photo with members of the state historian's council

State Historian's Council

Our State Historian’s Council reaches across the state to aid in interpretation of the history of Colorado and the West, providing opportunities to expand the understanding of the historical perspectives, cultures, and places of Colorado.

Council members work with us to produce and share scholarship about Colorado and connect with more residents throughout the state.

The State Historian's Council consults Denver's Agency of Human Rights and Community Partnerships advisory board on a commission to review public asset naming using an equity lens.

Council Members

Since 1924, History Colorado has appointed a historian to work with the organization to preserve, interpret, and share Colorado’s past.

Our State Historian’s Council is led by noted historian Dr. Nicki Gonzales, who is joined on the council by respected historians from across the state.

Dr. Nicki Gonzales is a professor of history and vice provost for diversity and inclusion at Regis University. Her research interests include the American Southwest; the Chicano Movement in Colorado; Chicano social, political, legal, and environmental activism; and the history of land grant communities. She has served as an advisor for History Colorado’s exhibits El Movimiento: The Chicano Movement in Colorado and Zoom In: The Centennial State in 100 Objects. Dr. Gonzales is History Colorado's appointee to the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board established by Governor Polis in July 2020.

Dr. Thomas J. Noel is a professor of history and the director of Public History, Preservation & Colorado Studies at the University of Colorado Denver. Known as “Dr. Colorado,” Noel has written numerous books and articles about the state and serves as a tour guide for History Colorado. His courses at CU Denver include regional history (Colorado, Denver, and the US West), historic preservation, heritage tourism, and the National Park Service, and classes on Colorado industries like mining and railroads. He is coauthor of Colorado: A History of the Centennial State.

Dr. Jared Orsi is a professor of history at Colorado State University and director of the Public Lands History Center. He specializes in environmental and borderlands history, teaching courses on US and Mexican history. His book Citizen Explorer: The Life of Zebulon Pike was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award for history, and he served as an advisor on History Colorado’s Zoom In exhibition.

Dr. Duane Vandenbusche is a professor of history at Western Colorado University. He has been teaching in Gunnison since 1962. He teaches on the history of the US West, especially water, public lands, and the environment. His history of Colorado’s Western Slope, A Land Alone, has been the standard text on the region since its publication in 1981.

Dr. William Wei is a professor of history at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is editor-in-chief of the online Colorado Encyclopedia and has held various national and international fellowships. His work focuses primarily on modern China, with research interests in Asian Americans. His latest book, Asians in Colorado: A History of Persecution and Perseverance in the Centennial State, was a finalist for the 2017 Colorado Authors’ League Award for General Nonfiction. He was a lead advisor on History Colorado's Zoom In exhibition in 2016–2017, and is currently working on a book featuring the 100 objects selected for the project. Asian Avenue has named him one of the “100 Asians to Know in Denver.”

Articles by our State Historians

  • Photo of a city sidewalk, flanked by grass on each side. A child sits on the edge of the grass toward the top of the photo, and they are holding sidewalk chalks. A bucket of chalks is on the ground next to their foot, and they are wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, and a hat. The sidewalk is decorated with hearts and flowers in yellows, blues, and pinks, along with yellow peace symbols. In large blue letters are the words "This too shall pass."

    Looking Backward: Lessons from a Pandemic

    If we take a backward glance at 2020 from the standpoint of 2120—never mind how we got here—what do we see? And what perspective have we gained in the century since? Colorado’s State Historian takes a moment to ponder some lessons learned.

  • T. Owaki and family

    Immigration to Colorado: Myth and Reality

    The United States could be described as a nation of immigrants seeking to realize the American Dream. But how much of what we know about Colorado's pre–World War II immigrants is deep-seeded mythology?

  • Aerial view shows a violently looted section of New Jersey's largest city after it witnessed a second night of racial disorder, late July 13th and early July 14th. Fire-bomb hurling Negroes rioted through downtown streets in a night-long rampage of burning and looting. One Negro was shot to death, a dozen other persons suffered gunshot wounds and at least 340 persons, including 27 policemen and firemen, were injured.

    We Can’t Afford to Fail This Time

    On the evening of July 12, 1967, in Newark, New Jersey, two white police officers badly beat a black cab driver named John William Smith in the course of arresting him for a traffic violation. News of this spread like wildfire through the African American community, and angry crowds gathered outside the police station. Though Smith was injured, but not dead, riots erupted across the city that night. By the time order was restored on July 17, whole blocks lay smoldering and twenty-six people, mostly African Americans, lay dead.
     

  • A photo of a queue of customers at Broadway National Bank in Denver. A man is conducting business at the teller window to the left of the image, while several people are waiting quietly in line behind him, many holding a handbag or documents.

    History Need Not Repeat Itself

    This is a unique moment in American history, for the nation is grappling simultaneously with a pandemic and an economic catastrophe.

  • Beloved Primary

    The Black Canyon, My Favorite Place in Colorado

    We asked each member of the State Historian’s Council to reflect on what “our beloved Colorado” means to them. For Colorado Day, our new State Historian Duane Vandenbusche explains why the Black Canyon is his favorite place in Colorado.

  • Beloved Primary

    Etched Into My Heart

    In preparation for Colorado Day on August 1, we asked each member of the State Historian’s Council to reflect on what “our beloved Colorado” means to them. Here, Nicki Gonzales reflects on her family’s place in creating her beloved—and in some cases bygone—Colorado.

  • Beloved Primary

    Race, Privilege, and Landscape in Colorado History

    As we look forward to Colorado Day on August 1, we asked each member of the State Historian’s Council to reflect on what “our beloved Colorado” means to them. Here, Jared Orsi reflects on who we mean - and who we exclude - when we say “our.”

  • Beloved Primary

    Why I Love Colorado

    In preparation for Colorado Day on August 1, we asked each member of the State Historian’s Council to reflect on what “our beloved Colorado” means to them. There are so many reasons to love Colorado that it’s hard to keep count, but “Dr. Colorado” Tom Noel shares his top ten.
     

  • Beloved Primary

    Coming to Colorado

    In preparation for Colorado Day on August 1, we asked each member of the State Historian’s Council to reflect on what “our beloved Colorado” means to them. Here, William Wei reflects on the journey that brought him to Colorado.