One of the things I think that we are separated from is how you can look at art and then reinterpret it. It doesn't have to have the same narrative that it's had for years and years and years. And in the southwest, that that is a particularly hard narrative to push through because of how much the southwest is romanticized. And so I was like, let's give people the artwork that they already love, but teach them something new about it. You're watching the local news network brought to you by serious Texas barbecue and Tafoya, Barrett and Associates, P.C. We are in the center of Southwest Studies, where we are the Constellations of Place exhibition. So this exhibit is really important because it's a foundation for a lot of conversations that we're excited to have in 2026. It came together, weaving a lot of threads of discussion that were already happening in our community. So this is part of a broad state and national conversation. So 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the United States of America, as clocked by the Declaration of Independence and 150 years of Colorado statehood. And so a couple of years ago, we were approached at Fort Lewis College by some folks at the state and some local community members to think about how we might want to commemorate this important landmark. And so we started thinking, what is right for Fort Lewis College to have this conversation, given our history as a Federal Indian boarding school, given our mission as a Native American serving non-tribal institution, what seems like an appropriate fit for us to think about commemorating this important year with conversations about our home. it started by me coming here in the summer of last year, having community circles with community members in the city of Durango, as well as students here on campus, and experiencing the town myself, where basically I was just like, what story hasn't been told here before? And also what story needs to be told here? In regards to these anniversaries and especially, it's important to note that my family are boarding school survivors, and having that history in the back of my mind really made me, realize that the conversation that needed to be had was one where people understood the importance of the reverence that boarding schools deserve, the reverence that the history deserves. That it isn't a far distant past, that it's actually something that has impacted us for many generations, and that there's poetry and there's artwork that is out there that speaks to not just the grief that we feel as a people because of that, but also that speaks to the beauty and resilience of that. Folks may know that in 2021, the college took down placards that had some very misleading and harmful depictions of the federal Indian boarding school history of Fort Lewis College. But now there's a process with our Department of Reconciliation and Office of Diversity Affairs and Tribal Advisory Council, where they are working on a more transparent, respectful and true acknowledgment of this history. It's heavy topics. But we're not. There's no I don't feel like we're shaming anyone. I don't feel like we're we're trying to make anyone feel about like, I think that this is a space where people can kind of, like, maybe get some questions answered that they've wanted. You know, why is Native American different than, indigenous? And that kind of thing. we're hoping that people start conversations about this place that are new. That's like curiosity in them sometimes these histories and present realities can be difficult, are heavy, and it's important to acknowledge that and sit with it. But also it's important to talk about it. We can't let the heaviness be, a deterrent from having important conversations, because if we do that, then we suppress the conversation that we can't move on together to a more unified, respectful future. To learn more, Visit: swcenter.fortlewis.edu And for more stories like this, visit: durangolocal.news