OMCA photo exhibit celebrates the diversity, strength and beauty of indigenous California

OPENED TO THE public on Nov. 8 during Native American Heritage Month, Oakland Museum of California’s exhibition, “Born of the Bear Dance: Dugan Aguilar’s Photographs of Native California,” celebrates the renowned, Indigenous photographer’s extensive portfolio.

Drawn from the Aguilar family’s 2022 gift of 25,000 negatives, prints, and transparencies he created from 1982 to 2018, the exhibit represents a slender portion of his work. Even so, the images stand firmly, like their maker, on two legs. One “foot” is firmly and reverently rooted in the diverse heritage, people, traditions and culture of the state’s indigenous history; the other is planted with relevance and resounding vitality in the present day and reflects contemporary Native Americans’ existence and lifestyles.