Colorado Voices

Culture, tradition, history, and identity intertwine in southern Colorado. From Conejos to Los Rincones, across the Rio Grande to Viejo San Acacio, San Pablo, San Pedro, and San Francisco, lifelong residents remember and reflect growing up, and living, in this richly cultured, beautiful area.

In this episode of Colorado Voices, agricultural workers and their families share stories about their lives, their health, and their safety.

Colorado is overflowing with artists - but rarely do we hear directly from the minds behind the canvases.

The Fort Lewis Indian Boarding School was one of hundreds of institutions set up in the latter part of the 19th century to erase Native American culture. The rallying cry of the day was “Kill the Indian – Save the Man.” Today, Fort Lewis College is finally reckoning with this troubling history and hopes for reconciliation and healing.

Increasing housing prices, rent, construction costs, more remote workers and short-term rental (STR) properties have created an environment that is making our state’s beloved mountain towns practically impossible to live in for the people who are at the heart of the community. We traveled to 3 towns to hear how people are coping with the crisis and solutions that are being attempted.

In 2021, our team travelled the state to share the stories of Colorado. Our mission is a Colorado where everyone is seen and heard. We’re thankful to everyone who shared their stories with us and we re sharing some of our favorites from the year.

Colorado's oldest water rights are a system of hand-dug acequia irrigation ditches predating statehood, created by Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo settlers. Today, the 73 acequias of Costilla County's Río Culebra Watershed serve as the crux of agriculture and ranching for over 300 families, and are often maintained by descendants of those who constructed them.

In 2018, Denver artist Narkita set out on a two-year project to investigate and photograph the different identities and individuality among Denver’s diverse Black community. In “Black in Denver: Redefining Who We Are,” voices of Denver’s Black community share insights to the Black experience—challenging stereotypes and revealing the colorful spectrum of Blackness.

We travel 2 years through time, from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 to now. We view the pandemic through the eyes of healthcare workers.

Colorado poet laureate Bobby LeFebre joins us to share the voices of the poets of Colorado — their work, their lives, their words. All part of the universal language of poetry.

From the everyday things to helping to make the community better, Colorado mothers lead change and inspire the next generation. This Mother's Day we hear from the moms who guide us through so much. They share their stories and their passion.

The world has watched horrors unfold in Ukraine after Russia attacked in February this year. Thousands of Ukrainian Coloradans worried for their families and friends still in the country and many found ways to help their homeland.

Founded in Antonito in 1900, the S.P.M.D.T.U. (La Sociedad Protección Mutua de Trabajadores Unidos/Society for the Mutual Protection of Workers) is the nation’s oldest-running Hispano mutual aid organization. Here, longtime members reflect generations of grassroots support provided to local families during times of both challenge and celebration.

The outdoors is a place we can be in the moment … a place of healing … a place of acceptance … a place of growth. Colorado’s beautiful scenery offers that to so many people in our state. This week, we’re hearing the voices of people who have a strong connection to the outdoors and strive to get out there as much as possible.

Celebrating voices of the LGBTQ+ community is our year long commitment. During the month of June we pay special attention as a reminder that Pride started as an act of resistance to affirm, honor and celebrate all identities in our state.

Over the last few years, as Colorado has grown, so has the need for so many Coloradans who don't have enough resources to feed their families. Each city has its own challenges and obstacles to face. There are helpers in Colorado working everyday to help bring food to tables around the state, tackling the challenges from different angles.

Six months since the Marshall Fire burned more than 1,000 homes in Boulder County, the Coloradans affected are looking to the future. After the devastating realization that this type of fire can happen any time of year and in almost any place, several families are rebuilding homes that are not only more eco-friendly but also more fire resistant.

When words fail, art can often convey not only the feelings of the artist but also the community. Through tough times and joy, artists help guide and spark conversation about some of life's biggest questions. Hear from the artists and see their work as they discuss what their craft means to them.

Recovering from addiction isn't a straight line with one answer for each person. Recovery is an individual path that takes twists and turns. People throughout Colorado with their own journeys to sobriety now have spaces to provide support for others.

Even though mobile homes are one of the most affordable options in Colorado, it’s coming at a high cost. The land from underneath some homes is getting sold, pricing people out and forcing them to leave. Rocky Mountain PBS investigates the sale of three different parks, the impacts of the people who live there and the options people have to own both the home and land underneath them.

Coloradans face climate change effects first-hand throughout all the seasons. From record high-temperatures to changes in water systems, the impacts are not going unnoticed. Many Coloradans are now coming up with big and small ways to do their part to help the environment.

In the series “Queer Faces of Color,” by creative Eboni Boneé, the “We Believe in God Too” installation depicts the truths of many untold stories from the LGBTQIA2+ community. By exploring the intersectionalities between queerness, love, religion, spirituality, and faith: their stories reveal their depth in the Black and African diasporic culture.

Death is often a taboo subject, which makes the experience of losing a loved one often jarring and difficult to deal with. From discussing the emotions you may feel to planning arrangements after your own death, the death care industry in Colorado provides diverse perspectives on something that we will all experience.

They carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. They're the ones who take issue with lack of progress and speak up for others who may not have the space to give their voices. Advocates in Colorado are passionate about change and dedicate themselves to bettering the community around them.

Many Coloradans are struggling with mental health care and access as stresses of the world come more to the forefront of lives. To address the needs, people and organizations are trying different strategies to help our society one person at a time.

A regional history of Indigenous enslavement is uncovered and reconciled in what is now south-central Colorado. Explorations of personal identity and healing culminate in the restoration of a 170-year-old adobe building and an art exhibit at the Fort Garland Museum and Cultural Center.

Centuries after its unjust and disturbing creation, a book in possession and one time on display at the Iliff School of Theology was at the center of a meeting this year with the Lenape Nation. The two groups talked about how the school can amend a shaded past of a book’s cover - made from the skin of a murdered Native man.

Día de los Muertos is a two day holiday which reunites the living and the dead. Primarily celebrated in Mexico but found around the world, it's a special time at the beginning of November to celebrate and honor loved ones who have passed. Through food, dance, conversations and ofrendas, Coloradans choose to celebrate the holiday in a variety of ways.

What does democracy mean to you? What do people with different views from yours get wrong about you? What does your community need? Three questions posed and answered by Coloradans around the state ahead of midterm election day in an effort to start a conversation about our democracy.

About 395,000 veterans live in Colorado now. From WWII to Afghanistan, these veterans return to our state often needing support for themselves and their families. Hear the stories of help and community-building as we honor the lives and experiences of our state's veterans.

Rocky Mountain PBS in partnership with ProPublica has spent more than a year investigating life in Colorado’s homeowners associations. From rural mountain communities, to condo buildings in the heart of the city, groups of volunteer neighbors are trying to keep their communities in order. But the system drives many neighborhood disputes to court, leaving some homeowners feeling powerless.

Rocky Mountain PBS has told hundreds of Coloradans' stories this year. To take a look back on the year, we ask our team of journalists to pick one of their most impactful people they featured in 2022.