The Los Gatos History Project is NUMU’s unprecedented effort to catalog and dive deeper into its permanent collection. This exhibition, the first to come out of the project, presents a selection of objects that have given the museum more questions than answers. By taking a critical look at these objects and the stories they tell, the exhibition will prompt visitors to ask: Who made these objects? Why did the museum collect them? What can we learn from them? And whose stories are missing? Through this exhibition, visitors will gain a greater understanding of museum collecting practices, and a greater appreciation for the hidden complexities of Los Gatos history.

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Opened in September 2023, this demonstration and prep lab serves as a dedicated space to display artifacts, conduct conservation efforts, and present public educational programs. In this space, NUMU demonstrates that history is anything but static! The Collections Lab is open Friday-Sunday during museum hours.

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Incollaboration with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and San Jose State University, this art exhibition about the vitality of the Muwekma features photography of tribal members by their Tribal Photographer Kike Arnal. The project promotes deeper understanding of local indigenous art, culture, history, and contemporary issues in Los Gatos and the greater Bay Area, and preserves and shares knowledge about critical issues of federal recognition that the Muwekma Ohlone continue to fight for.

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Viewers will learn about the Muwekma Ohlone’s “Trail of Truth” journey on horseback from California to Washington D.C. to advocate for the reinstatement of their federal recognition. They traveled with sacred horses gifted to them by the Lakota Nation, and were supported by several tribal nations across the US that welcomed them on their land and reinforced their message to the US Bureau of Indian Affairs.

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This exhibition focuses on the Muwekma Ohlone’s cultural and practical efforts in land stewardship, including cultural burns and the cultivation of native plants that provide resources for regalia making, food, and traditional healing. They are reawakening their Chochenyo language as well as dance, music, song, and ceremonies. This exhibition sheds light on the Tribe’s ongoing cultural revival after a century of erasure following the loss of, and the fight to regain, federal recognition.

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