The California State Indian Museum is a museum in the state park system of California, United States, interpreting the diverse cultures of the Indigenous peoples of California . It is located in Midtown Sacramento at 2618 K Street. The museum exhibits traditional items illustrating the varying cultures of the state's first inhabitants. The Native population of California , one of the largest and most diverse in the Western hemisphere, was made up of over 150 distinct tribal groups who spoke at least 64 different languages. Prior to the arrival of the first European explorers, the native population is estimated to have been in excess of 500,000 people. The museum, besides hosting artifacts and information, also serves as a cultural meeting point. It has been credited with reinforcing the idea that California's Native population isn't some distant memory, but a very contemporary presence in Sacramento.
19-619: The State Indian Museum, opened in 1940, is located at 2618 K Street Sacramento, near the intersection of 26th and K Streets. It is next to Sutter's Fort . Current exhibits depict three major themes of California Indian life: Nature, Spirit, and Family. Native peoples lived prosperously for thousands of years in what is now California. All of the exhibits and photographs on display in the museum are presented with respect for those who went before us on this land and continue to live in California communities today. California Indian cultural items in
38-539: A 50,000 acre land grant in the Central Valley from the Mexican governor . The main building of the fort is a two-story adobe structure built between 1841 and 1843 using Indigenous forced labor . This building is the only original surviving structure at the reconstructed Sutter's Fort State Historic Park. It was in here on January 28, 1848, that James Marshall met privately with John Sutter in order to show him
57-571: The gold that Marshall had found during the construction of Sutter's sawmill along the American River only four days earlier. Sutter built the original fort with walls 2.5 feet (0.76 m) thick and 15 to 18 feet (5.5 m) high. Pioneers took residence at Sutter's Fort around 1841. Following word of the California gold rush , the fort was largely deserted by the 1850s and fell into disrepair. The party led by John Sutter landed on
76-514: The 1970s with a museum store opening in 1972 and the first Gathering of Honored Elders taking place in 1978. From 1984-1985 the museum closed for renovations. From 2013-2014 the museum saw further improvements with the addition of text panels and a gallery/meeting room being repurposed as a renamed Basket Gallery dedicated to the Basket weavers of California. On May 11, 2018, Governor Jerry Brown of California allocated $ 100 million in state funding for
95-489: The Sacramento River from Yerba Buena at 38°34′54″N 121°27′58″W / 38.5816°N 121.4660°W / 38.5816; -121.4660 . After landing, Sutter built a base camp, then Sutter's Fort. The site of the landing is California Historical Landmark #591 that was listed on May 22, 1957. The old Coloma Road opened in 1847, it ran from Sutter's Fort to the city of Coloma . Marshall traveled
114-645: The State Capitol. The State Indian Museum was officially dedicated in 1940 by the Native Daughters of the Golden West . From 1951-1956, themed exhibits were developed so that the museum would tell a story rather than just be a display area. In the 1960s, more regional tribes began to influence exhibits while more enhanced curatorial care techniques were put into practice. The museum claimed a marked increase of association with local Native tribes in
133-613: The bank of the American River in August 1839. The group included three Europeans and a Native American boy, probably to serve as interpreter. Some of the first people brought to the colony were Native Hawaiian workers, called Kanakas . Sutter had entered a contract with the governor of Hawaii to import and use the labor of these eight men and two women for three years. Once the first camp was set up, Sutter used local Miwok , Nisenan , and "missionized" Native Californians to build
152-498: The center. The proposed buildout, as of April 2022, is 2028 with a completion date of 2032. Sutter%27s Fort Sutter's Fort was a 19th-century agricultural and trade colony in the Mexican Alta California province. Established in 1839, the site of the fort was originally part of a utopian colonial project called New Helvetia ( New Switzerland ) by its builder John Sutter , though construction of
171-945: The construction of the California Indian Heritage Center in West Sacramento, California . This Center would replace the State Indian Museum. Land was transferred in June of 2019 and the project was delayed in May 2020 as funds were shifted to help manage the COVID-19 pandemic. In April of 2022, the California State Parks and Recreation department announced that the Fentress Architects firm would design and build
190-463: The end of the California and Siskiyou Trails , which it served as a waystation. In modern times, the adobe structure has been restored to its original condition ( 38°34′20″N 121°28′16″W / 38.5723°N 121.4712°W / 38.5723; -121.4712 ) and is now administered by California Department of Parks and Recreation . It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961. To build his colony, John Sutter secured
209-409: The first building, a three-room adobe. Once the fort was built, Sutter established an agricultural colony with labor structures similar to Southern plantations and European feudalism . The colony relied on ranching and growing wheat crops. European colonists oversaw Native Californian and Native Hawaiian workers, who were often gravely mistreated. Sutter employed a caste system to ensure that
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#1732783876090228-628: The fort proper would not begin until 1841. The fort was the first non-Indigenous community in the California Central Valley , and saw grave mistreatment of Indigenous laborers in plantation or feudal style conditions. The fort is famous for its association with the Donner Party , the California Gold Rush , and the formation of the city of Sacramento , surrounding the fort. It is notable for its proximity to
247-616: The landmarks of California's pioneer days, purchased and rehabilitated Sutter's Fort when the City of Sacramento sought to demolish it. Repair efforts were completed in 1893 and the fort was given by the Native Sons of the Golden West to the State of California. In 1947, the fort was transferred to the authority of California State Parks as Sutter's Fort State Historic Park . Most of the original neighborhood structures were initially built in
266-508: The late 1930s as residences, many of which have been converted to commercial uses such as private medical practices. The history of the neighborhood is largely residential. Sutter's Fort is located on level ground at an elevation of approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) above mean sea datum. The slope elevation decreases northward toward the American River and westward toward the Sacramento River . Slope elevation gradually increases to
285-528: The minority European settlers maintained control over the colony. Although some of the laborers worked voluntarily, many were subjected to brutal conditions that resembled enslavement or serfdom . After gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill (also owned by John Sutter) in Coloma on January 24, 1848, the fort was abandoned. In 1891, the Native Sons of the Golden West , who sought to safeguard many of
304-572: The museum include traditional baskets (along with some of the smallest in the world), a redwood dugout canoe , ceremonial regalia, beadwork , and hunting & fishing tools—some of which are more than twenty-four hundred years old. There is also an exhibit depicting the life of Ishi , reputedly the last survivor of the Yahi tribe, illustrating how Native culture was powerfully impacted and forever changed when outsiders arrived. Many Native people have donated photographs of family and friends for viewing in
323-547: The museum. There is also a wall of photographs devoted to honoring California Elders, and a hands-on area where visitors have the opportunity to utilize Indian tools like the pump drill, used for making holes in shell beads, and the mortar & pestle, used for grinding acorns. From 1927 to 1939, cultural items owned by Benjamin Welcome Hathaway were housed in the State Library & Courts building and later
342-647: The road to tell of his gold find to Captain John A. Sutter. During the 49ers gold rush thousands of miners traveled the road heading out to look for gold and claims. Coloma Road at Sutter's Fort is a California Historical Landmark No. 745. There are two other Coloma Road California Historical Landmarks: Coloma Road, Rescue California Historical Landmark, No. 748, in Coloma and California Historical Landmark No. 747 at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park . California's first stage line, California Stage Company , traveled
361-553: The south and east, away from the rivers. All surface drainage flows toward the Sacramento River. Groundwater in the vicinity flows south-southwest toward the Sacramento Delta . However, after peak rainfall, the Sacramento River swells and the groundwater flow can actually reverse away from the river. Sutter's Landing is the spot the Captain John A. Sutter landed in August 1839 at the American River after coming up
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