This project was supported by ASU Social Practice Residency, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the CT Office of the Arts, 2019-20—videos: dana maestas/shelby head. photo: courtesy of dana maestas 

The exhibition, La Sierra, was a capstone for the participant research, community engagement, and subject interviews conducted under the Adams State University's Social Practice Arts Residency Program with support from The National Endowment for the Arts - Challenge America Grant. The exhibition captures a fragment of the depth of community and social discourse I had the privilege of experiencing throughout my residency.

Working alongside San Luis Land Rights Council members, we focused on collecting stories from the beneficiaries of the 1844 Sangre de Cristo Land Grant issued under the Mexican land grant system. Dana Maestas filmed nine grant heirs' personal stories concerning the decades-long litigation battle for land rights to the mountain range the community calls La Sierra in Southern Colorado.