Center to host panel on innovations in tribal education

The Center of Southwest Studies will host a panel discussion, “Innovations in Tribal Education: Community and Classroom Advances,” on Tuesday, March 26^th at 6:00pm. Panelists will share recent improvements and emerging innovations in regional tribal education. Participants include representatives from Diné College, the Southern Ute Education Department, the Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum, the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs and Fort Lewis College. This event is free and open to the public, and will be held in the Center’s Lyceum Room. 

American Indian Horse Masks: A Book Review from Delaney Library

American Indian Horse Masks by authors Mike Cowdrey, Ned Martin, Jody Martin, and Winfield Coleman, is a colorful book with over 200 illustrations of horse masks, primarily from the 19^th century. The symbolism of the horse mask and the decoration and painting of horses during times of war and times of celebration is explored through detailed pictures and descriptions. Horse masks of various Native American plains tribes, as well as the Apache and Pueblo tribes of the Southwest, are represented. The authors explain that the people of Native North America observed Spanish-armored horses, which led to their own creative uses and implementation of horse armor. The book is divided by geographical region, and the photographs are well-positioned to prompt explanation and interpretation. American Indian Horse Masks was produced in conjunction with the Smithsonian exhibition A Song for the Horse Nation, which included interviews from local Navajos, examples of horse gear, and other remarkable artifacts. Patrons interested in this book may also enjoy They Sang for Horses: the Impact of the Horse on Navajo & Apache Folklore.

This book review was written by student worker Tia Flippin.

Blood and Thunder: A Book Review from the Delaney Library Collection

This book review by library student worker Arielle Liakat is on a historical work that investigates the life of one of the West’s most well-known figures, Kit Carson:

Hampton Sides magnificently details the history of westward expansion in his epic book on the American West, Blood and Thunder. In the summer of 1846, the Army of the West was ferociously driven by the Manifest Destiny ideology. They rode through Santa Fe on one of the longest marches in American military history and continued their conquest of other Western territories. This march led to two decades of resistance by the Navajos against these “blue suited, New Men.” At the center of this tale, we come to understand the life and times of Kit Carson - trapper, scout, soldier, and frontiersman of the American West. Sides shows us that Carson, who was an illiterate mountain man - while credited with understanding and respecting Native American people better than any other American of his time - was still willing to follow army orders at the cost of many Native American lives. Blood and Thunder is an eloquently told tale of a controversial man and times of turmoil in the history of the American West.

Financial Aid information session hosted by the CSWS on March 12th

Spring Break closure week of March 4-8

The Center of Southwest Studies will be closed for Spring Break the week of March 4-8, returning to normal operations on Monday, March 11th.

Happy spring!