Past Events

Location: Center of Southwest Studies Main Gallery

Free and Open to the Public

The Center of Southwest Studies (the Center) will host readings by Fort Lewis College students in the Native American & Indigenous Studies Diné Poetics course. Under the mentorship of FLC faculty member and 2025–26 Center Teaching Fellow Dr. Shaina Nez (Táchii’nii born for Áshįįhi), students will share original poems and creative works inspired by their learning and in response to objects featured in the Center’s current exhibitions.

Location: Center of Southwest Studies Main Gallery

Free and Open to the Public

The Center of Southwest Studies is excited to host an immersive workshop exploring connections between sound, music, and the land with Diné musician Kino Benally (@djbeeso). Participants will learn how Kino creates music using software like Ableton, then step outside to discover sounds in the environment—anything from rustling leaves to striking stones. Each participant will contribute a unique sound, which Kino will record and mix into a collaborative song created during the workshop.

Attendees are encouraged to bring an instrument or any objects that create sound!

Location: Center of Southwest Studies Main Gallery

Free and Open to the Public

The Center of Southwest Studies is hosting a talk with Diné weaver and educator Venancio Aragón, who curated From the Fringes: Diné Textiles that Disrupt, currently on view at the Center through November 13. Join us for an insightful presentation and guided tour of the gallery to learn about the innovative techniques featured in the historic and contemporary textiles on display. Also, check out the most recent feature on From the Fringes in Durango Local News!

This artist talk and the exhibition From the Fringes: Diné Textiles that Disrupt are supported by a Folk and Traditional Arts Project Grant from Colorado Creative Industries.

Center of Southwest Studies Lyceum 

Free and open to the public

The Center of Southwest Studies welcomes award-winning author and journalist Zak Podmore, who will present on the history of the Bureau of Reclamation, a populist project that became central to the New Deal's public power programs in the 1930s. Drawing from his latest book, Life After Dead Pool: Lake Powell's Last Days and the Rebirth of the Colorado River, Podmore will cover the controversial construction of the Glen Canyon Dam in the early 1960s before bringing the historical narrative up to the present moment.

Location: Center of Southwest Studies Lyceum

Free and open to the public. Light breakfast provided. 

Join us for breakfast and a conversation with Dr. Elena Carrara, Associate Research Curator with The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s (The Met’s) Department of Scientific Research. Her talk explores how scientific analysis deepens our understanding of museum collections, revealing hidden histories and shaping new narratives. An open discussion will follow.

This public event kicks off a multi-day collaboration between The Met’s Department of Scientific Research, the Center of Southwest Studies, and Fort Lewis College’s Chemistry Department as part of The Met’s Scientific Research Partnerships program. Funded by generous grants from the Mellon Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, this initiative was designed to explore materials and techniques used in art across cultures and time to deepen understanding, appreciation, and preservation of museum collections. From June 30-July 2, we will conduct non-invasive XRF analysis on textiles from the Center’s collections, laying the groundwork for future student research and ongoing interdisciplinary collaboration.

Location: Durango Public Library - Community Room #1

Lunch provided thanks to a generous grant from the Denver Foundation.

Please join us for a listening session with Dr. Meranda Roberts, guest curator of an upcoming exhibition titled Cartographies of Belonging that will open in January 2026 at the Center of Southwest Studies.

Location: Center of Southwest Studies Gallery

Free and open to the public

Join us in celebrating the summer solstice on Saturday, June 21. At the dawn of the solstice, a spiral of sunlight from the Center's solstice window makes its way across the gallery walls. Arrive early to ensure you don't miss the impressive display. Light refreshments will be provided.

Center of Southwest Studies Exhibition Gallery 

Free and open to the public (early arrival is suggested to secure a seat).

The Department of Native American & Indigenous Studies (NAIS) at Fort Lewis College will hold its inaugural fashion showcase in the Center of Southwest Studies Exhibition Gallery, highlighting wearable creations made by students in the semester-long course Native American Art & Culture, co-taught by Esther Belin (Diné) and Dr. Majel Boxer (Sisseton and Wahpeton Dakota, Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Reservation). 

Location: CSWS Lyceum

Free and open to the public

The Center of Southwest Studies will host a special presentation, 100 Years of Silence: The Aniknuche Incarceration, covering the so-called “Posey War” of 1923 that impacted and displaced Ute and Paiute communities across San Juan County, Utah.  Special guests, Shaun Ketchum, Jr. (Paiute and Ute Mountain Ute), director of the 100 Years of Silence project and direct descendent of William Posey, along with author and environmental and public historian Jedidiah Rogers, PhD, will explore this powerful, largely untold chapter of American history—one that forces us to rethink what we know about “the Last Indian War” and the resilience of a people who refused to disappear. In this centennial year, voices silenced for too long are finally being heard.

Location: Center of Southwest Studies Lyceum

Light Refreshments Provided

Join us for an evening of reflection and storytelling as we honor the remarkable legacy of Dr. Duane Smith at Fort Lewis College.

A beloved professor, historian, and prolific author, Duane Smith left an indelible mark on students, colleagues, and the broader community. His passion for history, quick wit, and dedication to teaching shaped generations of students and brought Colorado’s past to life through more than 50 books and countless lectures.

This special event will feature a panel of colleagues and friends sharing personal remembrances, followed by an open forum where attendees are invited to share their own stories. We welcome all who knew Duane or were touched by his work to join us in celebrating his life and contributions.

This event was made possible through a generous gift from Al Harper.