[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6184260,"mediaKeyId","5091712-043ad3d955d3c58ab436c8f66cd095d5","parentId",5091712,"title","Cheyenne Frontier Days Foundation previews Morning Star Indian Village; opening planned for 2026","audioSeconds",1082,"startMs",3337000,"endMs",4419000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5091712-043ad3d955d3c58ab436c8f66cd095d5&start=3337&end=4419","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5091712-043ad3d955d3c58ab436c8f66cd095d5/thumbnail_3337000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6184260/Cheyenne/Laramie-County/Wyoming/Cheyenne-Frontier-Days-Foundation-previews-Morning-Star-Indian-Village-opening-planned-for-2026","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6184260-e769e5b1ed5282a6b528e180f2cff8a6/orig.mp4?Expires=1771168332&Signature=KymDgzHAI6rqCJHBkmed1fKrYXNtWnYCohnAUv79~Zm99P3IuLQiRMvMdF3ycjfo9eJDU9ttneLtloxaIPu51FbEqlP0eIun6GiD0WMI2pQHhGrb7x4AeLoO9P9JlubMMkZzo6MkWLlcHcOGuBaSayxXrgxA0sd4r0cwFIKvHvOz1~dCQtloNMdPTPBIWsPGKTHGCrVHlfgLhbynvPP1lkhFOs~kIb0RO-JhFRH9MkGR1C3HhVzALn5PjwRRbPKhmWrdxGR0~KE8BJDF0ViJO9Uj4pwHgU1atMes5jM7h9TxOOfooPt~07eLwE-ImzCGByYblbOAJWOLTp5XkyNALw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Cheyenne WY","date","2025-06-27T17:59:51Z","article","Cheyenne Frontier Days Foundation and park leaders presented plans for Morning Star Indian Village, a new interpretive and performance area intended to honor Plains tribes and expand educational access beyond the 10-day festival.

Affie Ellis, a Cheyenne resident and foundation board member, told the council the project grew from volunteers’ observations about existing conditions in the Indian village—insufficient shade, inadequate restroom and vendor facilities, poor drainage because the village sits at the lowest part of the park, and limited ADA accessibility. Ellis said donors encouraged the group to \"dream bigger\" and that organizers worked with dancers and volunteers to identify priorities.

Renee Middleton, executive director of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Foundation, said Morning Star Indian Village will be \"a one-of-a-kind living experience honoring the tribes of the American Plains\" and described features organizers plan to build: a Sunken Dance Arbor terraced and shaded to seat up to 800 guests for dance demonstrations and interpretive programming; vendor booths for authentic crafts; commissioned murals and interpretive signage; an herb garden highlighting native plants and their traditional uses; and three stages for music, oral histories and demonstrations. Middleton said the village will include QR codes to provide oral histories and videos and that volunteers and staff are digitizing archival oral-history recordings for the project.

Tom Hersey, CEO of Cheyenne Frontier Days, said the foundation has located the new village adjacent to the Cheyenne Frontier Days Museum to create a cultural center year-round. He told the council the project \"is gonna be a big feather in the cap for Cheyenne, Wyoming\" and said construction will pause during the annual show and resume afterward. Organizers said the new village is planned to open for the 2026 season.

Tribal consultation and cultural oversight: Middleton and other organizers said they created an education committee, hired tribal cultural consultants and have sought tribal input. Middleton said the project has worked closely with the two Wyoming tribes and tribal members who could participate, and that consultants with tribal expertise and dancers were directly engaged to ensure cultural appropriateness. \"We have really focused closely with the two tribes located in Wyoming,\" Middleton said, adding organizers \"have made every effort to make sure that we have reached out particularly to our tribes and their involvement.\"

Year-round programming and interpretation: presenters said many interpretive elements—the herb garden, murals, plaque text and QR-linked oral histories—are intended to support off-season visitation and school programming. Project leaders said oral-history cassette recordings (organizers cited more than 200 tapes) are being digitized so visitors can access elder narratives via QR codes. The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens will contribute expertise on native plants and the herb garden, the presenters said.

Construction impacts and logistics: presenters told the council construction for the new facility has already begun and that building the new village will reduce available on-site parking. Tom Hersey estimated the project will eliminate about 250 parking spaces during construction; organizers said they will encourage use of Park & Ride shuttles and other parking options during the festival to reduce pressure. The existing Indian village will be demolished after this year’s show; presenters said parts of the site will be reworked to recapture parking and improve ingress/egress.

Other details: presenters said the project includes improved vendor facilities and accessibility features, and that the volunteer statue has been relocated and that the \"dream catcher\" sculpture will be part of the new village. Councilmembers asked specifically whether all eight Plains tribes referenced in the project's narrative had been involved; Middleton said outreach focused most intensively on the two Wyoming tribes and that the education committee and cultural consultants were advising the project.

Next steps: presenters said construction will continue after the upcoming show and that they will continue outreach and education planning. Organizers described the overall intention as both preserving cultural traditions and creating an educational site that can be used beyond the festival days for school groups and off-season visitors.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Work Session - 06-27-25 -City Re Branding & CFD Indian Village Presentation","oneSentenceSummary","Cheyenne Frontier Days Foundation and park leaders presented plans for Morning Star Indian Village, a new interpretive and performance area intended to honor Plains tribes and expand educational access beyond the 10-day festival.","taxTitle","Cheyenne, Laramie County, Wyoming","taxId",4607,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6184265,"City of Cheyenne updates council on rebranding project; consultants, funding and rollout timeline discussed",3214,11000,3225000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5091712-043ad3d955d3c58ab436c8f66cd095d5&start=11&end=3225","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5091712-043ad3d955d3c58ab436c8f66cd095d5/thumbnail_11000.jpg","/articles/6184265/Cheyenne/Laramie-County/Wyoming/City-of-Cheyenne-updates-council-on-rebranding-project-consultants-funding-and-rollout-timeline-discussed","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6184265-fd8722a87d8bb5db5f0135e335110dab/orig.mp4?Expires=1771168332&Signature=cAf2bBPqrzXuKzEFd3FfSnXA6zW3CrVCQDiahVRtpjNzQKwJ-8b0SZJrS6dUAIJ-hONEb2yUTJgNxNQFeeYFFjmNZ5MXweFV8xjlymyewYSoYoIbRIrQUouBIeM46MYbS~G7ZUdNrAdcg-0YSQlfxgOrBVa6F-mUKdXNrG8jOxCNEdcSr45tpFXRdYoT1HEkrTsTs6YCVNKnKcFP3aer9jgYbSEESRWhblVvRq2SxC9dIoOMiIEossEUbucUxEmpGZMz6NQ~qmiIOf19ySogORD4kyu30eiBwynpoaSKVi18G6WExhJSXw5YTUS5Xu3WeDhMYu0q3obZO~uWexd5JQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City of Cheyenne officials and outside consultants provided a progress update on a citywide rebranding project at a City Council work session, outlining deliverables, funding and next steps.

The consultants said the project will yield a new logo, department sub-logos, a brand style guide, templates and an implementation plan. Matt Murphy, the city’s public information officer, said Guide Studio and y2 Consultants won the contract after an RFP and selection process that reviewed 22 proposals and that the work was paid for from interest earned on ARPA funds. \"The city doesn't have any existing branding or brand standards,\" Murphy said, describing the need for consistency across departmental materials.

City staff and consultants said the rebrand is meant to make city communications more legible and consistent, strengthen public trust and improve the city’s outward image for economic development. Brian Evans, brand strategist for Guide Studio, said the vendor has worked on municipal place brands in multiple states and that the firm’s approach includes stakeholder engagement and implementation support. Gina Gerken, director of brand at Guide Studio, described the brand as both visual assets and an embodiment of the city’s messages and service approach: \"It's the logo. It's the color palette. It is. But it's really an embodiment of all the information connected to your place and serves to create associations and expectations around it.\"

Consultants summarized work completed so far: a discovery and research phase including a multi-day site visit, workshops with a steering committee, department head meetings, and a public perception survey that had 892 respondents (the team said 82% were residents and that over half had lived in Cheyenne for 15 years or more). The team said they are now in the design refinement phase and have workshops planned the following week to finalize the brand implementation plan. Murphy said the team is \"eyeing a brand rollout probably in September,\" though he added timing was still to be determined.

Funding and scope: Murphy told the council that the project cost was covered from interest earned on ARPA funds while the grant money was in the bank and that the city expects the brand to be a long-lived asset: \"we're planning to use this for about 10 years or more, before we even start looking at a refresh.\" Council members pressed staff on conversion costs for replacing printed materials, signage and vehicle wraps and on whether the logo and marks would be trademarked. Murphy said trademark questions would likely run through the city clerk's office; one councilmember observed the municipal code (municipal code 1.08 was mentioned during the discussion) could affect whether certain actions require council action.

Discussion vs. decisions: presenters said the procurement and selection were completed administratively and that the immediate work is design refinement and implementation planning. Councilmembers asked for cost estimates and whether the full rollout would be done all at once or phased. Several members noted that visual elements \"date\" over time and asked how the consultants accounted for continuity; Guide Studio said colors and motifs are being drawn from local materials and landmarks to increase longevity and authenticity.

Deliverables and next steps: Guide Studio listed expected outputs—logo files, icon sets, color palettes, textures/patterns, department sub-logos (with some established program brands to be retained), a brand style guide, templates and training for department staff. The consultants emphasized training department heads so the materials are used consistently and not simply delivered as a book. \"We do training with your department heads to make sure they understand the brand style guide,\" Gerken said.

Questions and concerns raised by councilmembers included whether the final designs and trademark registration would require formal council approval, the total cost of replacing physical assets, and how the brand would balance historic character and a modernized look. Consultants said the positioning and messaging work will be used as an internal \"north star\" for decisions and that more detailed financial planning for rollout costs will be part of implementation planning.

The presentation closed with staff and consultants planning additional workshops and a return to the steering committee and council for further input before a public rollout. \"If you'd like to see an example of that from other communities, I'm happy to show that,\" Murphy said, noting communities such as Sheridan, Casper and Laramie had undertaken similar processes.","City of Cheyenne officials and outside consultants provided a progress update on a citywide rebranding project at a City Council work session, outlining deliverables, funding and next steps.","actionData","errors"]

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Cheyenne Frontier Days Foundation previews Morning Star Indian Village; opening planned for 2026

City of Cheyenne updates council on rebranding project; consultants, funding and rollout timeline discussed