The beaded collar is adornment worn by Western Mono women. The collar is made from contemporary glass beads. It consists of a wide choker neckband, with a net-like or lacy draped cape. The drape of the collar extends fully over and around the shoulders covering the upper torso front and…
For Indian tribes of Northwestern California the art form of making female regalia, particularly ceremonial dresses was nearly lost. As native people fight against cultural erasure to retain their languages and cultural practices, the art form of regalia making, fortunately, has regained a high frequency of practice in the current…
The Dorothy Ramon Learning Center is dedicated to the documentation and sharing of Southern California’s First Peoples’ cultures, languages, history, music, and other traditional arts. The Center offers cultural activities and programs, supports research, preservation, and documentation with scholarly and accurate multimedia through its Ushkana Press…
Many Lightnings Legacy Center, Inc. contributes to the development and maintenance of the Native Garden located at the San Joaquin River basin in Fresno. It is a volunteer run organization. Funding from ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program in 2016 will provide monthly workshops to immerse future weavers and gatherers…
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…
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…
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…
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.
