Paul Apodaca (born in Los Angeles, California) is an associate professor of Anthropology and American Studies at Chapman University.
Paul Apodaca (born in Los Angeles, California) is an associate professor of Anthropology and American Studies at Chapman University.
Apodaca was born in Los Angeles and raised in Tustin, California. [1] His father's family were from the eastern side of the Navajo Reservation, of the Ma'ii deeshgiishinii Clan (Jemez Clan), and his mother's family are Mixton. [2] Apodaca received his masters' of arts degree in American Indian studies and his doctorate degree in Folklore and Mythology from University of California, Los Angeles. He was the Outstanding Graduate Student of 1996. [3] Apodaca lives in Orange, California. [4]
Apodaca is an associate professor of Anthropology and American Studies at Chapman University and a visiting professor at UCLA. He has worked as a regional advisor to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian (representing the California-Nevada-Utah region).
Apodaca was a curator at the Bowers Museum in Orange County over a period of seventeen years.
In 2008, Apodaca was the Lecturer in Residence at the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, a part of Autry National Center, where he made presentations entitled The Mayan end of the World?, Unravelling the mystery of cogged stones used in early California, and Imagery and reality: the role of American Indians in film and television. [5]
In 2008, Apodaca was a keynote speaker at the University of California Native American Professional Development Conference. [6]
Apodaca recovered and restored once-lost recordings of traditional Agua Caliente tribal leader Joe Patencio, Alvino Siva, and others singing bird songs of Cahuilla oral literature. [7] The collection is archived at the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum in Palm Springs.
Apodaca was a selector for the NMAI Native American Film and Video Festival. [8] He has also been a member of the Native California Network, and a board member for the California Council for the Humanities. [9] He has been employed by the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the California Arts Council, and the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department.
Apodaca was a consultant on Indian culture and imagery to Knott's Berry Farm and the Walt Disney Company. [10] He was a technical advisor on the television mini-series, Lonesome Dove (1989). [11]
He was a creative consultant for the Disney film, Planes: Fire and Rescue 2004, for which he helped develop the character Windlifter, a heavy-lift helicopter who is portrayed as an American Indian and voiced by actor Wes Studi. [12] Apodaca assisted with design elements on Windlifter’s image, and in a script element in which Windlifter recounts an American Indian folktale of how Coyote was renewed by fire. [13]
Apodaca, Henry Koerper of Cypress College and Jon Erikson of the University of California Irvine, promoted California state legislation that added an 8,000 year old carving of a bear to the list of California state symbols as the official California State Prehistoric Artifact. [14]
Apodaca is a contributing editor to News from Native California. [15] He has edited the Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology and has been an adviser for Pearson Scott Foresman publishers. [2] Apodaca serves on the editorial board of Malki Museum Press. [16]
Apodaca sat in as a spoken word performer with The Dave Brubeck Quartet during the 2009 Brubeck Festival, a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Brubeck's legendary album, Time Out. [17]
Apodaca also appeared in a special feature segment of the DVD release of the Nicolas Cage film, Knowing (2009) where he discussed the cultural significance of apocalypse myths. [18]
Apodaca performed music for the Academy Award winning film, Broken Rainbow (1986), a documentary film that helped to stop the relocation of twelve thousand Navajos in northern Arizona. [19] [20]
The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers.
The Cahuilla, also known as ʔívil̃uqaletem or Ivilyuqaletem, are a Native American people of the various tribes of the Cahuilla Nation, living in the inland areas of southern California. Their original territory included an area of about 2,400 square miles (6,200 km2). The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California. It was bounded to the north by the San Bernardino Mountains, to the south by Borrego Springs and the Chocolate Mountains, to the east by the Colorado Desert, and to the west by the San Jacinto Plain and the eastern slopes of the Palomar Mountains.
The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of the Cahuilla, located in Riverside County, California, United States. The Cahuilla inhabited the Coachella Valley desert and surrounding mountains between 5000 BCE and 500 CE. With the establishment of the reservations, the Cahuilla were officially divided into 10 sovereign nations, including the Agua Caliente Band.
Mission Indians are the indigenous peoples of California who lived in Southern California and were forcibly relocated from their traditional dwellings, villages, and homelands to live and work at 15 Franciscan missions in Southern California and the Asistencias and Estancias established between 1796 and 1823 in the Las Californias Province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.
Cahuilla traditional narratives include myths, legends, tales, and oral histories preserved by the Cahuilla people of the Colorado Desert and Peninsular Ranges of southern California.
The Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology is a leading regional source of scholarly information on the ethnography, archaeology, linguistics, and Native American history of the Western United States created by Harry Lawton.
Vitis girdiana is as species of wild grape known as the desert wild grape, coyote grape, or valley grape. It is native to southern California in the United States and to Baja California in Mexico.
The Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians is a federally recognized Cahuilla band of Native Americans based in Coachella, California. They are one of the smallest tribal nations in the United States, consisting of only 16 members, seven of whom are adults.
Katherine Siva Saubel was a Native American scholar, educator, tribal leader, author, and activist committed to preserving her Cahuilla history, culture and language. Her efforts focused on preserving the language of the Cahuilla. Saubel is acknowledged nationally and internationally as one of California's most respected Native American leaders. She received an honorary PhD in philosophy from La Sierra University, Riverside, California, and was awarded the Chancellor's Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the University of California at the University of California, Riverside.
Wiiwish, also known as shawii, is acorn mush, was one of the main food staples of the indigenous peoples of California. Acorns were gathered in the fall before the rain came. To harvest the acorns, Californian Natives would crack open the shell and pull out the inner part of the acorn. This part of the acorn was then smashed with a mortar and pestle until it was a flour-like consistency. This flour-like substance was then leached several times with water until the acorn mush was no longer bitter. This mush was then cooked in a waterproof basket with hot rocks and then served. California Indians continue to eat wiiwish both the traditional way and with alterations. These alterations include using other tools to grind down the acorns such as a coffee grinder or/and adding sugar or other seasonings to the finished wiiwish.
Cahuilla, or Ivilyuat, is an endangered Uto-Aztecan language, spoken by the various tribes of the Cahuilla Nation, living in the Coachella Valley, San Gorgonio Pass and San Jacinto Mountains region of southern California. The Cahuilla demonyms include Ɂívil̃uwenetem or Iviatam–speakers of Ivilyuat (Iviɂa)–or táxliswet meaning "person." A 1990 census revealed 35 speakers in an ethnic population of 800. With such a decline, Ivilyuat is classified as "critically endangered" by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger as most speakers are middle-aged or older with limited transmission rates to children.
The Ramona Band of Cahuilla is a federally recognized tribe of Cahuilla Indians, located in Riverside County, California.
The Cabazon Band of Cahuilla Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Cahuilla Indians, located in Riverside County, California. They were formerly known as the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians.
The Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Cahuilla Indians, located in Imperial and Riverside counties in California. Their autonym is Mau-Wal-Mah Su-Kutt Menyil, which means "among the palms, deer moon." in the Cahuilla language.
Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians of the Los Coyotes Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians, who were Mission Indians located in California.
The Morongo Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe in California, United States. The main tribal groups are Cahuilla and Serrano. Tribal members also include Cupeño, Luiseño, and Chemehuevi Indians. Although many tribes in California are known as Mission Indians, some, such as those at Morongo, were never a part of the Spanish Missions in California.
Frank Day, also Ly-dam-lilly was a Native American artist from California.
Pablita Abeyta was a Native American activist and sculptor born in Gallup, New Mexico, United States. The eldest daughter of Sylvia Ann (Shipley) Abeyta and artist Narciso Abeyta. Her family was originally from the Cañoncito Band of the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico, located west of Albuquerque. In 2000 the reservation decided to change its name to To'Hajiilee.
The Navajo Nation Museum is a museum and library on Navajo ground in Window Rock, Arizona. Its collections, exhibits, and other activities focus on the cultural history of the Navajo people. Its activities include traditional museum exhibits, a research library, and programs that help to revive and preserve the Navajo language.
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