Native American Festivals in California

By in Native

Native American Festivals in California
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Appreciating Native American culture isn’t just about learning its history, but also about embracing its present. You can do some of both by going to Pow Wows in California—celebrations with traditional dancing, singing, drumming, and feasting—and also by participating in annual festivals that celebrate art, crafts, and contemporary films made by Native American artists. Some events honor elders or the acorn harvest, while others have been known to showcase rising comedians.

Many annual events happen in November, during Native American Heritage Month, as well as in September, to coincide with California Native American Day (always on the fourth Friday of that month). Check out these events for your own enrichment, and keep in mind that exact dates may vary from year to year.

April: Redding Rancheria Earth Day, Redding

Observe Earth Day on the grounds of the Win-River Casino, located on the Redding Rancheria that is the reservation home of descendants of the Pit-River, Wintu, and Yana tribes. Learn about eco-friendly practices while shopping vendors offering Native American clothes, jewelry, and cuisine.

June: Honored Elders Day, Sacramento

Elders are revered within Native cultures as the keepers of history and traditions, and this annual event honors tribal elders from all over California. While they enjoy a lunch and ceremony inside Sacramento’s State Indian Museum, the general public is invited to the museum grounds for performances, artisan vendors, and Indian tacos.

June: American Indian Arts Marketplace, Los Angeles

Shop for Native artwork, jewelry, and fashion at this annual event at the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, taking breaks to watch live performances by Native Voices, the museum’s resident theater company. This museum in Griffith Park is home to one of the nation’s largest collections of Native American art and artifacts, so check the museum’s exhibitions or events pages for more Native art exhibits or performances throughout the year.

June: Native American Arts Festival Week, Idyllwild

This week at Idyllwild Arts—an acclaimed arts center in the San Bernardino County town of Idyllwild—celebrates Native American–made art that spans the generations, from bird singing to stand-up comedy. During the summer, check the calendar for more Native craft workshops on basketmaking, jewelry-making, and cooking.

June: California Native Ways Festival, Berkeley

Learn about the intricate details and artistic flair involved in creating native baskets, tule canoes, and other crafts at this festival in Berkeley’s Ohlone Park. The day typically features artists from tribes including the Pomo, Mewok (also spelled “Miwok” and “Me-Wuk”), and Karuk, as well as a panel discussion about the significance of California Indian place names.

September: Me-Wuk Acorn Festival, Tuolumne

Join the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians to celebrate the annual harvest of local black oak acorns in Tuolumne County. The festivities include dancers, craft vendors, and hand games.

September: California Native American Day, San Bernardino

Observe California Native American Day on the campus of Cal State University, San Bernardino, where the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians will throw a party of music and dancing. The free event often features Miwok and Yurok singing and dancing, as well as Cahuilla birdsongs.

September: Round Valley Indian Tribes California Indian Days, Covelo

Come for the parade, cultural dances, a chili cookoff, and more at this reservation in Mendocino County. Stay for the Western Play Day at the local rodeo grounds, and make the most of gaming at the reservation’s Hidden Oaks Casino.

September: Moompetam Festival, Long Beach

Visit the Aquarium of the Pacific for a celebration of several local Native cultures. Check out craft demonstrations, storytelling sessions, and music and dance performances from a variety of coastal indigenous tribes, including Tongva, Chumash, Luiseño, and Kumeyaay. Festival admission is included with your ticket to the Long Beach aquarium.

October: Morongo Music & Cultural Fest

Camp on the grounds of the Morongo Casino & Resort during this weekend in Greater Palm Springs that blends Native culture with global good feelings. In between musical acts, spend the night in an on-site teepee, take a sacred poetry lesson, or bliss out in drum, meditation, or yoga sessions.

October: Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Berkeley

Celebrate October’s three-day weekend in Berkeley, which was the first town to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 1992, 500 years after Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas. A few years after that first observance, Santa Cruzadopted the holiday and other cities have since followed suit. The original party is still in Berkeley at MLK Civic Center Park, and features both a Pow Wow and Indian market.

To celebrate in Southern California, head to Santa Ana in Orange County, where the Plaza of the Sun at the Santa Ana Civic Center hosts a free community event over the weekend with music and dancing.

October: Native Arts Expo, Mendocino

Browse Native-made art and jewelry at the Mendocino Art Center. The weekend typically includes musical performances, workshops, panel discussions, and a film screening.

November: Ridgecrest Petroglyph Festival

Learn about the Coso Petroglyphs—one of the finest collections of ancient drawings in the world—at this annual festival in the Kern County town of Ridgecrest. Enjoy a street fair, live Native American music, and tours of Petroglyph Park to learn more about these thousands of carvings of animals and abstract designs, which are usually off limits to visitors.

November: California American Indian & Indigenous Film Festival, San Marcos

Located in north San Diego County, the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center hosts this festival of new films from Native American filmmakers, producers, directors, and actors. Along with screenings, the festival at California State University–San Marcos includes panel discussions, dialogues with film industry pros, and post-screening Q&A sessions.

November: American Indian Film Festival, San Francisco

Watch screenings and panels at the world’s longest-running festival dedicated to films by Native Americans and First Nations people of Canada. The San Francisco festival lineup often includes other culturally minded events, too, such as a cooking demo by chef Crystal Wahpepah from Wahpepah’s Kitchen in Oakland.

November: LA Skins Fest, Hollywood

Catch screenings of indigenous artist–made films at Hollywood’s famous TCL Chinese Theater. The festival, which has been running since the early 2000s, gives out awards for documentary, animated, and narrative films, as well as special awards for actors, writers, and directors.

Ralph Cowen Photography Collection

By in Photography

Ralph Cowen Photography Collection

Marian University Ancilla College Vice President and Academic Dean, Dr. Natalie Tucker, has been actively working with Pat Cowan, wife of Ralph Cowan, and myself in order to find ways to have students, faculty, and staff engage with Ralph’s photography collection. 

This amazing photography collection came to PHJCs in 2020 and has been perfectly archived and organized by PHJC coworkers with the help of Sisters Linda Volk and Kathleen Kelley. The collection consists of hundreds of profound, high quality, striking photos of all subject matter taken by Ralph Cowan who was one of the most sought-after professional photographers of his time, thus making a lasting career in professional photography. His work took him and his wife around the world as they photographed their travels. Ralph has an inquisitive eye for capturing the human spirit. The incredible amount of detail, use of light, subject matter, etc., makes his work outstanding in his field. 

Numerous faculty and staff have visited the archival collection, and discussions have ensued that would enable using the photos in creative writing, business/advertising classes, and global history courses. This would provide great benefit to the students and their academic learning. Most students are visual learners, so being able to see, think, reflect, analyze, and engage with the photography collection would be impactful for many in their advancement.

MCAU is also designing a permanent collection/ display of a set of Cowan photos that will be positioned nearby the Hardesty classroom. The use of numerous photos may also find a home in many offices, hallways, and in the campus learning commons (library) as part of displays throughout the year. The goal is to get the photos out and about the campus and the college community, so many can engage, be inspired, learn, and think more deeply about various subject matter and the art of photography. This important documentary work is also used widely used by the PHJCs. 

If you are interested in helping with this project, please contact Dr. Natalie Tucker at MCAU and/or myself in the Archives Office, Motherhouse. Many hands make light work, and all help is appreciated. 

Paterson’s ‘Art Factory’ hits the market

By in Art World News

Paterson’s ‘Art Factory’ hits the market
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With 230,922 square feet, industrial property The Art Factory in Paterson is up for sale.

Cushman & Wakefield announced Oct. 25 it was tapped to lead marketing efforts for the site located at 70 Spruce St. Managing Director Andrew Schwartz, Senior Associate André Balthazard, Director Jordan Sobel, Dan Associate Bottiglieri and Executive Managing Director Charles Parmelli are leading the assignment on behalf of ownership, Great Falls Industrial Park Inc.

“We are excited to present this historically significant property situated within Paterson’s iconic landscape for sale,” said Schwartz. “This property can be converted for multiple uses including apartment lofts, self-storage facilities or any other uses permitted within the Historic District Zone, providing a unique opportunity for a new owner to contribute to the ongoing legacy of this cherished location.”

The property functions as a rental hall, hosting weddings, corporate meetings and events as well as other special occasions in the historic, industrial setting. And – if the space looks familiar – you might recognize the locale from the background of AMC’s spin-off “The Walking Dead: Dead City.”

Located just off of Interstate 80, The Art Factory offers frontage along Spruce Street and backs up to the Great Falls National Historic Park.

Situated on 5 acres, the 21-building industrial complex dates to the mid 1840s when it was originally constructed for the American Hemp Co. to spin hemp into rope, according to the Library of Congress. The company was reorganized in 1851 into the Dolphin Manufacturing Co. and was the largest jute factory in the U.S. by 1881. The business shuttered in the late 1950s.

According to its website, The Art Factory still features original timbers, brickwork, metal details, cobblestones and the large factory windows. In 2018, ownership secured a $12.5 million loan for capital improvements and to pay off debt, it was announced at the time.

Because the events operations are separate from the real estate, the business will be unaffected by the sale in the short-term, Cushman & Wakefield said.

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Painting Stolen by American Soldier During World War II Returned to Germany

By in Art World News

Painting Stolen by American Soldier During World War II Returned to Germany
Painting in a gold frame

Vienna-born artist Johann Franz Nepomuk Lauterer, who lived between 1700 and 1733, created Landscape of Italian Character along with a companion painting.
Art Recovery International

With help from the FBI, a painting that vanished during World War II has been returned home to Germany.

The work—Landscape of Italian Character—was painted by 18th-century Austrian artist Johann Franz Nepomuk Lauterer. Beginning in the 1920s, it was on view at a museum in Munich.

When war broke out in 1939, many paintings from the museum’s collections were relocated to safe locations. But according to a statement from the Bavarian State Painting Collections, “no evidence” suggested that Landscape of Italian Character had been evacuated,

“Its whereabouts remained unknown ever since the beginning of the war,” says the statement. “The possibility existed that it had been looted.”

Between 1965 and 1973, the Bavarian State Painting Collections launched an official search for the missing painting, which measures 7 by 10 inches, but came up empty.

Decades later, the painting surfaced on the American art market in 2011, when the descendants of an American soldier tried to sell it to the Bavarian State Painting Collections. Unfortunately, those negotiations broke down, and “all trace of the painting was lost for a second time,” per the statement. A year later, officials listed the piece with the German Lost Art Foundation.

But the painting’s saga was far from over. Last year, an individual in Chicago contacted Art Recovery International, a company specializing in recovering lost, stolen and looted artworks. The tipster claimed their uncle had brought a painting back to the United States after serving in World War II. This individual sent a few photos but otherwise didn’t share much information about the piece.

Back of 18th century painting

The wooden back of the missing painting

Art Recovery International

Christopher Marinello, a lawyer and the founder of Art Recovery International, worked with German art lawyers to identify the painting and track down the documentation associated with its disappearance.

The Chicago resident, who has not been identified, initially asked to be paid for the piece. “I explained our policy of not paying for stolen artwork and that the request was inappropriate,” Marinello tells Claire Savage of the Associated Press (AP).

Marinello then got in touch with the FBI’s Art Crime Team, which “confirmed the looting” and “provided the extra confidence to the possessor to surrender the painting unconditionally,” according to a statement from Art Recovery International.

Last week, officials held a small ceremony at the German Consulate in Chicago to officially return the painting to Germany, reports the AP. Bernd Ebert, a curator at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, flew into town to retrieve it.

After bubble-wrapping and carefully situating the work in his suitcase, Ebert took it back to the museum, where conservators will be cleaning and restoring it. Soon, it will go on display at the museum alongside its companion painting. Together, the two small artworks depict a tranquil, pastoral scene in the Italian countryside, complete with shepherds and animals.

Ebert described the retrieval as “a very rare” and “exciting” moment for the museum, per the AP.

The recovery is also unusual for Art Recovery International, which typically searches for paintings looted by Nazis. Occasionally, however, it comes across cases like this one, “where Allied soldiers may have taken objects home as souvenirs or as trophies of war,” says Marinello in the company’s statement. “Being on the winning side doesn’t make it right.”

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Lily Gladstone Is Using the Red Carpet to Spotlight Indigenous Designers

By in Native

Lily Gladstone Is Using the Red Carpet to Spotlight Indigenous Designers

Thanks to her breakout role in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, Lily Gladstone is a major Oscars contender this year. And the Indigenous actor (and British Vogue cover star) has the A-list red carpet style to match her awards season buzz. Though she hasn’t had a traditional press tour for the film—in compliance with the SAG-AFTRA strikes—Gladstone has been intentional with her select appearances on the step and repeats this year. Whether at fashion month, or last night’s Time100 Next event in New York City, Gladstone has been using her moment in the spotlight to uplift and support the Indigenous designers within her community.

Working with stylist Jason Rembert, Gladstone started her thoughtful approach to red carpet attire back at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (before the SAG-AFTRA strike was put into effect). At the premiere of her Scorsese film, the star wore a floral Valentino gown punctuated with a pair of tiered dentalium earrings by Jamie Okuma—the first Indigenous designer to be inducted into the CFDA, hailing from the La Jolla Indian Reservation in southern California. Later that week, for the film’s official photo call, Gladstone wore a black caped Chanel ensemble, accessorized with a pair of beaded and dentalium earrings by Shelby LeeAnn Gorman. Her jewelry choices, including a copper Jennifer Younger necklace for the premiere after-party in Cannes, were a stylish nod to her own heritage.

In Valentino and Jamie Okuma earrings

In Valentino and Jamie Okuma earrings

Photo: Getty Images

Even in the absence of a full press tour, Gladstone has continuously worn pieces from Native artists. At Louis Vuitton’s spring 2024 show in Paris, for one, Gladstone wore an ensemble from the French house finished with a pair of dangly steel earrings by Woempe Designs. At Loewe, she chose golden El Techichi earrings resembling a calla lily. Just last night, at the Time100 Next event in New York, Gladstone wore a printed dress by the Indigenous label Burning Wagon Designs, finished with an Hermès coat and Jennifer Younger earrings.

Gladstone’s approach is commendable, since so few Indigenous designers are spotlighted on the red carpet. It also serves as a snapshot into what could have been on a Killers of the Flower Moon press tour. If the Oscars end up happening next year, pending strike negotiations, you can bet that Gladstone will deliver another spectacular Native fashion moment. And we simply can’t wait for it.

Below, more of Gladstone’s best red carpet looks.

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