During the first quarter of 2016, the New Museum Los Gatos in Los Gatos, California partnered with San Jose State University Department of Anthropology to create an exhibit about American Indians relocated to San Jose through participation in the Urban Relocation Program of the 1950s. The purpose of the project is to create a historical testament to the relocation policies and document the effects of the policy as it is lived and experienced across generations. The narratives of relocated American Indians highlight the ways individuals experienced and adapted to an urban environment, built social support networks, and maintained an American Indian identity. Both the interviews and the findings were made available to the public in November 2016 at the NUMU Cement Prairie exhibit which included the documentary, Voices of American Indian Relocation, produced by SJSU. The exhibit retold the Urban Relocation Program from an American Indian perspective by those who lived the experience and by those who were affected by the program.
The principal investigators for the exhibit are Amy Long, curator with New Museum Los Gatos and faculty members from SJSU Department of Anthropology: Professor Jan English-Lueck, Assistant Professor A.J. Faas, and Assistant Professor Charlotte Sunseri. To assist the principal investigators from both organizations, SJSU undergraduate and graduate students aided in all aspects of collection, analysis, and exhibit preparation.
Voices of American Indian Relocation Documentary
Project Members: Professor Jan English-Lueck, Assistant Professor A.J. Faas, Associate Professor Charlotte Sunseri
Graduate Students: Gianina Bebb, Leah Grant, Angela Moniz, Alisha Ragland, and Veronica Saldivar
Undergraduate Students: Kris Cameron, Jillian Ferini, Aaron van Valen
Alumna: Auda Velazquez-Rivera
SJSU Staff: Produced by the office of Academic Technology at San Jose State University, 2016; Teri Graziani, Video Producer.
Project Partners: New Museum of Los Gatos (NUMU), Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley
Submissions from 2017
Mildred Doris Rodriguez Interview, Mildred Doris Rodriguez
Submissions from 2016
Al Cross Interview, Al Cross
Hank LeBeau Interview, Hank LeBeau
Arvine Pilcher Interview, Arvine Pilcher
Ron Pinkham Interview, Ron Pinkham
Julie Ann Quintana and Adrian Kendrick Interview, Julie Ann Quintana and Adrian Kendrick
LaVerne Roberts Interview, LaVerne Roberts
Jackie Tulee Interview, Jackie Tulee
