a Dark Turn, anti Police
Mar 15th
Reddit Community r/MeganTrussell Takes a Dark Turn, Sparks Controversy with Anti-Police Sentiment and Conspiracy Theories #BoulderBoulder, CO – March 15, 2025 – What began as a space for discussion and updates surrounding the tragic death of University of Colorado Boulder student Megan Trussell has morphed into something far more contentious. The subreddit r/MeganTrussell, initially created to follow the investigation into the 18-year-old’s mysterious death in Boulder Canyon last month, has taken a sharp turn toward the dark side, with users growing increasingly anti-police, impatient, and prone to spinning elaborate conspiracy theories.
Megan Trussell’s body was discovered on February 15, 2025, near the 40-mile marker of Boulder Canyon Drive, days after she was reported missing by the CU Boulder Police Department. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office has since led the investigation, but with the cause and manner of death still undetermined by the coroner’s office, the lack of concrete updates has fueled frustration among the subreddit’s 356 subscribers. What started as a community seeking answers has devolved into a breeding ground for distrust and speculation, raising eyebrows both locally and online. Posts on r/MeganTrussell have grown increasingly hostile toward law enforcement.
One highly upvoted thread from early March accused the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office of a cover-up, with a user writing, “The Boulder police department is just pathetic! Megan’s family deserves better.” Others have pointed to the discovery of Trussell’s purse—found last week miles away from her body along US-36—as evidence of foul play, despite official statements maintaining there’s no current indication of a threat to the community. “Most definitely was a threat to the community,” one commenter insisted. “How does her shoe go missing, purse is 5+ miles away from the body?”
The subreddit’s impatience has birthed a wave of conspiracy theories, some gaining traction with dozens of votes and comments. Theories range from plausible to outlandish: some users speculate Trussell’s roommate or an unknown assailant from a nearby encampment may be involved, while others suggest a broader institutional cover-up tied to the university or local government. “How’d she end up miles away in a place her body had to be ‘rappelled’ to up the canyon???????????? I’m a student at CU and that’s not possible,” one user questioned, casting doubt on the official narrative. Another thread posited that the slow pace of the investigation is deliberate, with a commenter noting, “If this was a Lockheed princess, this would have been solved within days.” The shift hasn’t gone unnoticed. Local residents and observers have expressed concern over the subreddit’s tone, with some suggesting it’s doing more harm than good for Trussell’s memory and her grieving family. “It’s honestly a little maddening,” a user wrote in response to a conspiracy-laden post, while another lamented, “She doesn’t deserve to be simply the next true crime case.”
Yet the community shows no signs of slowing down, with daily posts dissecting every update—or lack thereof—from authorities. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office has remained tight-lipped, reiterating in their latest statement on March 11 that the investigation is ongoing and that additional testing is still needed to determine Trussell’s cause of death. This measured approach, however, has only poured fuel on the fire for r/MeganTrussell’s members, who see the silence as confirmation of their suspicions. As the subreddit veers further into anti-police rhetoric and unverified theories, it stands as a stark example of how online communities can spiral when faced with uncertainty. For now, Megan Trussell’s story remains unresolved, but the conversation around it has taken on a life of its own—one that’s increasingly dark, divisive, and detached from its original intent. Whether this shift will pressure authorities to release more information or simply deepen the divide between the public and law enforcement remains to be seen.
