California Indian Museum & Cultural Center

Purpose

The California Indian Museum and Cultural Center (CIMCC) exists to honor and advance the cultural vitality, sovereignty, and resilience of California Indians, recognizing their enduring relationships to land and place. Led by California Indian expertise, we amplify traditional knowledge, lifeways, and voices. Through education and advocacy, we deepen public understanding of California Indian histories, cultures, and contemporary leadership.

What We Do

We achieve our purpose by being a dynamic and innovative museum and cultural center, providing exhibits and educational programs for diverse audiences, and a resilience hub for Native communities. We represent and champion California Indian knowledge, perspectives, and voices, and work to change systems by increasing California Indian visibility and authority within them. 

Vision

We strive to inspire a more compassionate, equitable, and unified society based in reciprocity and shared care for our collective future, one in which California Indians thrive and continue to lead with courage and excellence.

Programs and Services

Currently, CIMCC offers the following cultural strengths-based programs and services tailored to meet the needs of its primary audiences in the Greater Bay Area and beyond: Native youth and families, K-12 students and teachers, the general public. Please see the Annual Reports tab to view our recent reports and learn more about CIMCC and our incredible impacts or sign up for our e-newsletter! 

Your donations support these efforts, helping us reach thousands of people annually with innovative and effective programs. 

• Tribal Youth Ambassadors – creative development program for Native youth ages 10 -24
• Native community traditional food ways education
• Resilience hub and programming
• California Indian Traditional Food Incubator and Acorn Bites
• Community Native plants garden
• Food Assistance Program
• Healing through Cultural Arts Wellness Workshops
• Career Pipeline Program for Climate Ready Tribal Community Health Representatives
• Being with Bears
• Traditional food sovereignty and security research and advocacy
• K-12 curricula from Native perspectives
• Native STEM Maker Program
• K-12 school group tours
• Cultural and Historical Intelligence Training for educators and policy makers
• Permanent and temporary exhibits on California Indians
• Online exhibits and educational websites
• Native arts markets
• Native arts gift store
• Pomo language distance learning courses and mobile applications