Since 1974, the Imperial Valley Desert Museum has been a repository for indigenous Kumeyaay archeological collections in Imperial County and is the only cultural institution in Imperial County supporting the awareness of Kumeyaay culture and artists.  The museum is in the geographic center of Kumeyaay traditional…
For over 40 years, the Inlakech Cultural Arts Center/Lucha, Inc. has provided youth and adults with a free, afterschool cultural education program.  Centered in the heart of Oxnard, California, many of Inlakech’s students come from low-income agricultural families, who are greatly underserved.  Children from the age of two to the…
The Nor Rel Muk Wintu Nation’s traditional homeland lies in the headwaters of the South Fork of the Trinity River, in Trinity County, California.  Approximately half of the tribe’s 1,000 members still live near their ancestral lands in Trinity and Shasta Counties.  Nor Rel Muk Wintu members from across the…
The Salinans are a Native people that lived in what is now the Central Coast of California, in the Salinas Valley.  The Salinan language is one of the oldest in California.  Said to have gone extinct by the Census of 1930, the Salinan peoples survived and currently exist in several…
Tulare County League of Mexican-American Women (TCLMAW) was founded in 1979 by five Tulare County Mexican-American women who were dedicated to educating and increasing the knowledge of women in Tulare County through activities such as conferences, workshops, and community projects.  This dedication continues today.  The TCLMAW…
Basket weaving was once an everyday skill used by the Native peoples of Northern California.  Today, basketry has become a highly specialized art form with a limited number of tribal people who possess the skill and knowledge the gather materials, process those materials, and create a living basket.  Baskets are…
In the Northwestern area of the state of Michoacán resides an indigenous group known as the Tarascos, who are also referred to as Purépecha, pertaining to the language spoken by this group. The Purépecha people have been successful in retaining a variety of cultural expressions in addition to the language.
The far northern region of California (Humboldt and Siskoyou Counties) is the homeland of the Hupa and Karuk tribes, who have been vigilant in sustaining cultural practices related to a mode of life to which the Klamath tributary is central. Ritual and ceremony of renewal continue to be integrated in…
Wilverna Reece (Karuk) has been weaving baskets since 1978.  She was taught by Karuk tribal elders Grace and Madeline Davis in Happy Camp, California.  Wilverna is proficient in the skills and knowledge needed to weave many types of Karuk baskets, and has been teaching weaving to community members since 1983.
Nastaliq is the most popular calligraphy style in the Persian-speaking world.  Nastaliq is mainly used to write Persian poetry, which alongside calligraphy occupies a significant place in the everyday life of Iranians.  Since the ancient foundation of Islam, calligraphy has been the dominant and emblematic feature of Islamic art.  The…