Crisosto Apache was named the next poet laureate for the state at an announcement ceremony at the Capitol on Wednesday. Apache, who lives in Lakewood, is a member of the Mescalero Apache, Chiricahua Apache and Diné (Navajo) tribes, and is the first indigenous poet to serve as Colorado’s poet laureate. “ I've always believed in words,” Apache said. Apache succeeds Andrea Gibson, who served as poet laureate from 2023 until their death last July from ovarian cancer. Gibson’s effervescent love for poetry and their larger-than-life personality raised the profile of Colorado’s Poet Laureate position.