Cal Poly Humboldt alumni and staff are prominently featured in "Rooted in Place: California Native Art," a new exhibition at the de Young Museum in San Francisco that highlights Northern California’s Indigenous artists. The show includes works by the late Karuk painter Brian D. Tripp, Hupa artist and gallery director Brittany Britton, and other contributors such as Robert Benson, George Blake, Lena R. Bommelyn, and Shoshoni Gensaw-Hostler. Britton's beaded chair and Gensaw-Hostler's dentalium-shell cape are among the pieces displayed in the newly reinstalled Arts of Indigenous America galleries, which focus on the Hupa, Karuk, Tolowa, Wiyot, and Yurok peoples.
This exhibition matters because it centers Indigenous perspectives and honors the cultural heritage of Northern California tribes within a major museum context. By showcasing the work of Cal Poly Humboldt-affiliated artists and staff, the show underscores the university's long-standing role in nurturing Native art and its ongoing impact on the broader art world. It also provides a platform for contemporary Indigenous artists to explore identity, tradition, and activism, bridging ceremonial practices with modern artistic expression.