Heather Shotton, Fort Lewis College’s first Native American president, was honored last week on campus in a formal investiture ceremony featuring Indigenous ceremonial practices, words from college officials and reflections on the college’s past and future.
Shotton, an enrolled citizen of the Wichita & Affiliated Tribes and a descendant of the Kiowa and Cheyenne Tribes, became the college’s 11th president July 1.
An investiture is an academic tradition that formally acknowledges a new university president. The practice, which originates from the Latin verb “investīre,” meaning “cover,” “clothe” or “surround,” symbolized “the trust placed in a president by the institution, its governing board, and the broader community,” according to the college.
Shotton’s investiture, which took place in Whalen Gymnasium, acknowledged Fort Lewis College’s designation and mission as a Native American‑Serving, Non‑Tribal Institution and its history as a former federal Indian boarding school, a release from the college said.
The ceremony included a blessing from Cheyenne Peace Chief Gordon Yellowman, a presentation of flags from the Kiowa Black Leggings Warrior Society and a performance by the Otoe‑Missouria Singers.
Shotton was given a lei, a sacred tradition in Native Hawaiian culture representing relationship, respect and love, and wrapped in a blanket, which the college said was a symbol of honor that “offer(ed) warmth, protection and strength for the journey ahead.”
She was also presented with the presidential medallion, “symbolizing the authority and trust of the office,” and formally charged with the responsibilities of the presidency by Janet Lopez, chair of the Fort Lewis College Board of Trustees.
“President Shotton’s investiture reflects the energy, possibility and shared purpose that define this campus today,” Lopez said. “Her leadership invites us to move forward together – building on tradition, strengthening community and shaping a future grounded in belonging, opportunity and hope.”
President of the Associated Students of Fort Lewis College Kathryn Paul said Shotton puts students “at the very center of this institution.”
“At Fort Lewis College, the student experience is deeply personal, and that experience is shaped by the leaders who choose to invest in us, as students and as people,” Paul said. “Over the past year, President Heather Shotton has demonstrated a profound commitment to that type of leadership.”
Faculty Senate President and Biology Professor David Blake described Shotton, who previously served as FLC’s vice president of Diversity Affairs and as the acting dean of Student Engagement, as someone who has “walked in our shoes as faculty members.”
“We stand with her today in celebration,” he said. “This investiture ceremony carries special significance, because the viability and future success of Fort Lewis College rests on her shoulders as our leader. Given all that is occurring throughout the U.S., ensuring the success of Fort Lewis is an enormous task.”
Before Shotton began her work at FLC, she served as board president of the National Indian Education Association and worked as the chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at her alma mater, the University of Oklahoma.
Shotton received both her undergraduate degree and her doctorate from the University of Oklahoma in Native American Studies and Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, respectively.
David Surratt, vice president for student affairs at the University of Oklahoma, said he is confident in Shotton’s leadership capabilities.
“It gives me confidence knowing that doctor Shotton meets (this) responsibility with the same care and clarity she has already shown (at the University of Oklahoma),” he said. “And those are exactly the qualities Fort Lewis College needs right now: leadership that listens, that honors tradition while embracing what’s next, that understands this work is about people and possibility.”
Several additional voices spoke at the ceremony, including President of the Institute of American Indian Arts Shelly Lowe, and Former Fort Lewis College Board of Trustees member Ernest House Jr., who spoke about Shotton’s reconciliation and awareness work for Native Americans.
“(Shotton) has led us through difficult and challenging moments of our shared history, and I know she will continue to be the leader higher education needs at this moment.” said House Jr., an enrolled member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Towaoc.
Shotton’s daughters, Sophie and Sloan, described their mother as someone who is unafraid to take chances, push boundaries and “be the first” to do things.
“(She was the) first in her family to graduate from college, first to go to grad school, and sometimes one of the only Natives in higher education spaces,” said Sloan, who is an FLC alum. “... She’s shown me what perseverance looks like, what resilience looks like, and what it means to believe in something bigger than myself. Growing up, I’d never seen an Indigenous person in a role like this, and now she’s creating pathways for others to follow.”
Shotton said Fort Lewis College’s status as a former federal Indian boarding school “was part of a system designed to erase Indigenous identity and to undo tribal nations.”
“That part of our history is painful – it’s painful for so many communities, and so many families,” she said. “And yet today, I stand before you, a testament to the strength and resiliency of Indigenous people. Of people who refused to disappear.”
epond@durangoherald.com
