Editor’s note: This is the second part of Colors of Influence’s interview with Darius Lee Smith, Director of the City and County of Denver Anti-Discrimination Office. Read the first article here.
Darius Lee Smith says that his awakening to the power of truth-telling to spur dialogue and bring about change happened when he was a college student.
Upon transferring from the University of Arizona to Azusa Pacific University, he encountered an obstacle with getting college credit for certain classes.
“They didn’t accept the Indian history, Chicano studies and African American history classes that I took at the University of Arizona as history classes,” says Darius, who lead the City and County of Denver Anti-Discrimination Office.
“[Azusa] took the courses only as electives. I was a little frustrated about that.”
As a student athlete, Darius sought the counsel of his coach, who encouraged him to write a letter to Azusa’s student newspaper. The piece ran in the front page of the paper and caught the attention of students and faculty.
“I wrote that not getting history credit for those classes invalidates me as an individual who is half-Black and half-Navajo. Black folks, Native Americans, Chicanos, Latinos and Mexicans have contributed so much to the development of the United States,” he says.
“I went on to write that when I took these courses in college, they were very empowering. Not just empowering for students of color, but for non-people of color. They need to see this history, because that’s what going to break this cycle of discrimination in this country.”
Darius says that he was soon contacted by the Director of the History Department at that time. The professor lauded Darius’ approach and perspective, and assured him that changes will soon be implemented to address the concerns.
“Instead of getting frustrated and lashing out, that experience taught me that it’s important to take the time to present the facts, to get conversation going about important issues,” he says. “The experience laid the foundation for why I do the work that I do.” After earning his degree in Applied Communications, Darius decided to move back to Denver.
“When I moved back, I started to volunteer at a lot of Native organizations. I learned that there was an absence of men in leadership positions in groups that serve the community,” he says.
As a young Native man, he admits that he was oblivious to the fact that the city was home to so many American Indians. Working closely with local families, Darius began to recognize all the privileges he’d had access to, and committed to focusing his professional efforts on serving the Denver Indian community.
“I was a runner, an athlete all my life, and I had the privilege of going to college. I naively assumed that everybody had a bachelor’s degree because it came so easy to me,” he says.
“I decided to use my educational privilege to work with people on community empowerment and addressing racial injustice.”
From 1994 to 1999, Darius served as the Director of Indian Education for Denver Public Schools (DPS). One of his early challenges was to encourage Native parents to join and actively participate in the Parents Advisory Group. He was puzzled by the reluctance of Indian parents to engage in the process of advocating for their children’s education in public schools.
Through many conversations with people in the community, Darius learned of the work of Maria Yellow horse Braveheart, Ph.D., whose work focused on illuminating the historical and generational trauma wrought by Indian boarding schools.
Dr. Yellow Horse Braveheart’s work hit close to home, Darius says. Bessie Smith, Darius’ mother, was a survivor of the Indian boarding schools, which were set up to “assimilate” Native American children into mainstream society. More than 100,000 Native American children were forced by the U.S. government to attend Christian schools where tribal languages and cultures were replaced by English and Christianity. Native children were forced only to speak English, and many were punished if they spoke their tribal language. They were indoctrinated into Christianity, and forbidden from indigenous spiritual practices.
Darius credits his mother for her bravery and vulnerability in sharing her story with DPS and the community, in general. It was her story that sparked the conversation about unpacking the collective grief of the Denver Indian community on the boarding school experience,
“She came to one of our staff meetings. It was a small group, about six people,” says Darius. “Within 30 seconds of telling her story, she was crying. It was the first time I’d heard my Mom’s story of trauma and loss.”
Along with Dr. Yellow Horse Braveheart, Darius helped to organize a boarding school healing event and community conversation, held at East High School. With her social work background, Dr. Yellow Horse Braveheart made sure that counselors were present at the event, to assist anyone who may become emotionally triggered by the wounds of memory.
The gathering was powerful because it created space for American Indian families to publicly grieve the loss of identity and tradition as part of institutions that were designed to “kill the Indian and save the man.”
“For the first time, I saw a lot of American Indians making the correlation between the Jewish holocaust and the American Indian holocaust,” says Darius. “The event gave them the articulation and language about Indian boarding schools, and explained the lack of trust in the current educational system.”
After the event, Darius says that he observed an uptick of Indian families and individuals working with Indian counselors on healing trauma. He was also able to grow participation in the Parent Advisory Council, through creating open dialogue with the local Denver Indian community.
More than 20 years since that transformative community meeting, Darius hosts talks and presentations with his mother on the topic of “Native Justice,” discussing the history of genocide and racism, as well as the current state of Native Americans.
“At age 76, my Mother continues to talk about the legacy of the boarding school experience,” says Darius. “She is such a powerful woman. I am fortunate that I am able to incorporate her life experiences in advocating for the American Indian community.”
In his current role at the Denver Agency for Human Rights and Community Partnerships, Darius is grateful that he gets to focus on both civil rights leadership, as well as advocacy and support for the Denver Indian community. He staffs two citizen commissions: the Denver American Indian Commission and the African American Commission. The commissions serve as a bridge between communities and policy-makers and advocate for social and cultural awareness and to promote economic and political equality.
Darius points to a number of successes in organizing community voice and activism. He led the Denver American Indian Commission in helping to develop the 2015 “Colorado American Indian and Alaska Native Economic Report.” According to the report, American Indians and Alaska Natives contribute $1.5 billion to the state’s economy. The report resulted from the collaboration of the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs; the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT); Corporation for National and Community Service / AmeriCorps; the Denver American Indian Commission; and the Rocky Mountain Indian Chamber of Commerce.
Darius co-chairs the annual Pathways to Respecting American Civil Rights Conference, which merges his work in civil rights for the City of Denver and engaging the American Indian community. The Commission also hosts a monthly film screening of films created by indigenous filmmakers about issues impacting tribal and indigenous communities throughout the world. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science hosts the free movie screenings, made possible by contributions of public and private partners.
“I love my job. I have a one-of-a-kind position in the United States. I not only get to work on civil rights, but I get to couple that with my work with the community in a proactive way,” he says.
“I work with amazing commissioners who are committed to creating good things for the City of Denver.”
 |
| Darius Lee Smith |
Upon transferring from the University of Arizona to Azusa Pacific University, he encountered an obstacle with getting college credit for certain classes.
“They didn’t accept the Indian history, Chicano studies and African American history classes that I took at the University of Arizona as history classes,” says Darius, who lead the City and County of Denver Anti-Discrimination Office.
“[Azusa] took the courses only as electives. I was a little frustrated about that.”
As a student athlete, Darius sought the counsel of his coach, who encouraged him to write a letter to Azusa’s student newspaper. The piece ran in the front page of the paper and caught the attention of students and faculty.
“I wrote that not getting history credit for those classes invalidates me as an individual who is half-Black and half-Navajo. Black folks, Native Americans, Chicanos, Latinos and Mexicans have contributed so much to the development of the United States,” he says.
“I went on to write that when I took these courses in college, they were very empowering. Not just empowering for students of color, but for non-people of color. They need to see this history, because that’s what going to break this cycle of discrimination in this country.”
Darius says that he was soon contacted by the Director of the History Department at that time. The professor lauded Darius’ approach and perspective, and assured him that changes will soon be implemented to address the concerns.
“Instead of getting frustrated and lashing out, that experience taught me that it’s important to take the time to present the facts, to get conversation going about important issues,” he says. “The experience laid the foundation for why I do the work that I do.” After earning his degree in Applied Communications, Darius decided to move back to Denver.
 | ||||||
| Darius plays a key role in organizing the annual "Run for the Stronghold" run, an American Indian wellness initiative |
As a young Native man, he admits that he was oblivious to the fact that the city was home to so many American Indians. Working closely with local families, Darius began to recognize all the privileges he’d had access to, and committed to focusing his professional efforts on serving the Denver Indian community.
“I was a runner, an athlete all my life, and I had the privilege of going to college. I naively assumed that everybody had a bachelor’s degree because it came so easy to me,” he says.
“I decided to use my educational privilege to work with people on community empowerment and addressing racial injustice.”
From 1994 to 1999, Darius served as the Director of Indian Education for Denver Public Schools (DPS). One of his early challenges was to encourage Native parents to join and actively participate in the Parents Advisory Group. He was puzzled by the reluctance of Indian parents to engage in the process of advocating for their children’s education in public schools.
Through many conversations with people in the community, Darius learned of the work of Maria Yellow horse Braveheart, Ph.D., whose work focused on illuminating the historical and generational trauma wrought by Indian boarding schools.
Dr. Yellow Horse Braveheart’s work hit close to home, Darius says. Bessie Smith, Darius’ mother, was a survivor of the Indian boarding schools, which were set up to “assimilate” Native American children into mainstream society. More than 100,000 Native American children were forced by the U.S. government to attend Christian schools where tribal languages and cultures were replaced by English and Christianity. Native children were forced only to speak English, and many were punished if they spoke their tribal language. They were indoctrinated into Christianity, and forbidden from indigenous spiritual practices.
 |
| Darius with his mother, Bessie Smith |
Along with Dr. Yellow Horse Braveheart, Darius helped to organize a boarding school healing event and community conversation, held at East High School. With her social work background, Dr. Yellow Horse Braveheart made sure that counselors were present at the event, to assist anyone who may become emotionally triggered by the wounds of memory.
The gathering was powerful because it created space for American Indian families to publicly grieve the loss of identity and tradition as part of institutions that were designed to “kill the Indian and save the man.”
“For the first time, I saw a lot of American Indians making the correlation between the Jewish holocaust and the American Indian holocaust,” says Darius. “The event gave them the articulation and language about Indian boarding schools, and explained the lack of trust in the current educational system.” After the event, Darius says that he observed an uptick of Indian families and individuals working with Indian counselors on healing trauma. He was also able to grow participation in the Parent Advisory Council, through creating open dialogue with the local Denver Indian community.
More than 20 years since that transformative community meeting, Darius hosts talks and presentations with his mother on the topic of “Native Justice,” discussing the history of genocide and racism, as well as the current state of Native Americans.
“At age 76, my Mother continues to talk about the legacy of the boarding school experience,” says Darius. “She is such a powerful woman. I am fortunate that I am able to incorporate her life experiences in advocating for the American Indian community.”
In his current role at the Denver Agency for Human Rights and Community Partnerships, Darius is grateful that he gets to focus on both civil rights leadership, as well as advocacy and support for the Denver Indian community. He staffs two citizen commissions: the Denver American Indian Commission and the African American Commission. The commissions serve as a bridge between communities and policy-makers and advocate for social and cultural awareness and to promote economic and political equality.
Darius points to a number of successes in organizing community voice and activism. He led the Denver American Indian Commission in helping to develop the 2015 “Colorado American Indian and Alaska Native Economic Report.” According to the report, American Indians and Alaska Natives contribute $1.5 billion to the state’s economy. The report resulted from the collaboration of the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs; the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT); Corporation for National and Community Service / AmeriCorps; the Denver American Indian Commission; and the Rocky Mountain Indian Chamber of Commerce.
 |
| With James Anaya, Dean of the CU-Boulder Law School at the 2017 Pathways to Respecting American Indian Civil Rights |
“I love my job. I have a one-of-a-kind position in the United States. I not only get to work on civil rights, but I get to couple that with my work with the community in a proactive way,” he says.
“I work with amazing commissioners who are committed to creating good things for the City of Denver.”