Past Events

Refreshments: 5:00-6:00 PM

Author Discussion: 6:00-7:30 PM

Location: CSWS Lyceum (room 120)

Join five authors of articles in the Colorado 150 Southwest "Power of Place" Commemorative Magazine as they discuss the topics of SW Colorado's history and heritages.  This moderated panel will provide a chance for authors and the audience to take a deeper dive into the topics of the Dominguez-Escalante expedition, the Hayden Survey in Southwest Colorado, wildlife management in our corner of the state, the role of agriculture in the region, and contemporary Southern Ute woman leadership.

Featuring:

• Linda Baker (Southern Ute) - Native Women Leaders
• Pat Dorsey - Southwest Colorado’s Wildlife Management
• Robert McDaniel - Dominguez-Escalante Expedition
• Scott Perez - Agricultural Heritage

• John Peel - Hayden Survey

Come early and enjoy the Center's newest exhibit, Constellations of Place with light refreshments provided by the Colorado 150 SW group.

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 15 from 4:30 to 6:30 PM.

Live music provided by DJ Béeso (Kino Benally) and baked goods by Sweet N Cakey!

The Center of Southwest Studies (Center) at Fort Lewis College (FLC) is pleased to present Constellations of Place, a major exhibition rooted in the landscapes and layered histories of Southwest Colorado. Guest curated by scholar, writer, and independent curator, Dr. Meranda Roberts (Yerington Paiute, Chicana), Constellations of Place features a selection of over 60 textiles, pottery, beadwork, 2D works, and mixed media pieces from the Center’s permanent collections alongside the work of 13 invited contemporary Native American, Indigenous, and Latinx artists.

The exhibition runs from January 15–December 18, 2026

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: CSWS Lyceum

5:00 PM Reception and Hors ‘doeuvers

6:00 PM Film Screening & Remarks

Join the Center of Southwest Studies and Diné College for a free special screening of a recently released, unauthored documentary about influential contemporary Diné textile and fiber artist, sheepherder, and farmer Kevin Aspaas. 

Produced by Shane R. Hendren, Diné College's 2025 Mellon Foundation Artist-in-Resident Fellow, the film highlights Aspaas’ traditional practices and cultural artistry against the backdrop of ever-shifting environmental factors, such as water availability and running an agricultural enterprise. 

Location: Center of Southwest Studies Lyceum

Free and open to the public.

A modern-day crew of adventurers goes back in time to the age of the western outlaw seeking to find the ghosts of Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch by visiting their old haunts.  Along the way, they explore both the real and imagined lore of this age in hopes of understanding the allure such times continue to have on the American psyche. 

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.