A memorial service for Ben Nighthorse Campbell, the groundbreaking Native American U.S. senator from Colorado, will be held next week, just over three months after his death.
Campbell, who died in December at age 92, spent much of his life as a prominent figure and regular newsmaker in Southwest Colorado. His work, both as a citizen and a politician, had far-reaching impacts on the people, places and institutions he touched throughout the Four Corners and nationally.
Born in Auburn, California, Campbell, who was one of 44 chiefs of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, became known for his Indigenous advocacy; his legislative record; his influence on public lands, water rights and infrastructure; his award-winning jewelry and art pieces; his success in Olympic judo; and his service in the Korean War, among a range of other impacts.
A memorial service will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday at the Sky Ute Casino Event Center in Ignacio. The event will be livestreamed on The Durango Herald’s website at durangoherald.com, technology permitting.
Here’s a look at some of Campbell’s many accomplishments and his lasting impacts.
Campbell learned to make jewelry from silver coins flattened on railroad tracks while living in an orphanage in his younger years. He would trade his handmade wares for food and supplies, according to the American Indian College Fund.
He carried that talent and know-how throughout his life, winning more than 200 awards for his art pieces and working with a range of prominent galleries, including Durango’s Toh-Atin Gallery and Sorrel Sky Gallery.
To Campbell, his creations were “an extension of what the creator wills,” according to Sorrel Sky’s biography page.
His art pieces – all of which are stamped with the “Morning Star,” a prominent Native American Cheyenne symbol – feature influences from Asian culture, which he picked up from his time living in Tokyo.
His art pieces often feature depictions of horses, which serve as a nod to his and his wife’s background as champion horse trainers and the Native American belief that a person can inherit some of an animal's virtues by wearing an image of it, the Sorrel Sky Gallery website described.
Gallery Manager Masha Halavach, who knew and worked with Campbell for over a decade, said she has watched people travel from across the country to see his jewelry and “exchange a few words with him.”
Campbell dropped out of Placer High School in 1951 to join the U.S. Air Force, where he was stationed in Korea as an air policeman.
By the time he left the force in 1953, he held the rank of Airman Second Class, and walked away with the Korean Service Medal and the Air Medal.
He obtained his GED while in the Air Force and used his G.I. Bill to attend San Jose State University when he was discharged. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education and Fine Arts.
Campbell and wife Linda were known as renowned breeders and trainers of champion quarter horses out of their Ignacio ranch.
Sorrel Sky Gallery described Campbell as someone who “understood horses from multiple perspectives: as a breeder, a rider, a cultural symbol, and a subject for artistic exploration.”
Campbell was a controversial figure in the political realm. He first was elected to the U.S. House in 1986 and twice reelected. He was later elected to the U.S. Senate as a member of the Democratic Party. Two years into his term, he switched party affiliation following disputes over a lack of fiscal restraint exhibited in Democratic Party’s policies.
It drew criticism from Democratic Party members. Criticism of Campbell was also laundered by environmental organizations over his support for the Animas-La Plata Project.
An ad campaign he modeled for with Banana Republic never ran after environmentalists across the nation, led by Georgetown Law Professor Jonathan Turley, threatened to boycott the company.
“Here’s the thing – I think it’s fair for people to say that Ben may have had positions they don’t agree with,” said Jack Turner, a friend of the family. “I didn’t agree with all his positions – but I find it really disheartening if I hear that people didn’t like him as a person. He was a good person.”
As a U.S. senator, Campbell introduced the first draft of the legislation that would go on to create the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. The museum now acts as steward to 800,000 items from Indigenous cultures across the Western Hemisphere.
In an interview with the museum a year before his death, Campbell said, “If I ever wanted to be remembered for one single thing above all others, it would be that museum – because I am a firm believer that you can’t have a good future unless you learn from the past.”
The Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, originally called the Iron Horse Motorcycle Rally, was founded in the early 1990s by Campbell, along with wife Linda and Mike Lovato. The event, which originally took place in Ignacio before moving to Durango, is said to be the longest-running motorcycle rally in Colorado.
Chip Lile, current organizer and co-owner of the Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, said Campbell helped dispel the stigma surrounding motorcyclists and created a major economic driver for Southwest Colorado.
“One of his main objectives (with the rally) was really to dispel that stigma,” he said. “... In his career as a politician, he rode his Harley-Davidson to the White House and to the Capitol, as a senator, on a regular basis. He was a big advocate of the motorcycle community, and specifically showing that it’s really a strong (group) of people who are part of our community. ... Back in those days, it wasn’t really a popular kind of event to do. ... And within a few years, it was probably the biggest event we’ve ever had in Southwest Colorado.”
Campbell took up judo during his time at San Jose State University in the 1950s, later going on to continue his training at Meiji University in Japan.
He was a three-time U.S. National Judo Champion between 1961 and 1963, and the first Native American on the team. He also won a gold medal in the open class at the 1963 Pan American Games and in 1974 wrote “Championship Judo: Drill Training.” He later coached the U.S. National Judo Team, operated his own dojo in Sacramento, California, and taught high school physical education.
“Senator Campbell’s enduring legacy of independence, leadership, and commitment to others will be remembered with deep respect and gratitude,” USA Judo wrote in December in a statement on his death.
He later donated his Olympic flag from the Tokyo Olympics to Purgatory Resort in the 1990s, where it hung in a hotel lobby for years, Turner said.
Campbell “reveled” in being the only U.S. senator to hold a commercial driver’s license, said Greg Fulton, president of the Colorado Motor Carriers Association and a friend of Campbell’s.
Fulton discussed Campbell’s truck-driving impact in an opinion piece published in Colorado Politics in January.
“For Ben, the CDL was a link to his past and also sent the message that he was a regular guy,” Fulton wrote.
Using his CDL, Campbell famously drove the Capitol Christmas tree from Colorado to Washington, D.C., in 2005.
Just before setting off on the 10-day, 2,000 mile trip to deliver the Christmas tree, Campbell delivered an iconic message over the Citizens Band radio, Fulton wrote.
“Breaker break, you truckers have your ears on?” Campbell reportedly said. “What’s your 10-20? This is Nighthorse and Santa Claus and 20 elves delivering a Christmas tree to Washington, D.C., and we’ve got a convoy.”
Fort Lewis College spokeswoman Nardy Bickel, speaking on behalf of the college, said Campbell’s contributions to FLC “influenced generations of Indigenous leaders, artists, and scholars.”
“Through his leadership in Congress, he helped secure funding for the Campbell Childcare Center, which continues to benefit students today,” she said. “As a part-time art instructor, he shared his acclaimed work as an Indigenous jeweler with students. He donated his congressional papers and artwork to the Center of Southwest Studies, strengthening the College’s academic, cultural and community legacy.”
Lake Nighthorse, developed in 2011 as part of the Animas-La Plata Water Project, was named in honor of Campbell and his work on the project.
Cathy Metz, who was the parks and recreation director during construction of the Animas-La Plata Project, said Campbell brokered much of the project.
“Water rights are often very complicated, and there’s a lot of different (possible) outcomes, and he did a great job of doing what was necessary in Washington to allow the project to move forward, with funding,” she said. “I know that the community now realizes that it’s such a jewel in the community, to be able to recreate at Lake Nighthorse. Certainly, there was a lot of work done by Ben Nighthorse Campbell.”
The Animas La Plata Project was in many ways, the crowning achievement of Campbell’s time in Congress. The completed project fulfilled long-standing promises from the U.S. government to grant the Ute Mountain Ute and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe senior water rights by diverting water from the Animas River into Lake Nighthorse.
Approval and funding for the project stalled many times in the House and the Senate, and received strong pushback from environmental groups and fiscal conservatives. It’s approval was in large part due to Campbell as the public figurehead promoting it.
“It was Ben who went on the Senate floor and sold it to the U.S. Senate and got the vote,” said Christine Arbogast, who worked with Campbell as an A-LP lobbyist. “I thought at the time I would never forget this moment. It was remarkable, and it was because of how well he told the story.”
Campbell was a respected friend, neighbor and advocate for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Chairman Melvin Baker said in a written statement to the Herald.
He was “instrumental” in the passage of the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000, which finalized the water rights for the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes and was a “strong champion” of the A-LP, Baker said.
“In 2025, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe began accessing water from Lake Nighthorse – a historic milestone for Tribal water rights in southwestern Colorado and the realization of a vision Senator Campbell and the Tribe worked together for many years,” Baker said.
He also worked as the first general manager of Sky Ute Downs, the Southern Ute Tribe’s indoor arena that serves as a venue for events such as the annual Southern Ute Tribal Fair and Powwow, rodeos, and horse and cattle shows, Baker said.
Through this work, Campbell helped engage tribal members and the surrounding community in ranching and horsemanship, and contributed to the strengthening of cultural connections and shared traditions, Baker said.
During his time in Congress, Campbell was responsible for the passage of legislation that championed Native American history as a critical component of American history as a whole.
It was Campbell who introduced and shepherded the protection and commemoration of the area where about 700 Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho were slaughtered at the hands of the U.S. Cavalry. In 2000, Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site was authorized as a part of the National Park System by Congress in 2000.
He successfully changed the name of Custer Battlefield Monument in Montana to Little Bighorn Battlefield.
Campbell earmarked $60,000 in Federal funding for the electrical work for the San Juan County Historical Museum and personally donated $50,000 to the Blair Street Historic District Association for various infrastructure improvements.
As a senator, Campbell was closely involved in securing $4 million in federal funds to build an air tanker base at the Durango-La Plata County Airport. The base has been an integral component of wildfire containment efforts across Southwest Colorado since it’s creation.
Without the investment, the U.S. Forest Service would not have the capability to protect lives, property and critical infrastructures as quickly and effectively as they do today, said Mike Bryson, Durango Airtanker Base Manager, in a written statement to The Durango Herald.
“It is instrumental in providing support for firefighters on the ground suppressing wildfires,” Bryson said. “The quick turnaround of air tankers carrying retardant has proven critical for stopping urban-interface fires that have threatened our communities.”
Campbell supported the creation of a National Fire Plan, and advocated for it’s implementation in Colorado.
Campbell presided over a 2002 congressional hearing before the Committee on Energy and National Resources, where his opening statements highlighted the threat of wildfire as one that is rapidly increasing, and transcends state boundaries.
“We need to continue to prioritize the fire, the mechanism which provide funds to fight fires from the congressional level, but clearly, we don’t seem to be able to prevent them, we seem to be getting worse every year,” he said in his opening statement.
He was a steward of modern fire mitigation techniques like forest thinning and promoted the implementation of those nationwide. He cosigned a concurrent resolution with the Western Governors who had developed a collaborative 10-year strategy for reducing wildlife fire risk to communities and the environment, pushing Congress to provide more support for proactive approaches.
Celebration of life livestream
A celebration of life for former U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Ignacio will be held Monday at the Sky Ute Casino Event Center in Ignacio. Doors for the pre-ceremony will open at noon, and the ceremony will run from 1 to 3 p.m., followed by a reception.
The ceremony will be livestreamed on The Durango Herald’s homepage at www.durangoherald.com.
epond@durangoherald.com, jbowman@durangoherald.com
