In major museums, only a small fraction of the artifacts held by the museum are on display and interpreted for the public. Most of the museum’s artifacts are in vaults where they are available only to researchers. The Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History maintains a Visible Vault in which visitors can view hundreds … Continued
One of the displays in the San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands, California, is entitled Sacred Earth and subtitled Understanding our past and honoring cultures that thrive today. The nature of California and Southwestern Indian culture began to change with the European invasion four centuries ago. One of the displays in the Museum looks at … Continued
All societies have government. At the time of the European invasion, American Indian cultures differed greatly from their European counterparts in the way in which they governed themselves and, as a result, many European writers believed that Indian nations did not have governments. The government of European nations tended to be based on the peculiar … Continued
The traditional homeland of the Luiseño was in the area of the San Luis Rey River and their name, given to them by the Spanish, comes from the San Luis Rey de Francia mission which was established in their territory in 1798. The aboriginal name for the Luiseño is presently unknown. In her entry on … Continued
The Maidu inhabited a series of mountain valleys in northeastern California. In general, the area occupied by the Maidu had an elevation of more than 4,000 feet above sea level. The Maidus are usually divided into three main groups, based elevation: valley, foothill, and mountain. Of the these, the valley group Maidus were most numerous. … Continued
One of the mainstays of the diet for the California Indians was the acorn which was used in soup, porridge, and bread. Sixteen different species of oak provided the acorns. There are a number of steps involved in gathering and processing the acorns. They are gathered in September and October. Traditionally, the people gathered the … Continued
In providing a broad overview of the hundreds of distinct American Indian cultures found in North America, it is common for museums, historians, archaeologists, and ethnologists to use a culture area model. This model is based on the observation that different groups of people living in the same geographic area often share many cultural features. … Continued
At one time, Teotihuacán, was not only the largest city in Mexico, but also one of the largest cities in the world. Construction of this city, which is located to the northeast of present-day Mexico City, was started about 2,200 years ago. By 1,500 years ago Teotihuacán had a population of about 250,000 people, making … Continued
Dick Pool, President of Water for Fish, discusses the deep relationship between salmon population collapses and decreased river flows on the San Joaquin River and its tributaries. One day before the State Water Resources Control Board’s hearing on increased flows for the San Joaquin River and its three tributaries was held in Sacramento on August … Continued
The Cahuilla Continuum was an exhibit at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum in Riverside, California, authored and curated by Sean C. Milanovich. The exhibit told the story of the Cahuilla from creation to the present day. One of the displays in the exhibit shows modern Cahuilla ceremonial clothing and regalia. Shown above is the display of … Continued
