California State Indian Museum

As we enter the final week of Native American Heritage Month, we honor and celebrate the contributions of Native Californians not just in November, but all year round. Today we are highlighting an influential Native Californian who has strong connections in the Sacramento community as well as a lasting legacy in the California Native community as a whole. Born in 1895 Marie Mason Potts, Mountain Maidu, was an influential California Indian activist with a lasting legacy. ... Potts attended not one, but two off-reservation boarding schools. As a young girl she attended Greenville Indian Industrial School, and later transferred to Pennsylvania’s Carlisle Indian Industrial School. These schools had missions of removing indigenous children from their family and assimilate them to Euro-American culture. Despite the conditions, which were too often perilous for her peers, Potts managed to not only survive, but excel in her academics at the boarding schools. Marie Potts spent many decades in revitalizing her culture and was active in the community. She organized State Fair booths which highlighted baby baskets, ceremonial regalia, other cultural materials, and basket weaving demonstrations. Throughout Sacramento she shared her culture and history with elementary school students in visits to their classes. Potts spent thirty years as editor and publisher of the Smoke Signal newspaper, work which would take her to the national stage. Marie published the book The Northern Maidu in 1977 while in her eighties where she shared her personal account of history and culture of the Northern Maidu. In 1978 Potts was recognized at the California State Indian Museum as an Honored Elder a day of celebrating culture bearers that the museum continues today. A recently published book, Marie Mason Potts: The Lettered Life of a Californian Indian Activist by Terri A Castaneda, explores Potts life story ranging from her early years, her experience in off-reservation boarding schools to her work on cultural revitalization and as an advocate for Native American rights. More details on this new book, a recent addition to the museum store, can be found here: https://www.oupress.com/books/15958950/marie-mason-potts.

Join us for our first public presentation of All About Acorns: A California Staple at 11am on Tuesday, November 10th. Space is limited, pre-register here: https://ports-ca.zoom.us//regist/WN_WfDiYoMQQQ6x5Ot0oMz8Cg

Join us Sunday, November 29th, as we celebrate Museum Store Sunday at the State Indian Museum Store! This is your opportunity to support your local museum store that offers unique and fascinating items every day of the year! Lots of great merchandise in stock, just in time for holiday shopping! And with every $25 or more purchase you will receive a FREE reusable Museum Store Sunday tote (while supplies last)!

Inside Sacramento did a profile of Al Striplen, long-time docent and friend to the museum! If you have visited the museum before, you may have heard Al sharing his wonderful flute music.

During Native American Heritage month, we honor the people who have been here in California since time immemorial. This month is a chance to celebrate the traditions of dance, art, culture and life of indigenous people. Join us in the celebration and help us all support the past, present, and future of California’s Native communities.

Virtual panel discussion with Humboldt State University Native American Studies Program happening live in one hour, see their post below for more details.

For week four of Native American Heritage Month, we would like to present a brief biography of Frank LaPena- You may recall from our week two post that Frank LaPena was the mentor of Harry Fonseca, famous Native Californian artist. LaPena himself also had a long and varied career in art, literature, dance, and academics. Frank LaPena was born in San Francisco in 1937, but early in life was forced to attend one of the infamous Indian boarding schools in Stew...art, Nevada. These boarding schools were intended to strip Native Americans of their heritage and cultural ties, forcing them to assimilate into Euro-American society. Many children were abused and traumatized by these institutions, but LaPena was able to survive, and ultimately earn a Master’s degree in anthropology from Sacramento State, leading to a career in academics for himself. Frank LaPena was a professor of art and the director of Native American Studies at Sacramento State. Those who studied under Professor LaPena were awestruck by the way he bridged the gap between traditional Native American knowledge and culture and modern academia. Alongside his academic endeavors, LaPena’s talents as an artist guided him to earn a Bachelor’s degree in art from Chico State. LaPena’s paintings have been displayed in museums since 1962. As a writer, he also produced many beautiful works of poetry. One of LaPena’s accomplishments was the establishment of the Maidu Dancers and Traditionalists, a group dedicated to preserving the dances and ceremonies of the Maidu people. LaPena remained an active participant with the Dancers well into his 80s, dancing and singing during events and ceremonies. Frank LaPena passed away on May 2nd, 2019. LaPena’s role as an educator, an artist, and an ardent protector of traditional knowledge made him a distinguished leader in the Native American community of California. Those close to LaPena describe him as humble, down-to-earth, and most of all, kind. He was a dedicated father and grandfather, and a pillar of his community. His words and his works, and the works of those he taught and inspired, will never be forgotten, and continue to resonate with us today. Some of LaPena’s work can be viewed on the Autry Museum’s website here: https://theautry.org//when-i-remember-i-see-re/world-gift

"Gather:(The Fight to Revitalize our Native Foodways) is an intimate portrait of the growing movement among Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political, and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide." The Autry Museum is speaking with director Sanjay Rawal and other guests tonight (October 29) at 7pm. Screening of the film is available on their site until midnight on October 30.

Park update: We are now open! While we look forward to seeing you all again, we have made some updates to maintain public health and safety. Your visit will look a little different than it did before, and we are here with some tips for planning your next visit. Please keep the following in mind when planning a visit to the museum: ... Masks are required to enter Please keep 6 feet apart from those outside your household Follow the path indicated by staff Credit Card preferred Groups no larger than 6 allowed at a time If you or anyone in your household is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, please postpone your visit until everyone is feeling better. Call the front desk at 916-324-0971 with any additional questions.

Happy Birthday to Deborah A. Miranda, Ohlone-Costanoan Esselen poet, writer, and professor. We encourage you to take some time to read "Tuolumne", a moving portrait of knowledge passed from father to child across generations.

Congratulations to Brittani R Orona, who has been named this year's Incomindios-Lippuner Scholar. We had the pleasure of employing her at the State Indian Museum several years ago.

October 12th was Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Indigenous Peoples’ Day was officially recognized by the State of California in 2019, and was established to celebrate the vibrant, diverse, and still-present cultures of California’s Native People. California is home to hundreds of Native American tribes, bands, and communities, each with their own unique and magnificent arts and traditions. Indigenous Peoples’ Day is meant to highlight Native cultures and history, and the California State Indian Museum has the privilege of displaying images and items important to these traditions. We strive to acknowledge and honor the indigenous people of California, and their vast contributions to the past, present, and future of our state, not just today but every day.

It's finally happening! Our All About Acorns program is ready to book at https://www.ports-ca.us/ports-on-demand/state-indian-museum. Spots are available as early as next Friday!

Continuing over one hundred years of friendship and solidarity between Irish and Native American people, Ireland Lacrosse gave up their spot in the 2022 World Games competition so that the Iroquois Nationals will be able to compete. The Nationals represent the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, who were the original creators of lacrosse, which they call the medicine game. https://www.npr.org//ireland-lacrosse-bows-out-of-2022-wor

Check out the great work our friends on the north coast have been doing!

California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot, State Parks Director Armando Quintero and Department of Transportation Director Toks Omishakin today announced a series of actions to identify and redress discriminatory names of features attached to the State Parks and transportation systems. Agencies also will expand representation and increase transparency around a state committee tasked with recommending changes to geographic names in California. Read full press release here: https://www.parks.ca.gov/NewsRelease/976

Native American Day (September 25): Today marks the 53rd observance of California Native American Day, the fourth Friday of September. How are you observing today? In 1939, then Governor Culbert Olson started Indian Day which evolved into California Native American Day in 1968 through Governor Ronald Reagan and the California Tribal Chairpersons Association. ... This year, California Native American Day has gone virtual with the theme: Healing Nations: Protecting Elders, Women and Children. We encourage you to tune in to the live programming on the California Native American Day page. Videos will include songs and dance, comedy performances, cooking demonstrations, and legislative updates from Northern, Central, and Southern California’s tribal nations all with the focused on the purpose behind the fightto heal, to grow, and to preserve the future of California’s tribal cultures. For more information visit: https://californianativeamericanday.com/