On Friday, Dec. 5, Colorado College students, faculty and staff had the opportunity to hear Indigenous star stories and explore the night sky on an overnight trip to the Baca satellite campus. An International Dark Sky Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park is situated at the foothills of the snowcapped Sangre de Cristo mountain range and offers a spectacular night of storytelling and stargazing.
Dec. 6 marked the third trip organized by the Office of Institutional Equity and Belonging (IEB) as a part of the Sense of Place initiative. Created as a part of CC’s commitment to antiracism, Sense of Place programming aims to connect students, faculty and staff to the greater Colorado region and its complex colonial history.
According to the Sense of Place page on the CC website, “For us to authentically commit to the practice of antiracism, we must confront our past and tell a more complete story of our origins.”
Nancy Rios, Director of Belonging and Engagement at the IEB office, coordinates and manages these trips. According to Rios, the antiracism commitment was developed by an internal committee created in response to the high number of reported cases of racism on campus between 2018 and 2019. The concept of Sense of Place was introduced as part of a campus-wide response by the Hulbert Center for Southwest Studies. It was later supported by the Fine Arts Center and the Department of Race, Ethnicity and Migration Studies.
“There was a feeling that the institution doesn’t do justice to the region,” said Rios. “As a part of the antiracism commitment, the college should understand and give an opportunity for people to engage with the area in a meaningful way.”
The first Sense of Place trip took a group to Fort Garland, Colo., and this year’s programming began with a trip to Talpa, N.M., where participants got the chance to explore the Duran Family Chapel and contribute to its restoration. The trip to Baca included a night of Indigenous creation stories connected to the various star deities told by Debbie Howell, CC Elder in Residence and a Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota/Pawnee native. Participants were also able to go stargazing using star maps, binoculars and a Unistellar telescope lent by the CC Physics department. After spending a night at the Baca campus townhouses, the group headed to the Great Sand Dunes National Park before returning to campus later that same day.
“I think they [Sense of Place trips] are well worth it,” said Elder Howell. “It is always good to hear that students enjoy their time away from campus and exploring the rich culture and history of Colorado.”
Students from diverse backgrounds were able to discover new meanings and form deeper connections to their temporary college residence.
For Linden Liu ‘29, who is from China, this trip provided an opportunity to form deeper connections with her fellow students through exploring a new culture together. As an international student, Liu has struggled with relating to American popular culture. However, being able to share her culture’s deep connection with the image of the moon and finding similarities with Indigenous traditions made her feel connected to her new community.
“Standing under the stars and discovering different constellations together made me feel a sense of shared curiosity,” said Liu.“It also helped me realize that non-dominant cultures, including my own, are equally worthy of being heard and respected in the U.S. context.”
For Owen Simpson ‘26, from Denver, the Indigenous Star Stories trip offered new perspectives on an already familiar area that Simpson had explored with his parents as a child.
“Coming back now, it is a completely different experience that I look at through my old memories and a new point in my life,” said Simpson.
Faculty and staff also have positive reflections on their trip experience. For some, it is an opportunity to explore an entirely new area, while for others, it is a chance to reimagine their established connections.
For Cathy Gillis ‘90, an administrative assistant for the philosophy and religion departments, and her husband, it is their first Sense of Place trip, but not their first time engaging with the CC community outside of work. After living in multiple states and countries throughout their lives, the Gillises returned to Colorado Springs in 2019, where they both attended college and have been reimagining their own sense of place ever since.
“For me, going on these trips with CC students gives me a sense of belonging and connection,” said Gillis. “Indigenous traditions are such an important part of American life that people don’t know and should learn more about.”
While advertising and planning posed several challenges, Rios remains optimistic and determined about the initiative’s future. Figuring out advertising mechanisms might be a struggle, but the last trip quickly reached capacity, showing that the opportunities offered by the Sense of Place are highly sought after by both students and faculty on campus.
“I have been so pleasantly surprised that folks that participate are genuinely interested and create genuine connections during these trips,” said Rios. “Things move so fast here [on campus], and there is so much to do that it is the hardest to provide that meaningful interaction.”
All future trip announcements will be published on the CC Digest, accessible to students via their school email or the CC website.