How do historical legacies and culture tendencies affect our relationship with the land we live on? More specifically, how do issues like poverty, inequality, and ethnicity influence the way we interact with the natural environment?

Voces del Valle, or Voices of the Valley, sets out to address these questions by interviewing local residents about their experiences in the San Luis Valley (SLV). Through these interviews, the project’s team analyzes the connections of people living in the SLV with land, community, and culture. Specifically, Voices of the Valley explores and documents the relationship between culture and natural resources in the SLV. The project places specific emphasis on the particular meanings that inhabitants associate with the communities they live in.

Voices of the Valley was launched in January 2015 with generous financial support from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Title V at Adams State University. The project has since received funding from the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area. Dr. Benjamin Waddell runs the project in conjunction with undergraduate students from Adams State University. By exploring the relationship between local culture and natural resources in the SLV, the project’s researchers aim to contribute to cultural perseveration and economic sustainability in the region.

If you would like to use any of the material on this site in your own research please contact Dr. Benjamin Waddell (benjaminjameswaddell@gmail.com) for proper citation information.

Phase I:  Interviews, video recording, and field notes.

Phase II: Video editing, website creation, and writing.

Phase III: Work with community organizations and local schools to create curriculum that incorporates videos.

PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR (PI): Benjamin James Waddell is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Adams State University and teaches in the areas of racial and ethnic relations, poverty and inequality, social psychology and qualitative research methods.

RESEARCH ASSISTANT (RA): Pauline Victoria Martinez is a student in the Department of Sociology at Adams State University. She is currently a research assistant for the SLV Lifeways Research Project.

STUDENT RESEARCHERS: Stefan Armenta, Dariana Roybal, Isabella Whitten, Chris Quintana, and Kerrie McCallum.