Happy New Year and Blessings for 2021!

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Art by Henry Frank

Happy New Year and Blessings for 2021!

The Museum of the American Indian would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! We hope all our friends, family and community emerge from these challenging times stronger, thriving, and more resilient. For the museum, we are looking at this time as our chrysalis stage and hope to step out of our cocoon with new resources, educational programming, and exhibits to share about the beauty and wisdom of American Indian people. We are taking this time to do the important work of evaluating how we represent culture, act as an ally, uplift BIPOC voices, and participate in the tough conversations. We are learning from the events taking place all over the world and within our own little community. We are thankful to Marin and Bay Area residents who have continued to support the museum for decades and allowed us to continue to be a stronghold for education about American Indian history and contemporary cultures and traditions.

You are in our prayers for health, happiness, and joy. Stay safe, wear a mask, and we look forward to the time we can see you at the museum again in the future.

Check Out this New Book on Coast Miwok life for Young Readers!

Make sure to order your copy of Betty Goerke’s new book, Adventures of Two Coast Miwok Children, illustrated by Edward Willie. Fresh off the press, this book tells the story of two children living in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1700s. Perfect reading for 8 to 12 years of age, this book offers a unique perspective to our beloved Bay Area and allows for school age readers to imagine what the area was like before colonization. The beautiful illustrations by artist Edward Willie (Pomo, Piute, Wailaki, and Wintu) bring the story to life and spark the imagination. Make sure to order your copy here:
https://www.mvhistory.org/miwok-book/

Compassion and Forgiveness for the Five

Recently Marin was in national headlines because the Juniper Serra statue at the San Rafael Mission was taken down during a protest on Indigenous People’s Day. The history of California’s missions is filled with pain and heavy historical trauma for many of California Indian people. The five protesters who are being charged with felony charges in relation to the removal of the statue were part of an action that was triggered by the historical trauma. The Museum of the American Indian stands in solidarity and support of the five protesters. We are advocating the charges against them being dropped in the letter linked below.

We at the Museum of the American Indian would like to see forgiveness to be a priority and to use this incident as an opportunity for dialogue and education about how the effects of colonization and historical trauma can manifest.

LETTER FOR THE FIVE (PDF)

Your Support Helps

The Museum of the American Indian, like so many organizations all around the world, has had to cancel our programming and close our doors to the public because of COVID-19. The effect has been very challenging for us, yet we continue to work. With a skeleton crew, we have adapted our programming to offer educational videos on our YouTube page as a resource for teachers and families. We are also using this time to clean house and improve our educational exhibits. We hope to make it to the other side of these trying times and continue to bring you more educational programming, great events, and informative exhibits. Any support from our community will help us to continue these efforts, and is appreciated during these difficult times. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the museum as a gift or renew your membership for the New Year.

We appreciate you

Thank you!

Donate Now

Support has been provided for this program by the Marin Community Foundation.

Projects were made possible in part by a grant from The Creative Work Fund, a program of the Walter and Elise Haas Fund that also is supported by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Funding has been provided by California Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act economic stabilization plan of 2020.

Our Mission
Through the creation of this museum and education center 50 years ago, the Museum of the American Indian continues to serve the general community with our ongoing efforts to collect, conserve, research, exhibit and explain cultural and ethnographic materials, as well as other information related to Native American peoples.

The Museum offers programs for elementary schools that explore the history and culture of Native Americans of California and other regions of the country. These programs fulfill the State of California curriculum for social studies. The Museum promotes accuracy, sensitivity, and respect for the heritage and history of our continent’s earliest inhabitants.

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Museum of the American Indian · 2200 Novato Blvd · Novato, CA 94947-2079 · USA