This Fall, two Indigenous women, Rev. Dr. Jackie Cope (Washoe) and Alicia Benally (Cahuilla), together with Crow Canyon program manager David Boyle, will lead an intimate group of valued participants deep into the desert and mountain landscapes of their homelands in southern California. Alicia (Ali), a Crow Canyon educator, designed the program to help bring awareness to present-day Indigenous cultures in California. Resilience is an important concept for her to convey. “Indigenous people are not just a thing of the past,” explains Ali. “We are still here today; still living, breathing cultures.” Many may have never heard of Ali’s or Jackie’s Tribes before, nor are they aware of the significant number of Tribes that call California home. “I want to show the plethora of Indigenous Tribes in the area,” shares Ali. “California has 110 federally recognized Tribes and 60 more trying to gain federal recognition.” Ali and Jackie also want to show people that California isn’t all surfing and shopping. “There’s more to California. People assume we just live by the beach, but there’s other parts of California and other cultures, especially in these little communities like where Jackie and I grew up,” says Ali. One of the most important aspects of this program is that it involves and benefits the small communities that Ali references. The program is employing members from the Cahuilla community and several of the meals will be prepared by her own family. This type of community impact is something Crow Canyon’s Cultural Explorations programs endeavor to achieve more of going forward. Cultural Explorations Promote Cross-Cultural Sharing in 2026 “We really wanted to involve the community,” says Ali. “This was our chance to give back to our people. We’re giving people from our communities a voice and the chance to speak on what they know.” Two people from the Cahuilla community will also attend the program as participants, considering the importance of culturally lived experiences and accessibility. “For me and for those who will join us, this is an opportunity to visit and learn about places that were important for a lot of Tribes; places like Joshua Tree,” shares Ali. “It’s an opportunity to connect to the landscapes where our people have been. Our connection to that transcends present-day borders.”
Crow Canyon participants can expect to see more programs develop like this one in California as we strive to create more opportunities for cross-cultural sharing and connection. Learn more about Cultural Explorations and the 2026 programs at CrowCanyon.org/cultur al-explorations/
CROW CANYON ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTER
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