by Whitney Robison
On Thursday, Nov. 10, a lecture was given on the early historic Ute Indians of Colorado, in Wubben Hall. The main speaker was Curtis Martin, the author of “Ephemeral Bounty: The Final Years of Autonomy for Colorado’s Ute Indians.”
The lecture was dedicated to Barry Michrina, who passed away in April 2012. He was a professor of anthropology at CMU for 22 years. Students, faculty and friends of Michrina thought the best way to remember him was to start a lecture series featuring topics that related to Michrina’s passions for the Ute people.
The night started off with a special tribute to Michrina. John Nizalowski, a friend and colleague of Michrina, read one of Michrina’s poems titled “Last word” to salute him.
“He was a very talented and brilliant individual,” Nizalowski said. Michrina not only had a passion for Native American culture but also for writing poems. Some of Michrina’s poems can be found in the special collections and archives section of the library.
After taking a few moments to remember Michrina, Martin began his lecture on Ute culture from his book, primarily focusing on Ute wickiups or brush shelters. Students and faculty took notes and listened while Martin showed numerous slides of wickiups and other artifacts found in Colorado related to the Utes.
This was the fourth lecture in Michrina’s honor and it will not be the last as long as donations are continued to be made to the Barry Michrina Memorial fund. The fund helps pay for this memorial lecture each year as well as awarding a $1,000 scholarship each year to a CMU sophomore.
For more information about the Barry Michrina Memorial fund or scholarship, visit coloradomesa.edu/michrina.
