Oftentimes, the smallest pieces of paper have the largest impact on our lives. Imagine the contents of your wallet and the implications of losing them. Those pocket-sized documents help us navigate our world. Their useful life expires when our financial or domestic habits change, and they become historical ephemera.

A card issued by the Miners’ Protective Association in the Cripple Creek District tells a story larger than its size would suggest. The Western Federation of Miners (WFM) waged a protracted strike in the mines and mills of the district from 1903–1904. The Mine Owners’ Association brought all of its economic and political force to bear on the strikers, securing military occupation of the district and ultimately wresting power from elected officials to deport over 200 union men and sympathizers from Cripple Creek. After the strike, no WFM member could find work in the area’s mines and mills. This card, given only to miners who agreed to sign a "yellow dog" contract and forswear the union, became the key to employment in Cripple Creek.

Although a small and seemingly innocuous thing, this special permit card represents a series of events of enormous consequence to working people in Colorado. Curatorial work often involves teasing out the history that swirls around a single item, making explicit those stories that are only hinted at by the piece itself.