Fort Lewis College formally welcomed its new president, Heather Shotton, during an investiture ceremony on April 9.
It's a historic milestone as Shotton is the first Indigenous president of the institution.
“I stand before you, a Wichita, Kiowa, Cheyenne woman, a descendant myself of boarding school survivors, leading this institution,” Shotton told the crowd.
Shotton, an enrolled citizen of the Wichita & Affiliated Tribes and a descendant of the Kiowa and Cheyenne Tribes, becomes the 11th president of the college during a time of reckoning with its history as a former federal Indian boarding school.
She has more than 20 years of experience in academic leadership.
The ceremony began with the Kiowa Black Leggings Warrior Society, a military society with more than 200 years of history, and the Otoe-Missouria Singers, from the Otoe‑Missouria Tribe in Red Rock, Oklahoma.
Gordon Yellowman, a Cheyenne Peace Chief, opened with a blessing:
“We thank you for the gift of woman leadership in wisdom. We offer a blessing for our college president, and thank you for her dedication, commitment, and ability to lead.”
While Shotton began her role as President last July, the ceremony formally conferred the position.
“When President Shotton came on board, she immediately knew what we needed,” Ernest House Jr. said at the ceremony.
House Jr. is a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. He’s also on the Board of Trustees at Fort Lewis.
“To get us as an institution to the next level, we needed something stronger, and that someone was Dr. Heather Shotton,” House Jr. said.
In 2019, Fort Lewis College began a formal effort to reconcile its past as a Federal Indian Boarding School during the late 1800s. This led to state legislation mandating research into the institutions’ role in the government-sanctioned cultural genocide of Indigenous people. Similar federal legislation followed.
During the reconciliation process, Shotton began her role in Diversity Affairs, which eventually led to her presidency.
“When I first met President Shotton, it was related to our reconciliation and awareness work focusing on the federal Indian boarding school era,” House Jr. said. “Not the most uplifting timeframe to start with, and obviously, a very dark and difficult history for us as native people across this nation we call Turtle Island.”
Shotton first came to Fort Lewis as a parent of a student. Her daughter, Sloan, graduated from the university in 2024.
Speaking at the ceremony, Sloan Shotton said that growing up, she never saw an Indigenous person in a role like this.
“And now she's creating pathways for others to follow, not just for our family, but for the students here at Fort Lewis College. And for so many others beyond it. That's why I know this campus is in really good hands."
Just over 40 percent of Fort Lewis’ student body is Native American and are first-generation college students. Shotton’s identity and lived experience mirror the experience of many students.
“One of the things I love about higher education is the hope that it represents," Shotton explained. “It's a transformative power to create new possibilities. Together, we have an opportunity to shape what comes. To be in the right relationship with this land and the people of this place.”
For the first time in Fort Lewis’ history, Shotton, the 11th president, is a descendant of Native American boarding school survivors
“Fort Lewis was part of a system designed to erase Indigenous identity and undo tribal nations,” Shotton said. “And yet, today, I stand before you a testament of the strength and resilience of Indigenous people, of people who refused to disappear.”
Editor's note: Reporter Jamie Wanzek is an employee of Fort Lewis College.