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Logo of de Saisset Museum featuring a stylized

Reclamation

January 16 - June 15, 2024

(closed March 16 - April 8, 2024)

Reclamation: Resilience of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe

Reclamation: Aboriginal Ancestral Homeland of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe

Featuring over twenty photographs as well as video interviews, these two exhibitions highlight aspects of culture, history, and sites of significance for the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area. As documented by Tribal photographer Kike Arnal, the images provide a glimpse into traditional practices as well as the day-to-day life of contemporary Tribal members. The interviews and accompanying texts provide greater context surrounding contemporary issues of importance to the Tribe.

Included in the Reclamation: Aboriginal Ancestral Homeland exhibition is the Mosaic Atlas Cultural Mapping Project, an interactive map highlighting places of significance to local indigenous peoples and other regional cultural groups.

These two exhibitions were produced by New Museum Los Gatos, in partnership with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area and San José State University Department of Anthropology, in collaboration with honorary Tribal photographer, Kike Arnal. Support for this exhibition provided by Penumbra, the Farrington Historical Foundation, SVCreates, in partnership with the County of Santa Clara, the California Arts Council, and California Humanities.

The de Saisset is honored to be the first venue to host the traveling version of these exhibitions that premiered at New Museum Los Gatos in 2022.

Jan 2, 2024
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Opening Reception

Thursday, January 18, 2024
5:30-7:30 p.m.

This event is free and open to the public. 

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (Section 504) if you have a disability and require a reasonable accommodation, please direct your request to 408.554.4528 or desaissetmuseum@scu.edu or call TTY-California Relay at 711 at least 72 hours prior to the event.

Related Content

Accompanying the Reclamation exhibitions, the de Saisset offers two related components:

In collaboration with Isabella Gomez (SCU Student and the first recipient of SCU’s Ohlone and Muwekma Ohlone Scholarship) and Amy Lueck (Associate Professor, SCU's Department of English), the de Saisset has prepared an installation that shares images and materials from the Ohlone Youth Cultural Campout that took place at Santa Clara University in the summer of 2023.

Also on view is the de Saisset’s ongoing exhibition California Stories from Thámien to Santa Clara that traces aspects of Ohlone heritage, Mission period history, Californio lifestyles, and early Santa Clara College events, to offer insight into the changes across Santa Clara Valley and the roots of Santa Clara University.