Itinerary: American Indians

Native American history spans a broad range of cultures and experiences. In California, you don’t have to look far to find the influence of American Indians on music and dance or the arts.

Friday

Start your journey through Native American history with a trip to the Southwest Museum (234 Museum Drive, Highland Park, [323] 221-2164), or its second location at LACMA West, in the historic May Co. building at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. The oldest museum in Los Angeles--founded by Charles Lummis in 1907--the museum bills itself as having one of the most extensive collections of Native American art in the United States. The museum’s collection also includes pre-Hispanic, Spanish Colonial, Latino and Western American art and artifacts.

The museum’s four main exhibit halls focus on the Indians of Southwest California, the Great Plains and the Northwest coast. Exhibit highlights include a replica of a Santa Susana Mountains Chumash Indian rock art site and an 18-foot Southern Cheyenne tepee, along with a large collection of pottery and basketry.

Saturday

Get another perspective on Native American culture by visiting the Antelope Valley Indian Museum (15700 E. Avenue M, Lancaster, [805] 946-3055). Situated against the backdrop of rock formations and Joshua trees in the Mojave Desert, the Swiss chalet-style building has Chumash ceremonial rocks in addition to tools and jewelry of many other tribes. The museum also has a collection of pipes, pottery and throwing sticks along with numerous paintings of the Navajo Indians. The museum is open on weekends through mid-June. It will close for the summer then and reopen in September.

Join representatives from more than 50 American Indian tribes at the 9th Annual Lake Casitas Pow Wow (take Highway 33 north from Ventura to Highway 150 and turn left; [805] 496-6036). More than 60 artists, traders and dealers will display and sell American Indian arts and crafts. The two-day festival will also feature performances by drum groups and Native American dancers, who will compete for honors and cash prizes. Additionally, 1999-2000 Pow Wow Princess Felicia Cortez of Lompoc will be presented with a beaded crown depicting the colors and images of her Chumash ancestors.

Sunday

Celebrate Native American heritage from dusk to dawn at the 11th annual San Diego American Indian Cultural Days at Balboa Park (on the corner of Park Boulevard and Presidents Way, [619] 281-5964). Sponsored by the Indian Resource Center and the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, the annual festival will showcase 10 American Indian performing groups who will represent their respective nations. Performers include the Tewa Dancers From the North, who will present the traditional Tewa dances of the Native Americans of San Juan Pueblo, N.M., and the Seven Mile Elementary Apache Club Crown Dancers from the Ft. Apache Reservation in White River, Ariz. The free cultural event, which gets underway Saturday, will also offer more than 50 artisan booths selling Native American jewelry, pottery, paintings and beadwork.

On your way home, make a stop at Moon Dancer (1706 S. Catalina Ave., Redondo Beach [310] 316-7220). Situated in the heart of the boutique-lined Riviera Village, Moon Dancer has specialized in contemporary Native American arts and crafts for 25 years. The store sells Southwest fare including jewelry by Gibson Nez, masks by Lisa Ray and pottery from Jane and Starr Tafoya and Minnie Vigil of the Santa Clara Pueblo. The boutique also sells Hopi and Navajo dolls and kachinas.