Updating the "Kumeyaay: Native Californians/ Iipai-Tipai" Exhibit

The replacement of the longstanding exhibition, “Kumeyaay: Native Californians, Iipay/Tipay,” is another project underway at the Museum of Us. In partnership with Kumeyaay community consultants, the multi-year project will completely reimagine the existing exhibition. At its core, this effort will ensure that the Kumeyaay narratives at the Museum reflect the traditional knowledge, contemporary perspectives, and sovereignty of this community rather than solely the academic viewpoint of non-Native scholars.

This exhibition was originally installed at the Museum in 1993, and was most recently updated in 2019. The next version of this exhibition will prioritize the expertise and guidance of this community, and give these voices the authority to tell their own stories.

In addition to planning and developing exhibit content, educational programming, and more, the consultants and Museum staff will work together to audit cultural resources affiliated with the Kumeyaay Nation that are currently under the Museum’s care. The Museum is grateful for the continued generosity of the Kumeyaay Nation, the Indigenous Peoples of this region.

The "Kumeyaay: Native Californians, Iipay/Tipay" exhibition is made possible in part by a grant from the Institute of Museums & Library Services (MA-245348-OMS-20).