in the Four Corners region. FLC's historical evolution spans its origins as a U.S. military fort, an Indian boarding school, and eventually a public college.
In accordance with a 1911 mandate, Fort Lewis College provides tuition-free education to qualified Native American Tribal and Alaska Native Village members. The college serves a diverse community comprising 37% Native American/Alaska Native learners, representing 166 Native American Tribes and Alaska Native Villages, 43% first-generation students, 42% Pell Grant recipients, and 15% Hispanic/Latinx students.
In 2008, the U.S. Department of Education designated FLC as a Native American-Serving, Non-Tribal Institutions (NASNTI). FLC is also recognized as a First Generation-Serving Institution by the State of Colorado and an emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI).
== History ==
The first Fort Lewis army post was constructed in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, in 1878, and was relocated in 1880 to Hesperus, Colorado, on the southern slopes of the La Plata Mountains. …
