History Live! Events

2024 Calendar of Events

Presented by Southwest Colorado Humanities Roundtable and  Fort Lewis College Lifelong Learning
Location: 130 Noble Hall, Fort Lewis College
Contact: Shelley Walchak, 303.941.4012, [email protected]

Before ethnology was a scientific discipline, Lewis and Clark collected stories, songs, and artifacts from the dozens of distinct cultures they encountered in their journey west. They kept detailed notes on tribal customs and collected vocabulary to create a rough outline of a dictionary of Indian Languages. In this dynamic performance, Fox shares both folklore and true history from the American Indians met along the way. The audience sees something of the transformation of the Corps of Discovery as they adapted to Native American life ways and they hear about life before the white man came. Not once, but several times, the journey would have failed if not for the kindness of Native Americans.

Presented by Southwest Colorado Humanities Roundtable
Location: 130 Noble Hall, Fort Lewis College
Contact: Shelley Walchak, 303.941.4012, [email protected]

Meet America’s pre-eminent poet as he shares the story of his life intermingled with the poems we have all grown to love. Hear eloquent selections from “Leaves of Grass,” and his philosophy of free verse. Listen to tales of the Civil War in poetry from “Drum Taps.” Celebrate the life of Abraham Lincoln in his eulogy “Oh, Captain, My Captain.” Few poets have transformed poetry or captured the voice of America like Walt Whitman. Come, take my hand, spend an evening immersed in the mystical delight of the old gray bearded poet.

Presented by San Juan Basin Archaeology Society
Location: Center of Southwest Studies Lyceum, 1000 Rim Dr., Fort Lewis College
Contact: Janice C. Sheftel, [email protected]

Textiles are the signature artform of the Diné Nation. From humble utilitarian origins, Navajo weavings continue to evolve and change along with their culture and identity. For the Navajo People, textiles serve as vessels for the transmission of cultural, historical, and ecological knowledge. Venancio Aragon is a Navajo textile artist from the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. Aragon will reflect on the history of Navajo textiles and how his interest in the artform led him down a path of rediscovery and preservation.

“My story as a Diné weaver is not one of an unbroken continuity of tradition, rather it’s a tale of revitalization and preservation of something that was nearly lost within my family.” – Venancio Aragon

Presented by Fort Lewis College Lifelong Learning
Location: 130 Noble Hall, Fort Lewis College
Contact: Gary Rottman, 303.562.4501, [email protected]

On Nov. 29, 1884, soldiers from the 1st and 3rd Colorado Regiments led by Colonel John Chivington attacked a peaceful village of Arapahos and Cheyennes camped along the banks of Sand Creek in southeastern Colorado Territory. In 2007, the National Park Service opened its 391st unit: The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. University of California, Davis History Professor and author Ari Kelman, Ph.D. will discuss a century and a half of struggles over the memory of the event from the immediate aftermath through to the opening of the Historic Site.

Presented by Maria’s Bookshop
Location: Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave
Contact: Mary Schwartz 970-247-1438 ex. 16

Established in 1874 as an agricultural lifeline, La Plata County, Colorado, has played many roles.  European Americans were drawn to the region by the promise of mineral wealth and the mining industry. Agriculture, smelting, transportation, and commerce grew to offer support. As the county matured, its Old West features were discovered, and it was dubbed “Hollywood of the Rockies” when movies were filmed there from the 1940s to the 1960s with notable stars such as Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman, and Robert Redford. The 20th century brought energy extraction and commercial growth, but as the recreational opportunities in the region started to be discovered, La Plata County became a destination for outdoor pursuits. The county has 14,000-foot peaks, rivers, and hundreds of miles of hiking, biking, and ski trails. Today, tourism and recreation drive the economy much as the mining industry once did.

Within these pages, historical photographs from the archives of the La Plata County Historical Society illustrate the many facets of this Colorado county. Edward Anthony Horvat is a third-generation La Plata County native; his grandparents all came to the county between 1905 and 1911. A retired nurse-paramedic, Horvat volunteers at the historical society’s Animas Museum and writes the weekly And the West Is History feature in the Durango Herald newspaper.

Presented by The Center of Southwest Studies, Fort Lewis College
Location: Center of Southwest Studies Lyceum, 1000 Rim, Fort Lewis College
Contact: Cory Pillen, [email protected]

Join us for “150 Years of La Plata County History from 1874 to the Present,” a presentation by Dr. Andrew Gulliford.

Presented by Fort Lewis College Lifelong Learning
Location: 130 Noble Hall, Fort Lewis College
Contact: Gary Rottman, 303.562.4501, [email protected]

Local historian Charles DiFerdinando will fill in the early history of the original Fort Lewis, a United States Military Post in Southwest Colorado which had more than one location and long before it passed on its historic name to Fort Lewis College. Among other topics, DiFerdinando will discuss the creation of the Post, the colorful saga of the Buffalo Soldiers, and the move to the La Plata River.

Presented by The Animas Museum & La Plata County Historical Society
Location: Animas Museum
Contact: Animas Museum, 970.259.2402 or [email protected]

Celebrating 120 years of the Animas City School with a reunion for former students, an open house for educators, and various programs and crafts for kids of all ages.

Presented by The Powerhouse
Location: The Powerhouse
Contact: Heather Brookshier, [email protected]

Join us for presentations about the restoration of the building by the original team responsible for saving it, a brief history presentation about the historical importance of the power plant, and a slideshow of high quality photographs of the Powerhouse throughout its lifespan, as well as a separate kid-friendly presentation and activity for kids 5-11 years old.

Presented by Pine River Library
Location: Pine River Library
Contact: Joanna Lee, [email protected]

Longtime Ignacio resident Johnny Taylor Valdez is an expert on Southern Ute history and a descendant of Ute tribal leader Kitty Cloud  and John Taylor — a former enslaved person who served in the Civil War and went on to become a local Buffalo Soldier, land owner and Tribal interpreter. Come hear the rich stories of his family’s deep roots in the local area.

Presented by Fort Lewis College Lifelong Learning
Location: 130 Noble Hall, Fort Lewis College
Contact: Gary Rottman, 303.562.4501, [email protected]

The visual template of our era, the Selfie, has spearheaded a golden age of photography. Arts journalist Judith Reynolds will examine the phenomena and ask: When did self-portraiture emerge as a genre in art history? What can the colorful history of the form reveal about self-concepts through time? What can the Selfie tell us about American individualism?