By: Joseph Rios
Colorado Day — which is celebrated every Aug. 1 and commemorates the admittance of Colorado as a state of the Union on Aug. 1, 1876 — has officially come and gone. And while Coloradans proudly flew the state’s flag and dressed in blue, yellow and red on Aug. 1, Dr. Jared Orsi, Ph.D., professor of history at Colorado State University (CSU), officially started a new role.
Orsi began his one-year position as the State Historian and leader of History Colorado State Historian’s Council. He is succeeding historian and professor Dr. Nicki Gonzales who became the first Latino/a state historian last year. According to a release from History Colorado, the State Historian Council rotates the leadership role every year on Aug. 1 to achieve greater reach and representation for the state, to amplify different perspectives and to reinforce the collaborative foundation of history and storytelling.
Orsi has been part of the State Historian’s Council since 2018 and has taught at CSU for more than 20 years. His courses have included information about U.S. Mexico Borderlands and U.S. Environmental History. He also serves as the director of CSU’s Public Lands History Center which aims to integrate research, education and outreach that informs and elevates resource management of public lands.
“It is humbling to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Nicki Gonzales and the many distinguished State historians who preceded her. I look forward to working with the amazing History Colorado staff and State Historian’s Council members to tell the rich stories of our state,” said Orsi in the release. “Colorado is a great state, but not equally for everybody. As state historian, I would like to contribute to the stories of all Coloradans being told and valued.”
Orsi said he views the State Historian position as a chance to illuminate and explore issues impacting Colorado while providing historical context. In particular, Orsi wants to highlight the history of public lands and amplify indigenous histories and Colorado history outside of the Denver metro area. Public lands for example became public through a process of dispossessing Indigenous people who already lived there and erasing evidence of their presence.
“Dr. Orsi brings to the State Historian’s role a powerful perspective founded upon decades of research, teaching, writing and working in the field. His expertise in borderlands and environmental history, reckoning with both the colonial legacy and democratic potential of our public lands, exemplifies his powerful approach to Colorado’s history,” said History Colorado Chief Creative Officer and Director of Interpretation and Research Jason Hanson. “His scholarship is rooted in a commitment to illuminating the histories of all who have called Colorado home as well as a compelling hope that our shared history can light the way to a brighter future. His ability to bring historical insight to pressing environmental issues in the present could not be more timely. We look forward to Dr. Orsi’s leadership in the coming year.”
