Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

South Platte River Committee Meeting on River Personhood - October 22, 2025

Council Committees — Wednesday, October 22, 2025

BodyDenver, Colorado

SessionCouncil Committees

DateWednesday, October 22, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:10:13

Transcript — VerbatimClick a line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Students so that way they get better and that way the overall program gets better.

0:05

And that way it's less me trying to drive the boat and they're driving the boat themselves, and I'm just there to help steer and guide them.

0:14

Now that I have the chance to actually go one-on-one with these students, I could actually go heart to heart and tell them, hey, this is what's going on.

0:22

We should fix this right here.

0:23

And that would help them a long way.

0:28

I'm here to serve as a guide, not just the guy demonstrating exactly what you need to do.

0:32

But you're taking it upon yourself to further your abilities to further your skills and your knowledge so that way you're better because you want to be better.

0:42

I'm graduating this year, and the most I'll miss about this drumline is all the memories I had with it.

0:50

It's absolutely fun.

0:54

Music can be a lifelong activity, you know, and I try and point it out to the students that can also be a gateway to education.

1:01

You can turn this into a real benefit for yourself later down the line.

1:05

Right now, I have a pathway of after high school.

1:08

I'm gonna go to college, but I have heard people get scholarships and full rides because of Drumline, which is pretty cool.

1:17

Every student deserves equal access and opportunity to these subjects, and the fact that the funding is not there is uh tragic and and terrible because it is robbing your children of the opportunity to grow and become better as individuals, better thinkers, more creative, and learn something that is truly special if you put the work into it.

1:41

But these skills that you learn and develop, these utilitarian lifelong skills, discipline, accountability, time management.

1:47

They will travel with you for the rest of your life if you want them to, if you put in that kind of effort and work.

1:57

Thanks again to Four Mile Historic Park for having us out tonight.

2:00

We hope you enjoy the art history and culture in your area.

2:04

See you next time on Connected Colorado.

2:50

I got pretty much door to door with the car I was attempting to pass when the vehicle appeared in my sights, the other vehicle looked up, must have seen me and swerved, they swerved to the right, and the accident then occurred.

3:06

Little did I know that that one thought process of just trying to get that one car ahead caused devastation.

3:25

Karen Bunkey was a mother, a grandmother, someone who was a wife, someone who was very, very involved in her community and her family.

3:37

And I there's no apologies in the world that I could give to bring her back.

3:42

Not only did she lose her life, I almost lost mine.

3:45

I was out of commission for six months while I tried to rest and recover from a shattered right femur.

3:52

I still will pay for the fact that someone died because of my actions, I would say to any other drivers who feel like they can get that one extra spot, that one car ahead.

4:17

Because there's no price that you can pay that can make up for the loss of a life.

4:55

Join us for the discussion as the South Platte River Committee starts now.

5:07

There we go.

5:08

Good afternoon, everyone.

5:10

Welcome to the South Platte River Committee.

5:13

I'm Councilwoman Jamie Torres.

5:15

I represent West Denver District 3.

5:17

Before we uh get our presentation started, let's do introductions.

5:22

And let me make sure we don't have anybody online.

5:26

One person, let's go online for introductions.

5:36

Thank you, Madam Protect.

5:38

We'll do introductions in the room.

5:39

I'll start to my right.

5:40

Mixing it up.

5:42

Kevin Flynn, Southwestern Members District 2.

5:45

Sarah Perry, and one of your council members at large.

5:47

Councilman Alvirez, Lucky District 7.

5:50

Darrell Watson, Fine, District 9.

5:53

Excellent.

5:53

Thank you all so much.

5:55

We are joined by the group, the River Sisters.

5:59

This has been a presentation that I've been looking forward to bringing to South Platte River Committee because of the very specific and important work that this group has been doing over the last several years.

6:12

And I want to turn it over to Nita.

6:15

Anita, if you would mind leading off with introductions.

6:18

I'd love to know who's here, also from the audience who's here with your group.

6:22

Well, good afternoon.

6:23

Thank you for this, Chair Torres.

6:26

And I'm so excited, Council members, to join with you today and to talk about the work we've been doing.

6:32

Part of the presentation will be given by Mr.

6:35

Tink Tinker, who's also a Jan will do it via videos he couldn't attend today.

6:40

And with me is Shannon Francis, who is the executive director of Spirit of the Sun, and yes, Mean Borges, who is also part both are part of River Sisters, and we'll be giving some portion of the presentation.

6:54

And I'm Nita Gonzalez, if you don't know me.

6:58

Perfect.

6:58

And for our viewers, we have a document loaded onto our Legislatar website, but we don't have a power.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Environmental Protection█████████████████████████████████████████████64%

Community Engagement██████9%

Historic Preservation██████8%

Parks and Recreation██████8%

Youth Programs██3%

Water And Wastewater Management██3%

Racial Equity█2%

Legislative Affairs█2%

Arts And Culture█1%

Summary of Proceedings

South Platte River Committee Meeting on River Personhood

The South Platte River Committee convened on October 22, 2025, to receive a presentation from the River Sisters Congreso advocating for legal personhood for the South Platte River and the creation of a "turquoise necklace" of interconnected parks along its corridor. Committee members discussed the cultural, environmental, and legal implications of the proposal.

Public Comments & Testimony

Nita Gonzalez, representing the River Sisters Congreso, expressed support for recognizing the South Platte River as a living relative and called for integrating cultural guardianship into river planning and embedding environmental equity into municipal policy.
Shannon Francis shared personal experiences from her indigenous community, emphasizing the importance of water as a relative and supporting the personhood framework to protect the river for future generations.
Tomas Lopez provided a cultural perspective, arguing that water has a spirit and should be treated as sacred, thus endorsing the personhood concept to restore a sacred relationship with the river.

Discussion Items

Council members, including Councilwoman Alvirez and Councilman Hines, asked about the legal feasibility of granting personhood to the river, referencing international precedents like New Zealand and Bolivia, and sought clarity on how it fits into Western colonial legal systems.
Council President Sandoval suggested starting with a proclamation to formalize the city's values and then systematically update zoning codes, planning documents (e.g., Blueprint Denver), and involve indigenous commissions and community groups in decision-making.
Councilwoman Torres proposed coordinating with city departments, such as Parks and Recreation, and invited the River Sisters to future discussions, including a December 12th meeting on a proposed river overlay with Rocky Piero.
Other council members, like Councilwoman Parody and Councilman Watson, expressed curiosity and support, discussing practical steps such as park renaming and leveraging water attorney expertise to navigate legal complexities.

Key Outcomes

The committee expressed broad support for the River Sisters' proposal, with council members committing to explore actionable steps, including drafting a proclamation and integrating the personhood framework into municipal policies and planning processes.
Next steps include attending a future committee meeting on December 12th to discuss a river overlay with Rocky Piero and continuing collaboration with the River Sisters on implementation strategies, such as creating a guardianship body to advocate for the river's rights.

Meeting Transcript

Students so that way they get better and that way the overall program gets better. And that way it's less me trying to drive the boat and they're driving the boat themselves, and I'm just there to help steer and guide them. Now that I have the chance to actually go one-on-one with these students, I could actually go heart to heart and tell them, hey, this is what's going on. We should fix this right here. And that would help them a long way. I'm here to serve as a guide, not just the guy demonstrating exactly what you need to do. But you're taking it upon yourself to further your abilities to further your skills and your knowledge so that way you're better because you want to be better. I'm graduating this year, and the most I'll miss about this drumline is all the memories I had with it. It's absolutely fun. Music can be a lifelong activity, you know, and I try and point it out to the students that can also be a gateway to education. You can turn this into a real benefit for yourself later down the line. Right now, I have a pathway of after high school. I'm gonna go to college, but I have heard people get scholarships and full rides because of Drumline, which is pretty cool. Every student deserves equal access and opportunity to these subjects, and the fact that the funding is not there is uh tragic and and terrible because it is robbing your children of the opportunity to grow and become better as individuals, better thinkers, more creative, and learn something that is truly special if you put the work into it. But these skills that you learn and develop, these utilitarian lifelong skills, discipline, accountability, time management. They will travel with you for the rest of your life if you want them to, if you put in that kind of effort and work. Thanks again to Four Mile Historic Park for having us out tonight. We hope you enjoy the art history and culture in your area. See you next time on Connected Colorado. I got pretty much door to door with the car I was attempting to pass when the vehicle appeared in my sights, the other vehicle looked up, must have seen me and swerved, they swerved to the right, and the accident then occurred. Little did I know that that one thought process of just trying to get that one car ahead caused devastation. Karen Bunkey was a mother, a grandmother, someone who was a wife, someone who was very, very involved in her community and her family. And I there's no apologies in the world that I could give to bring her back. Not only did she lose her life, I almost lost mine. I was out of commission for six months while I tried to rest and recover from a shattered right femur. I still will pay for the fact that someone died because of my actions, I would say to any other drivers who feel like they can get that one extra spot, that one car ahead. Because there's no price that you can pay that can make up for the loss of a life. Join us for the discussion as the South Platte River Committee starts now. There we go. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the South Platte River Committee. I'm Councilwoman Jamie Torres. I represent West Denver District 3. Before we uh get our presentation started, let's do introductions. And let me make sure we don't have anybody online. One person, let's go online for introductions. Thank you, Madam Protect. We'll do introductions in the room. I'll start to my right. Mixing it up. Kevin Flynn, Southwestern Members District 2. Sarah Perry, and one of your council members at large. Councilman Alvirez, Lucky District 7. Darrell Watson, Fine, District 9. Excellent. Thank you all so much. We are joined by the group, the River Sisters. This has been a presentation that I've been looking forward to bringing to South Platte River Committee because of the very specific and important work that this group has been doing over the last several years. And I want to turn it over to Nita. Anita, if you would mind leading off with introductions.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com