Indigenous Policy Institute
The Reconciliation Department will launch an inaugural Indigenous Policy Institute in Spring 2026. The institute will use a cohort model and feature speakers, workshops, and training. We plan to bring in Indigenous policy leaders from academia, local/regional/federal government, tribal governments, and non-governmental advocacy organizations to teach students about advocacy at all levels.
Students will select a policy issue they care about, conduct research on the issue, then present on that issue at the Colorado state capital or other relevant policy venues to advocate for change in areas they care about. Students will be able to build relationships with policy leaders who have experience in Indigenous policy development, advocacy, research, and leadership.
Spring speaker series events:
February
Dr. Ramona Klein
Thursday, February 12th, 1 – 3 pm
Sitter Family Hall 710
Naomi Miguel & Sedelta Oosahwee
Thursday, February 19th, 1 – 2 pm
Sitter Family Hall 71
March
Alex Zhao & Dr. Elise Blasingame
Thursday, March 5th, 1 – 2 pm
Sitter Family Hall 710
Ernest House, Jr.
Thursday, March 26th, 1 – 2 pm
Jones 147
April
IPI Indigenous Leadership Summit
Friday, April 10th, Time TBD (afternoon, 1 – 4 pm)
Jones 147
Reconciliation & Policy Advisory Group
For true institutional change, FLC must evaluate and review existing institutional policies through a reconciliation lens. Since Fall 2025 the Reconciliation Department has started an advisory group of students to review institutional policies and procedures and make recommendations on existing and new institutional policies related to reconciliation. This Advisory Group will contribute to cultural change and experience hands-on learning for internal policy change.
Membership in this group is refreshed on a yearly basis.
Apply to the Reconciliation & Policy Advisory Group
Constellations of Place at The Center for Southwest Studies
The Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College 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 Meranda Roberts (Yerington Paiute, Chicana), Ph.D., Constellations of Place will feature a selection of over 60 textiles, pottery, beadwork, 2D works, and mixed media from the Center’s museum and archival collections alongside the work of 13 invited contemporary Native American, Indigenous, and Latinx artists.
Constellations of Place is a collaborative project between the Center of Southwest Studies, Reconciliation Department, and Four Corners Bridging Institute at Fort Lewis College, and the result of over a year of planning, listening sessions, and research.
Constellations of Place is made possible with generous support from the Belonging Colorado initiative of The Denver Foundation and the Greater Good Science Center.
The exhibition engages with Fort Lewis College’s broader reconciliation initiatives by honoring Indigenous knowledge, memory, and presence. It acknowledges the enduring impacts of settler colonialism and invites viewers to reckon with these histories. In doing so, it affirms the shared responsibility of reconciliation that calls for truth-telling, relationship-building, and collective transformation.
Learn more at the Center for Southwest Studies