Reclaiming El Camino: Native Resistance in the Missions and Beyond

The exhibit now has an online presence! Check it out here.

This immersive exhibit was created with guest curator Deana Dartt (Coastal Band) and aims to educate Los Angeles and its visitors about the potency of Native life and the rich history of activism in the California borderlands region. This exhibition repositions (and reclaims) the El Camino Real as the ancient and well-worn trade route for Native people long before the establishment of the Franciscan Missions in Baja and Alta California.

Covering hundreds of years and spanning a vast geographical area, the exhibition blends history and contemporary art—featuring works by Native artists like Gerald Clarke (Cahuilla), James Luna (Puyukitchum/Ipai/Mexican American Indian), and others—to engage museum-goers in the deep legacy of the Mission colonization and its relevance today.

“There were living Native people who were fighting against that regime the entire time,” Dartt said. “I use the artwork of living Native people who are fighting against the regime now to engage in each of those eras. Then, we show all the things we are doing to assert ourselves, despite that. I feel like it is ultimately celebratory, but it doesn’t shy away from what happened to us.”

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Exhibition Reclaiming El Camino in the Norman F. Sprague, Jr. Gallery, created with guest curator Deana Dartt (Coastal Chumash) at the Autry Museum of the American West, December 9, 2023 – June 15, 2025. Photos by David Benitez-Santiago