{"id":23936,"date":"2025-01-21T22:36:25","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T05:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/peoples-march-in-cortez-persists-despite-the-cold\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:45:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:45:16","slug":"peoples-march-in-cortez-persists-despite-the-cold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/peoples-march-in-cortez-persists-despite-the-cold\/","title":{"rendered":"People\u2019s March in Cortez persists, despite the cold"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Community
Community members walking up Montezuma Ave. in The People\u2019s March on Jan. 18 in Cortez. (Aaron Lewis\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

The windy winter weather was anything but friendly the morning of Jan. 18, but people braved the cold and gathered in Veteran\u2019s Park at 11 a.m. with signs and scarves.<\/p>\n

They came out to walk in the People\u2019s March, which is an offshoot of the Women\u2019s March. That protest made history on Jan. 21, 2017 \u2013 the day after President Donald Trump\u2019s first inauguration \u2013 as the largest single-day protest in American history.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to gather together \u2013 even though it\u2019s cold \u2013 to show we care about the vulnerable people in the community and the world,\u201d said Mary Dodd, the chairperson of the Montezuma County Democrats, which sponsored the event.<\/p>\n

To her, \u201cthe march is about solidarity, and having one another\u2019s backs\u201d especially in light of the new administration.<\/p>\n

People across the nation walked in People\u2019s Marches on Jan. 18. In Cortez, an estimated 60 people showed up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is brave to be an attendee to this event,\u201d the emcee of the march, Rebecca Busic, said after thanking everyone for being there. \u201cToday your important role for the success of this event was to show up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Busic went on to say that marches \u201chave historically \u2026 proved powerful tools of political movements,\u201d and cited the civil rights movement and women\u2019s suffrage as proof.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we can quantify the value of like-minded, progressive people, especially in a notoriously conservative community, coming together,\u201d said Busic. \u201cRight now especially, community is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also important, Busic said, to fight the \u201cresistance fatigue\u201d that sets in when things feel like they \u201care going backward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Christine
Christine Brice Nelson, a local mom who is involved in nonprofits, speaks at the People\u2019s March in Cortez. To her right is Rebecca Busic, an activist who emceed the event, and Dr. Erin Schmitt is on the far right. All three spoke at The People\u2019s March. (Aaron Lewis\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThey would like nothing more than for all of us to be tired, to be afraid, to shut up and stay home,\u201d said Busic. \u201cAnd that is exactly what we must not do. We cannot lose our rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Busic added that \u201cwe\u201d includes men.<\/p>\n

\u201cAssuming the worst of all men (and) not welcoming them into the progressive movement is hurting everyone,\u201d said Busic. \u201cAs one of my favorite authors, Caitlin Moran says, \u2018All men aren\u2019t the patriarchy. Only a few select old bastards are making these rules.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The quote made some in the crowd laugh as Busic welcomed the next speaker, Christine Brice Nelson, who\u2019s a local mother and nonprofit professional.<\/p>\n

Nelson spoke about grief and the power of connection.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am pretty sure I\u2019m not feeling these things in isolation. I know a lot of you standing out here today are grieving something,\u201d said Nelson. \u201cA person, a leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA country,\u201d someone shouted.<\/p>\n

Grief, Nelson said, \u201ccan be softened through connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dolores Mayor Chris Holkestad spoke next and spoke quickly, as people in the audience shuffled to stay warm.<\/p>\n

\"Dolores
Dolores Mayor Chris Holkestad speaks at The People\u2019s March in Cortez on Jan. 18. (Aaron Lewis\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Holkestad emphasized the importance of community engagement, and started by acknowledging a few hecklers in the back of the crowd. Though we have differences in opinion, Holkestad said, thank you for being here and participating.<\/p>\n

Holkestad went on to talk about engagement via voting, and how in the past few elections, only 60% to 70% of eligible voters in the county voted.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs someone who has sat many nights in WildEdge and the Dolores River Brewery, I know that 100% of you have opinions on our community,\u201d Holkestad said.<\/p>\n

Elections, he said, aren\u2019t just about presidents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we vote, we allocate money for the police, fire, roads, schools, sewers, clean water, conservation and energy. Things that touch our daily lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Erin Schmitt, an OB\/GYN at Southwest Memorial Hospital until recently, was the last in the speaker series.<\/p>\n

Schmitt focused on access to affordable health care and reproductive rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a woman and as a doctor, I\u2019m passionate about reproductive health. But beyond the clinical aspect of my work, I believe that reproductive rights are fundamental human rights,\u201d Schmitt said.<\/p>\n

\"Regina
Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk, a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of Towaoc, sang a song to kick off The People\u2019s March in Cortez on Jan. 18<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In light of the cold weather, she cut her speech short and welcomed Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk, a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of Towaoc, to sing a song \u201cTo acknowledge all that\u2019s natural around us and one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then the march began.<\/p>\n

Carlos Somers, a local at the march, said he showed up because \u201cI can\u2019t be erased, my identity as a queer man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another marcher, Crystal Patterson, said her attendance was in the name of equality.<\/p>\n

\"Community
Community members march down Montezuma Ave. on Jan. 18 in The People\u2019s March in Cortez. (Aaron Lewis\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Community
Community members chant and march down Montezuma Ave. in The People\u2019s March in Cortez on Jan. 18. (Aaron Lewis\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"About
About 60 community members came out with homemade signs and flags and marched in The People\u2019s March on Jan. 18 in Cortez. (Aaron Lewis\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThe idea of equality only counts if you believe it for everyone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Marchers headed west on Montezuma and ended up at the Welcome Center, where they stood and waved signs for a little while, until the cold set in and everyone dispersed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m marching because the alternative is unthinkable,\u201d said T. Barnabas Kane. \u201cYou have to act, or be acted upon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cars drove by and some honked, waving peace signs and smiling at those marching.<\/p>\n

\u201cShow me what democracy looks like!\u201d a marcher yelled.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what democracy looks like!\u201d the masses replied.<\/p>\n

\"Marchers
Marchers in The People\u2019s March approach the Community Center in Cortez, where they stopped and waved flags and signs on Jan. 18. (Aaron Lewis\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

60 of the 150 registered marchers came out on Saturday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-23936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23936"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78330,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23936\/revisions\/78330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23936"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=23936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}