DIFF to screen "Split Estate" at CSWS

The Durango Independent Film Festival will screen "Split Estate" at 7:00PM on November 20th, at the Center of Southwest Studies Lyceum. Filmmaker and producer Debra Anderson will be available after the film to answer questions. The film describes the toll, physical and mental, on residents in the San Juan Basin and Garfield County, from the extraction of minerals from their property. This film is 76-minutes long, and is sponsored by the Durango Independent Film Festival, San Juan Citizens Alliance, and the Center of Southwest Studies.

Rare and Imperiled Plants of Colorado exhibit

Rare and Imperiled Plants of Colorado now exhibits at the Center of Southwest Studies. This traveling exhibition was developed by the Rocky Mountain society of Botanical Artists. Exhibits through May 2010.

Woven to Wear: Navajo and Hopi Textiles from the Durango Collection exhibit now open at CSU's Avenir Museum

Woven to Wear: Navajo and Hopi Textiles from The Durango Collection®
Exhibits September 17 - January 22, 2009 at the Avenir Museum of Design & Merchandising on the campus of Colorado State University in Fort Collins.
Established forty-five years ago, the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado is the oldest academic center in the nation dedicated to preserving, documenting, and interpreting the Southwest. Representing 800 years of weaving in the Southwest, The Durango Collection® forms the cornerstone of the Center of Southwest Studies, chronicling the remarkable achievement of Pueblo and Navajo weavers.
Woven to Wear: Navajo and Hopi Textiles from The Durango Collection® pays homage to the creativity and skill of Navajo and Hopi weavers. Mantas of the Hopi parallel the introduction of cotton to the Southwest. Navajo textiles reflect the Dine (the Navajo name for “the People”) concept of harmony.
Opening Reception, Thursday, September 17
5:30-7:00 p.m.
Avenir Museum Gallery, Colorado State University campus
Join us, along with guest curator, Jeanne Brako, from the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College, as she gives an informal talk in the gallery.

On November 19th, Ms. Brako will also present Wearing Blankets from The Durango Collection®, a discussion of textiles from The Durango Collection® that chronicle the remarkable achievements of the Navajo, Pueblo, and Hispanic peoples. 7pm, 136 UCA Annex, CSU in Fort Collins. Please call 970-491-1983 for more information.

Mountain Lion! exhibit now open

The Center of Southwest Studies and Colorado Division of Wildlife present major new exhibit: Mountain Lion!

By Kevin Britz, Director of the Center of Southwest Studies

Photo by Robert Winslow

The Center of Southwest Studies and the Colorado Division of Wildlife, in partnership with the San Juan Mountains Association, the Southern Ute Tribe, Sorrell Sky Gallery, and Durango Nature Studies, present Mountain Lion! at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.

The exhibit was developed by the Center of Southwest Studies and the Colorado Division of Wildlife to address the pressing need for greater public awareness on the growing issue of human encounters with mountain lions. Over the last two decades, there has been a dramatic rise in cougar sightings and dangerous encounters on the urban fringes of numerous Western cities. In a few rare cases, there have been fatalities.

The goal of this exhibit is to create an understanding of the nature of these predators and their long, historic relation with people. The exhibit blends science, history and art to provide a comprehensive look at this mysterious predator. Mountain Lion! examines the history of cougars starting from the Ice Age when they roamed the continent along with fierce cats like the giant North American Lion and Smilodon, popularly known as saber-tooth tigers. Another exhibit section looks at the hunting techniques, habits, and physical features of modern mountain lions that have allowed them to survive for thousands of years. Mountain Lion! illustrates the different perspectives of Native Americans and early European settlers toward cougars, how opinions toward the animal changed, and the ways they continue to be portrayed in fine art and popular culture. Other sections teach visitors how to read cougar behavior, listen to cougar sounds, recognize tracks and scat, and offer practical tips on what to do if you encounter a mountain lion.

The exhibit features dioramas, fossil representations of extinct cougar relatives, and the work of leading wildlife photographers including Robert Winslow, Claude Steelman and John Ninneman.

An educational packet, designed by the San Juan Mountains Association, featuring mountain lions, can be accessed via the Center's website: http://swcenter.fortlewis.edu/mtn_lion/education.shtml, and educational tours may be arranged through the Main Office, by please calling 970-247-7456.

After a year-long run in Durango, closing in the fall of 2010, the exhibit will travel to museums and nature centers throughout the greater Southwest including the states of Utah, Colorado, California, Arizona, and New Mexico.