Dumra/The Secret Garden 鈥� Commemorating the CIA-Tibet Training Program at Camp Hale, 1958-1964
Together with the Colorado Tibetan community, the Vail Symposium, and CU鈥檚 Department of Anthropology, the Tibet Himalaya Initiative is pleased to invite you to a special event this summer linked to Professor Carole McGranahan's longstanding research.聽On Sunday, June 9 at 12 noon, we will hold a memorial gathering at Camp Hale National Monument in Colorado. This event is to commemorate the CIA-Tibet training camp which operated at Camp Hale from 1958-1964. The Tibetan men who trained there were members of the Chushi Gangdrug army, a citizens鈥� army formed to defend the Dalai Lama, Tibet, and Buddhism against the Chinese People鈥檚 Liberation Army. The CIA offered training and support to the Tibetan resistance, including this secret project at Camp Hale. The CIA officers called the training camp 鈥淭he Ranch.鈥� The Tibetan soldiers called it 鈥淒umra,鈥� meaning garden. The event is free and open to the public.
Co-Sponsors for the event are Polar Star Properties, 10th聽Mountain Whiskey, and from the University of Colorado: The College of Arts and Sciences, the Departments of Communication, Ethnic Studies, Geography, History, Linguistics, Religious Studies, and Sociology, the Center for the American West, the Center for Asian Studies, the Institute for Behavior Science, and the Museum of Natural History.
Additionally, on Friday, June 7 at the Vail Symposium, Professor McGranahan, India-based filmmakers Tenzing Sonam and Ritu Sarin, and retired CIA officer Bruce Walker will present a research talk 聽about the secret CIA training camp for Tibetan resistance soldiers at Camp Hale that operated from 1958-1964. This presentation is the basis for a book they are co-authoring about Camp Hale鈥檚 Tibetan history.聽Their presentation will be live-streamed, and tickets are free for webinar access.聽