Native American Archives - Page 5 of 13 - Alliance for California Traditional Arts

Safeguarding and passing on knowledge

Quechan traditional culture

Waw'kish, A Southern California Tribal Sport

The Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation preserves and protects the ancestral village of Kuruvungna Springs, located within the University High School campus in West Los Angeles. Dedicated to educating the general public about California’s indigenous history, particularly the inhabitants of the LA basin, the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples, they provide…

After citizens of the town of San Miguel Cuevas, Oaxaca, Mexico migrated and settled their families in the Central Valley, many became concerned that their children would not be exposed to their indigenous roots leading to cultural extinction. In 2001, community members came together to discuss how they can continue…

The Tolowa Dee-ni’ People have lived in Del Norte since recorded time. In 1853, an attack by settlers, was documented as the second single largest massacre of Native peoples in the history of the United States. The ensuing carnage caused a near extinction of people and…

In 2006, master artist Holly Hensher taught apprentice Paula Allen to make a Karuk women’s maple bark skirt. Used in tribal ceremonies, Karuk women’s maple bark skirts are made from the innermost layer of bark of the big leaf maple trees found within the Karuk ancestral territories. Hensher began weaving…

Master artist Glenn Moore, Sr. taught his grandson, Glenn Moore, Jr. to make a Yurok hand-carved redwood dugout canoe as part of ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program in 2006. Used in Yurok and Hoopa ceremonies, master and apprentice carved the canoe from an old-growth redwood tree. Glenn Moore Sr. learned to carve canoes…

ACTA is deeply saddened to learn of Luwana Quitiquit’s passing in December of 2011. *** “It’s really important to be able to focus on your basket. If you aren’t in that positive space and you are working on a basket every little mistake that you make is pretty much an…

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…