Fort Lewis College’s Indigenous Peoples Day celebration brought the community together Monday to celebrate and honor the college and the region’s Indigenous population.
Karl Little Owl, executive assistant to the vice president of Diversity Affairs, delivered a campuswide blessing. He told The Durango Herald it was a prayer of gratitude and one seeking protection, wisdom, guidance and healing for the FLC community.
He emphasized the importance of one’s tongue and the words one uses, and the power of forgiveness.
“Today is Indigenous Peoples Day, (and) there’s a lot of folks in the country still struggling with that,” Little Owl said to the crowd gathered in the Native American Center. “As we know, we’re going through a reconciliation process right now. We’re only at the tip of the iceberg with our reconciliation process here on campus. … A lot of our generations are still healing, but the power of forgiveness helps us move forward.”
Fort Lewis College President Heather Shotton joined the day’s events, including walking alongside staff, faculty and students during a rainy Solidarity Walk.
Shotton, a citizen of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and a descendant of the Kiowa and Cheyenne nations, is the college’s first Native American president.
“How we honor our histories, how we reconcile with those histories, particularly as institutions of education, (is) important,” Shotton told the Herald.
“(As a) Native American Serving Nontribal Institution, one of the things that we do is recognize that we’re on Indigenous land, and we work really hard to build strong relationships and partnerships with the tribes whose land we’re on,” Shotton said. “For so many of our students, this is an important day for them, and we want to honor that, (and honor) the different identities and backgrounds of students, their histories, their cultures. (It’s) an important step for all of us.”
Nearly 40% of Fort Lewis College students are Native American or Alaska Native, representing more than 180 sovereign tribal nations across the country, according to the school’s website.
Kiowa Tribe member and Associated Students of Fort Lewis College Student Body President Asa Worthington delivered a speech during a pause in the Solidarity Walk, in which he repeated twice the sentiment that every day is Indigenous Peoples Day.
Fort Lewis College sophomores Melody Jerrellyn Eisenbeger, a citizen of the Kiowa Tribe, and Malachi Laskie, a citizen of the Chickasaw Tribe, attended the event together Monday.
“It’s been really nice,” Eisenberger said of her experience at the event. She said she was unable to attend last year because she was at a pow wow, and was glad she was able to join this year. “I’m really excited, and really happy about it,” she said.
A keynote speech by Jasmine Williams detailed her journey of self-advocacy, and highlighted the challenges and resilience of Indigenous communities.
“When I think about what Indigenous Peoples Day means, I think about the journey – the way each of us carries our own ancestors’ strength, while trying to find our own path,” she said.
Williams closed the speech with a message of encouragement to Indigenous students.
“To the students here, you deserve to be in every room that you walk into. You belong in higher education, in leadership and in decision-making spaces, and you are capable of things our ancestors only dreamed of,” Williams said.
“Every time you speak up – for yourself, for your people, for what’s right – you make it easier for the next generation to do the same,” she said. “As Indigenous peoples, we are not just surviving, we are shaping the future. Keep believing in yourself, and never forget to carry generations of brilliance within you.”
epond@durangoherald.com
