Rael-Gálvez to lead memory workshop in Alamosa

ALAMOSA — Native son of the San Luis Valley and former State Historian of New Mexico, Dr. Estevan Rael-Gálvez, will lead a second memory workshop, Of Mud and Memory, in Alamosa on Sunday, August 12, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Wet Paintbrush, at 1307 Main Street, Suite A. This workshop is a follow up to a July 29 session at Fort Garland Museum and is part of the preparations for the upcoming Borderlands of Southern Colorado exhibit at the museum.

Rael-Gálvez is working in partnership with History Colorado and is seeking community stories, memories, and knowledge to help develop new phases of the Borderlands of Southern Colorado exhibit. All current and former residents of the San Luis Valley are invited to participate in this conversation and workshop about how to ensure that the experience of Fort Garland are more meaningful and reflective of the multifaceted histories of this part of Colorado.

Through the memory workshops, current and former residents of the San Luis Valley will help broaden the stories told at Fort Garland, including a focus on Native American slavery and the complex identities flowing from it in Southern Colorado.

Joining Dr. Rael-Galvez will be Miguel A. Tórrez, a Research Technologist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, who also serves as the administrator of the New Mexico Genealogical Society’s DNA project. The project, which uses genetic genealogy to investigate the origins of the New Mexico Colonial lineages, including Native American ancestors, will be incorporated into the work at Fort Garland Museum. 

The workshop is free and open to the public.

Fort Garland Museum and Cultural Center is a Community Museum of History Colorado. It is located at 29477 Highway 159 in Fort Garland. For more information, call 719-379-3512.

Dr. Rael-Gálvez has led a full career as a successful senior executive, including most recently as the Senior Vice President at the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Today, he is a writer and founder of Creative Strategies 360°, a consulting firm which works with organizations and communities locally, nationally and internationally. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Dr. Rael-Gálvez also received a Ph.D. in American Cultures from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he completed his dissertation, “Identifying Captivity and Capturing Identity: Narratives of American Indian Slavery,” focused on the meanings of American Indian slavery and a unique legacy and identity in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. He is currently working on the manuscript, The Silence of Slavery.