Developed under a Native tribal advisory council over a two year period, “California Indians: Making A Difference” is the only exhibit of its kind created in Native voice representing over 100 tribes across the state.

The 3,000-square foot gallery showcases the unique contributions of the state’s Native peoples through artifacts, art, 13 oral histories at 6 video stations and an interactive Native language kiosk. Over 400 artifacts — many of which have never publicly viewed before — are on display including:

• Rare fur cape belonging to Ishi and an arrowhead made by him
• Basketry created by 20th century Native artists Dot So La Lee and Lucy Telles
• Chipped Stone Bear, California’s official prehistoric artifact
• Sacred white deer dance ceremonial dress and artifacts
• Oral histories from notable Native activist L. Frank Manriques, recording artist Ras K’Dee and anthropologist Bradley Marshall
• Life-sized reproduction of a Channel Island pygmy mammoth
• Works from contemporary Native artists Frank La Peña and Fritz Scholder

Utilizing the voices and experiences of the state’s Native peoples, the exhibit presents stories of adaptation and triumph that ultimately reveal California Indians have not only survived but continue to thrive in the state’s constantly changing conditions.

Conceived by former First Lady Maria Shriver, the Museum’s Legacy Trails bring inspiring, uniquely California stories to life online. Visitors can journey across the state while exploring its history and legacy of innovation on topics ranging from the birthplace of the progressive movement and the origins of the world’s finest grapes, to the birthplace of Hollywood legends and the Silicon Valley roots of the information technology revolution.

The Remarkable Women Trail guides visitors through the lives of California women whose stories are as diverse and awe-inspiring as the Golden State’s landscape. Users discover how 15 California icons, such as Concepcion Arguello, Amy Tan, Ray Eames and Dolores Huerta, triumphed over adversity, forged new creative frontiers and overcame obstacles like slavery, poverty and discrimination to break gender barriers and become legends.

View the California Legacy Trails »

Please note the California Legacy Trails require Adobe Flash to view.

Towering six stories over the courtyard, Constitution Wall features sculpted words taken from the California Constitution chosen for their meanings to inspire reflection on the freedoms guaranteed to all Californians by viewers. 

Depending on the angle of the light and the time of day, different words become more prominent. The word “RIGHTS,” which is the underlying theme of the piece, stands out more in the late morning and early afternoon, while “redress” and “assemble” are more apparent at midday.

In addition to varied reliefs, the words are punctuated by the wall’s color scheme, as drawn from California’s landscape palette of forest, ocean and desert hues. Metal oxides embedded in the wall’s surface colors change over time, ensuring that  the Wall is constantly evolving like the Constitution itself.

Designed by artists Mike Mandel, Larry Sultan and Paul Kos, Constitution Wall was built by Frederick Meiswinkel Inc. in collaboration with Esherick, Homsey, Dodge & Davis. The sculpture was funded in part by the California Arts Council’s Art in Public Buildings program.

The Museum’s longest running exhibit, “Uprooted!” surveys a century of Japanese American history in California and features the personal stories of formerly interned Californians.

Although Japanese immigrants and their American-born children established businesses, built thriving communities and contributed to the states’s prosperity, they began to face hostility and discrimination following the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

The tension came to head when President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the internment of Japanese American citizens by signing Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942. Under the order, local military commanders were able to designate “military areas” as “exclusion zones,” from which “any or all persons may be excluded,” which cleared the way for the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps. By the spring of 1942, Japanese Americans were forced to relocate to “Assembly Centers” and were eventually moved to “War Relocation Centers” across the West like Manzanar and Tule Lake in California.

Following the history of the Japanese Americans in California, visitors experience life behind barbed wire in recreated barracks, which displays photographs and artifacts from he Japanese American Archival Collection at California State University, Sacramento. Continuing through the 1980s,  the exhibit also chronicles how former internees overcame the hardships of the internment and worked to establish their lives, their communities and redress for their losses after the war.

Each winter, the Museum offers an education program about the internment, led by people who experienced it personally. For more information, please visit the “Time of Remembrance” page.