The Hoopa Valley Tribe has been in the area for a long time. Carbon dating from the Xontah Nikyaw (our sacred house) shows about 10,000 years. The Hoopa people are a part of the great Athabascan/Na-Dene language family, which includes Navajos, Apaches, and many other tribes. It is the most geographically widespread language family on the continent. The Hoopa have been developing and maintaining a culture at the crossroads between Northwest Pacific Indian cultures and California Indian cultures. Hoopa culture is a mixture of the Northwest Pacific, California Indian cultures, and the Athabascan/ Na-Dene heritage. The museum hosts a large collection of local basketry and other historical and cultural artifacts.
Most of the collection items are from the local Hoopa tribal members. There are also collections from the neighboring Karuk and Yurok tribal people. Their staff is traditionally versed in the Hoopa language, history, stories, dances, villages, traditions, laws, etc... They know how the artifacts are used in ceremony; they can explain how they are made, used, and for what purpose. They can also explain how it fits into tribal epistemologies about the environment, the cosmos, and religion/beliefs. Village tours and presentations can be presented on request. Curator Silis chi tawn S. Jackson emphasizes that “no one is better able to talk and expound about the Hoopa and thier culture than the Hoopa people themselves.”
WHERE: On Hwy 96 in the Hoopa Shopping Center
MORE INFO: 530-625-4110 and on Facebook
