The Center of Southwest Studies will host a presentation from doctoral fellow Benjamin DuMontier, From Rainbow Bridge to Durango War-Rations: Research & Archiving Local History in the Four Corners Area on Wednesday, April 18th at 5:30 p.m. in the Center’s Lyceum Room #120.

DuMontier will present his findings on the Ansel Hall collection and the potential it has for researchers, including Hall’s expeditions to Costa Rica, recruiting Boy Scouts, and his development of nature-park resources in the Rainbow Bridge - Monument Valley areas. Ansel Hall was the first chief naturalist and forester for the National Park Service. DuMontier is also working on a digital humanities web page showcasing the Center's oral history collections. He hopes to display anecdotes of daily life and local ideas about the 'Japanese enemy' from Colorado newspapers--as well as Durangoan's conception of national defense during WWII.

Benjamin DuMontier is the Center’s 2017-2018 doctoral fellow in Southwestern history. His doctoral dissertation analyzes the reconstruction of racial and ethnic identities - in particular, the status of Japanese-Peruvians before and after World War II. The fellowship is a collaborative effort between the Center, Fort Lewis College, and the graduate program in the history department at the University of Arizona. DuMontier has spent the academic year in residence at the Center practicing archival cataloging skills, in addition to teaching in for the College’s department of history.

This lecture is free to the public.