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Tributary: Remembering Charles Wilkinson at the Center of the American West

Black and white photograph of Charles Wilkinson and Billy Frank Jr.

Picture a place where two rivers come together. See how their confluence creates a more complex current, charts a stronger course, and promises more vitality for those of us downstream. Such was the effect that Charles Wilkinson, Moses Lasky Professor of Law Emeritus and Distinguished Professor at CU Boulder, had on the Center of the American West (CAW). And such was our sense of deeply felt loss and legacy when we received news of Wilkinson’s passing on June 6th, 2023.

Wilkinson was a major tributary in the Center of the American West’s watershed. Along with his CU Boulder colleague, Patricia Nelson Limerick, he co-founded the Center in 1986 and participated in many notable initiatives. One of which was the remarkable “Inside Interior” series. This oral history / public event saw the two of them in historic dialogue with an impressive cast of former U.S. Secretaries of the Interior, ranging from Stewart Udall to James Watt.

Charles Wilkinson with Billy Frank Jr.

Wilkinson’s legacy also saw him present multiple Wallace Stegner Awards, a prestigious award given by the CAW to those who have made “a sustained contribution to the cultural identity of the West.” Recipients include Western writers Ivan Doig and Terry Tempest Williams as well as filmmaker Ken Burns. One of the most moving Stegner awards Wilkinson gave came in 2006 when he bestowed a shared award to Billy Frank Jr. (Nisqually) and John Echohawk (Pawnee), Executive Director of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF).

After illuminating the struggle for tribal rights and sovereignty on the Colorado Plateau in his book Fire on the Plateau: Conflict and Endurance in the American Southwest (1999), Wilkinson then pivoted to embrace the depth and diversity of the western American region when he looked to the Pacific Northwest and wrote Messages from Frank’s Landing: a Story of Salmon, Treaties, and the Indian Way (2000) about Frank Jr.’s activism. Similarly, Wilkinson’s connection with John Echohawk ran deep at NARF. According to the CU Law School’s tribute, Wilkinson, Echohawk, the late Dean David Getches and Professor Richard Collins “helped to secure landmark victories in tribal treaty rights litigation.”

Charles Wilkinson reading from his book,The People Are Dancing Again

A prolific, accessible, and award-winning writer, Wilkinson was feted by the CAW in 2011 with the release of his last book, The People Are Dancing Again: The History of the Siletz Tribe of Western Oregon (2010). As noted in the press release for this event, “It is a book that not only provides a deep and beautifully written account of the history of the Siletz people, but reaches beyond region and tribe to tell a story that will inform the way all of us think about the past.”

Wilkinson last joined the CAW in December 2019 for the "Bipartisanship (and Friendship) Happen!" speaker series. In a reprise role similar to the "Inside Interior" series, Wilkinson joined Limerick on stage for a public interview between former Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez and former Democratic Congressman and Senator Mark Udall. Wilkinson solicited meaningful responses from both Beauprez and Udall, creating moments of reflection on the legacy of fathers to their opinions on the current political climate. The comments generated this evening resonate even more poignantly now, given the historic changes that were to come.

We are forever indebted and humbled by the contributions Charles Wilkinson made to the vitality of the Center of the American West. A great mentor, author, speaker, and defender of tribal and environmental rights, his downstream effect will be felt for many generations to come.

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