Editing Fort Lewis College (section)

==History==
The first Fort Lewis army post was constructed in [[Pagosa Springs, Colorado]], in 1878, and was relocated in 1880 to [[Hesperus, Colorado]], on the southern slopes of the [[La Plata Mountains]]. In 1891, Fort Lewis was decommissioned and converted into a federal, off-reservation [[Native American boarding schools|Indian boarding school]].

In 1911, the fort's property and buildings in [[Hesperus, Colorado|Hesperus]] were transferred to the state of Colorado to establish an "agricultural and mechanic arts high school." That deed came with two conditions: that the land would be used for an educational institution, and "to be maintained as an institution of learning to which Indian students will be admitted free of tuition and on an equality with white students" in perpetuity.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sieg |first=Stina |date=January 3, 2023 |title=Once a boarding school, a college now aims to reclaim education for Native people |language=en |work=NPR News |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/01/03/1146780998/once-a-boarding-school-a-college-now-aims-to-reclaim-education-for-native-people#storytext |access-date=2023-01-04}}</ref><ref>Act of the US Congress of April 4, 1910, chapter 140, {{USPL|61|114}}, {{USStat|36|269}}, section 5 at 274, {{USBill|61|HR|19028}}. Act of the Colorado General Assembly of January 25, 1911, Laws 1911, Page 39.</ref> Both conditions have been the missions and guides for the Fort Lewis school's various incarnations over the past century.

The Fort Lewis high school expanded into a two-year college in the 1930s, and in 1948 it became Fort Lewis A&M College, under the State Board of Agriculture's control. The "Aggies" studying at the Fort Lewis Branch of the [[Colorado State University|Colorado State College of Agriculture and Mechanics]] could take courses in agriculture, forestry, engineering, veterinary science, and home economics.

[[File:Fort Lewis in Hesperus 1880s.jpg|thumb|left|The Fort Lewis military post in Hesperus, Colorado, May 1883]]

Fort Lewis College began another period of growth and changes in 1956, when the college moved from its longtime home in Hesperus to its present location, {{convert|18 |miles}} east, atop what was then known as Reservoir Hill, overlooking Durango. Here, FLC became a four-year institution, awarding its first baccalaureate degrees in 1964.

Also in 1964, the college dropped the "A&M" moniker, changed its mascot from the Aggies to the Raiders, and changed the school's colors from the green and yellow of the Colorado State University system it had been affiliated with to blue and gold.<ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Duane|title=Sacred Trust: The birth and development of Fort Lewis College|year=1991|publisher=University Press of Colorado|isbn=978-0-87081-234-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/sacredtrustbirth0000smit}}</ref> In 1994, the college's mascot became the Skyhawks. In 1995, FLC joined the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, and in 2002, it became independent of the Colorado State University system and formed its own governing Board of Trustees.

=== Reconciliation efforts ===
In 2019, Fort Lewis College formed the Committee on FLC History to examine its connection to the [[Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative|federal Indian boarding school]] system. The college has since undertaken initiatives including listening sessions, community engagement, and institutional changes aimed at [[Reconciliation (United States Congress)|reconciliation]]. In partnership with the [[Southern Ute Indian Reservation|Southern Ute Indian Tribe]] and the [[Ute Mountain Ute Tribe]], FLC supported legislation<ref>{{Citation |last=Coram |first=Don |title=Native American Boarding Schools |issue=HB22-1327 |url=https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb22-1327 |access-date=2024-12-10 |last2=Moreno |first2=Dominick |last3=McLachlan |first3=Barbara |last4=Herod |first4=Leslie}}</ref> investigating the impacts of [[Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative|federal Indian boarding schools]] in [[Colorado]]. The Board of Trustees reaffirmed its commitment to reconciliation in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Commitment to Reconciliation {{!}} Board of Trustees {{!}} Fort Lewis College |url=https://www.fortlewis.edu/about-flc/leadership/board-of-trustees/agendas-minutes/resolutions/commitment-to-reconciliation |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=www.fortlewis.edu}}</ref>

In 2025, the Fort Lewis College Board of Trustees named Heather Shotton the new college president, making her the first Indigenous person to hold the position. Shotton, who is [[Cheyenne people|Cheyenne]] and [[Kiowa people|Kiowa]] and a citizen of the [[Wichita people|Wichita & Affiliated Tribes]], had previously served as FLC's Vice President of Diversity Affairs.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Clark |last1=Adomatis |date=April 28, 2025 |title=Fort Lewis College names its first Indigenous president |url=https://www.ksjd.org/2025-04-28/fort-lewis-college-names-its-first-indigenous-president |website=ksjd.org |publisher=Four Corners Public Radio}}</ref>