PRESS CONTACT:
Luke Perkins, Manager of Communications and Public Relations
303.866.3670 | luke.perkins@state.co.us 

"The Miles and Bancroft awards have a foundation built on two individuals who worked diligently to highlight and share the complex histories of the Centennial state," said Kim Kennedy White, History Colorado’s John W. Emery Family Associate Curator of Oral History and Co-Chair of the Miles and Bancroft Awards Panel. “This year’s awardees continue that legacy by expanding our understanding of the lived histories of Colorado’s diverse populations and making those stories publicly accessible in new ways.”

This year’s awards recognize a pair of noteworthy efforts:

CAROLINE BANCROFT AWARDEE
Summit Historical Society – Homesteads of Summit County Educational Program
This $1,000 award is given to projects in communities with a population of 50,000 or less. 
The Homesteads of Summit County is an educational program that highlights the history of homesteaders in Summit County through a mapping project. The Summit Historical Society (SHS) has developed an interactive map showing 100% of original homesteads patented in Summit County in the 19th and 20th centuries and lists the names of the original homesteaders with historical details and photographs for six of the original homesteader families. The SHS has made the map available on their website for public access and developed plans for a third-grade curriculum that will be implemented this fall.

JOSEPHINE H. MILES AWARDEE
Museum of Boulder – Voces Vivas: A Community-Curated Exhibit
This $1,000 award is given to projects in communities of any size.
Voces Vivas: A Community-Curated Exhibit was an interactive history exhibition on display from February 2022 to February 2023 that was created by Museum of Boulder at Tebo Center in partnership with the Chicano & Latino History Project and the University of Colorado Ethnic Studies Department. The exhibition honors early Boulder County Latino families and their histories through an interactive storytelling experience that highlights their culture, heritage, and perspectives. Voces Vivas: A Community-Curated Exhibit places personal narratives into the broader history of Latinos in Boulder County, from their participation in the coal mining and sugar beet farming industries to the discrimination they faced during the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the region and the empowerment of the Chicano Movement.

About the Miles and Bancroft Awards
Named for former Colorado Historical Society Volunteer President, Josephine H. Miles, and local Colorado historian, Caroline Bancroft, these annual awards highlight outstanding projects throughout the state that further understanding of Colorado history in exemplary and unique ways. Projects can come in many forms, including educational initiatives, publications, exhibits, and preservation projects. Any institution, organization, or individual involved in interesting and exciting Colorado history projects are encouraged to apply. The awards also hold a monetary component of up to $1,000 to help recipients continue their amazing work. 

For more information about the awards and past recipients, visit historycolorado.org/miles-bancroft.

About History Colorado
History Colorado is a division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and a 501(c)3 non-profit that has served more than 75,000 students and 500,000 people in Colorado each year. It is a 143-year-old institution that operates eleven museums and historic sites, a free public research center, the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation which provides technical assistance, educational opportunities, and other access to archaeology and historic preservation, and the History Colorado State Historical Fund (SHF), which is one of the nation’s largest state funded preservation programs of its kind. More than 70% of SHF grants are allocated in rural areas of the state. Additionally, the offices of the State Archaeologist and the State Historic Preservation Officer are part of History Colorado. 

History Colorado’s mission is to create a better future for Colorado by inspiring wonder in our past. We serve as the state’s memory, preserving and sharing the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through educational programs, historic preservation grants, collecting, outreach to Colorado communities, the History Colorado Center and Stephen H. Hart Research Center in Denver, and 10 other museums and historic attractions statewide. History Colorado is one of only six Smithsonian Affiliates in Colorado. Visit HistoryColorado.org, or call 303-HISTORY, for more information. #HistoryColorado