Warriors, Dancers, Water Bearers and Horse-riders
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These five incredible public artworks pay tribute to Indigenous Peoples Day and to the cultural contributions of indigenous peoples that enrich our communities.
Southern California's oldest, and arguably most impressive, depiction of indigenous people is the focal point of the popular "Electric Fountain" in Beverly Hills: a Tongva warrior kneeling in prayer. The surprising dignity and humility of Robert Merrell Gage's 1931 Tongva warrior is nothing short of genius.
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| "Electric Fountain" (1931) by Robert Merrell Gage |
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| Warrior at prayer, "Electric Fountain" (1931) by Robert Merrell Gage |
The City of Cerritos hosts an impressive collection of more than 50 public artworks, and chief among them is Denny Haskew's 2003 bronze "Strength of the Maker" illustrating a native American's incredible bow-bending strength.
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| "Strength of the Maker" (2003) by Denny Haskew |
A group of three dancers in Hawai'i's native "Hula Kahiko" tradition welcome visitors to the Keahole Kona International Airport at Kona, Hawai'i. Sculptor Lark Grey Dimond-Cates pays tribute to one of Hawai'i's oldest dance forms, where complex hand movements complement traditional chanting and percussion.
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| "Hula Kahiko" (2000) by Lark Grey Dimond-Cates |
An entire Metro station pays tribute to the early native Tongva culture of the Arroyo Seco and Los Angeles river area of the Cypress Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. Based on this unique geographic and historic area, sculptor Cheri Gaulke titled her work "Water Street: River of Dreams" and placed the sculpture of a Tongva woman at the head of a flowing river of blue glass and granite boulders, with coyote paw prints at her feet. A three-panel "story-fence" provides a backdrop of Tongva wisdom, lore and poetry.
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| "Water Street: River of Dreams" (2003) by Cheri Gaulke |
Familiarly titled "Indians and Yuccas," Millard Sheets produced one of his rarest mosaics of indigenous native Americans, depicted on horseback among Californian yuccas in bloom. Fourteen years later his colleague Denis O'Connor created a nearby companion piece as a special homage to Sheets' 1968 original. Only two blocks from the original Sheets Studio in Claremont, the pair of mosaics remain one of the community's most valued public artworks.
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| "Indians and Yuccas" (1968) by Millard Sheets |
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| "Indians and Yuccas" (1982) by Denis O'Connor |
Learn about the history of INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' DAY
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