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Indigenous artists tell flip-side story of Gold Rush of '49
Cockroaches with gold antennae have swarmed into San Francisco. Tongva/Ajachmem artist L. Frank Manriquez's "Not to Give Cockroaches a Bad Name" installation overruns "Wounded Mother," American Indian Contemporary Arts' first exhibit of 1999.
The San Francisco center invited California Indian artists to present their perspectives on the Gold Rush and the anniversary celebrations in a mixed-media exhibit, "Wounded Mother" is on view until March 28.
The rallying cry of "There's gold in them thar' hills!" that drew thousands upon thousands of prospectors to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains will be heard again throughout California as the state celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Gold Rush of 1849.
Lost in all of the planned hoopla is the devastating effect the Gold Rush had on the earth and on California's Indigenous nations, many of whom lost their homes, their...