INTRODUCTION
Constellations of Place is a digital commons for Fort Lewis College’s 250/150 initiative—an evolving space that brings together exhibition content, student and faculty projects, place-based activities, and opportunities for reflection and dialogue. Rooted in Southwest Colorado and shaped by community collaboration, this site explores place as a lived experience carried in land, history, memory, and relationships. Visitors are invited to learn, reflect, create, and contribute as part of an ongoing conversation about belonging, responsibility, and the stories we carry forward together.
About the Initiative
America 250 – Colorado 150
The America 250 – Colorado 150 initiative marks two significant anniversaries in 2026: the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the 150th anniversary of Colorado’s entrance into the Union. As the Centennial State, Colorado is uniquely positioned to observe both milestones, referred to as our Sesquisemiquincentennial.
Across the state, these anniversaries are being approached as opportunities for reflection—moments to consider the complex histories that have shaped the places we live today and to imagine what a shared future might hold. As part of the Colorado 150 Southwest “Power of Place” initiative, Fort Lewis College is contributing to this statewide effort through a major exhibition titled Constellations of Place, along with a series of public programs, community conversations, and learning communities. Together, these initiatives are designed to foster dialogue, build skills for engaging across difference, support reconciliation, and cultivate deeper forms of belonging among students, faculty, staff, and community members.
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Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge the land that Fort Lewis College is situated upon is the ancestral land and territory of the Nuuchiu (Ute) people who were forcibly removed by the United States Government. We also acknowledge that this land is connected to the communal and ceremonial spaces of the Jicarilla Abache (Apache), Pueblos of New Mexico, Hopi Sinom (Hopi), and Diné (Navajo) Nations. It is important to acknowledge this setting because the narratives of the lands in this region have long been told from dominant perspectives, without full recognition of the original land stewards who continue to inhabit and connect with this land. Thank you for your attention and respect in acknowledging this important legacy.
Process and Practices
The Fort Lewis College 250/150 initiative is the result of long-term planning, listening, and collaboration that began in fall 2024 and will extend through 2027. Rather than a single event, the project unfolds as a multi-year process shaped by community input, ethical reflection, and sustained engagement across campus and the region.
Early phases of the project focused on outreach and consultation, including listening sessions with students, faculty, Tribal partners, and community stakeholders. These conversations helped shape questions around place, memory, and responsibility that guided the project’s exhibition, programming, and educational initiatives.
Project highlights include:
- Campus and community listening sessions that center diverse perspectives and lived experience.
- Development of shared guiding questions around place, belonging, and history.
- A major exhibition, Constellations of Place, on view throughout 2026.
- Public programming related to place, including talks, workshops, and community conversations that invite broad participation.
- Learning communities focused on dialogue and skill-building across difference.
- Faculty ambassadors and place-based classroom projects that integrate exhibition themes into teaching, research, and creative practice.
- Ongoing opportunities for public participation and reflection throughout 2026.
- A publicly accessible Open Educational Resource to be published in 2027, documenting insights, reflections, and lessons learned.
- A set of community-informed recommendations to Fort Lewis College leadership regarding permanent recognition of the College’s federal Indian boarding school history, to be shared in 2027.
Throughout the process, the initiative prioritizes ethical engagement, trauma-informed practices, co-creation with key stakeholders, and careful attention to power, voice, and accountability. The goal is not consensus, but capacity – the ability to hold complexity, to listen across difference, and to carry our diverse histories forward with care.
Partners & Collaborators
Fort Lewis College’s 250/150 initiative is a collaborative effort shaped by a number of individuals and organizations. Together, these partners help ensure the project reflects diverse perspectives, foregrounds Indigenous leadership, and remains accountable to the communities it serves.
Campus and Regional Partners
- Diversity Affairs Office, Fort Lewis College: Provides institutional leadership and support for belonging and equity work across campus. Supports reconciliation efforts and community-bridging initiatives connected to the College’s history as a federal Indian boarding school.
- Four Corners Bridging Institute (FCBI), Fort Lewis College: A new program to help our community bridge divides with evidence-based strategies that leads learning communities and assists with public programming, campus engagement, and project evaluation, with a focus on skill-building across difference.
- Center of Southwest Studies (CSWS), Fort Lewis College: Oversees exhibition development and assists with public programming, student engagement, and project evaluation.
- Colorado 150 Southwest: Supports regional coordination and outreach, situating the project within broader conversations about geography, climate, history, and culture.
This project would not have been possible without the insight and efforts of the CSWS Community Advisory Board, the CSWS Campus Advisory Committee, and Fort Lewis College faculty ambassadors, students, and staff whose contributions continue to shape the initiative.
Exhibition Collaborators
- Dr. Meranda Roberts (Yerington Paiute, Chicana): Guest curator, Constellations of Place
- Kevin Coochwytewa (Isleta Pueblo, Hopi): Graphic Designer, Constellations of Place
- Logan Roybal: Web designer and developer, Constellations of Place
Project Sponsors
This initiative is made possible through the generous support of philanthropic partners who recognize the importance of place-based reflection, reconciliation, and belonging.
- The Denver Foundation: Supports FLC’s 250/150 initiative through its commitment to community-driven work that strengthens connection, dialogue, and long-term well-being across Colorado.
- Belonging Colorado: An initiative of The Denver Foundation and developed in partnership with the Greater Good Science Center, Belonging Colorado provides support for projects that build connection across difference.
- Greater Good Science Center: Contributes research-based insights and frameworks focused on well-being, empathy, and the skills needed to foster a more compassionate and resilient society.
