Frequently Asked Questions EDAW Website
How will the California Indian Heritage Center be operated?
The California Indian Heritage Center will be developed and operated as part of California's State Park System, in collaboration with and under the guidance of the California Indian community.
Is there any funding available for the California Indian Heritage Center?
An initial $5 million in voter-approved parks' bond monies are allocated for the project and will provide funding for the preliminary phase, including the Master Plan and some site development. Funding for future phases will come from a variety of sources including private, organizations, individuals and tribes.
What is the role of the California Indian Heritage Center Task Force?
The legislatively-established Task Force has two primary statutory purposes: 1) to recommend to California State Parks a site for the project, and 2) to recommend a governance structure for the California Indian Heritage Center.
What are the Advisory Groups?
Six Advisory Groups have been created to provide guidance throughout the development of the California Indian Heritage Center. Their role in the project is to advise on key technical issues which influence the master planning process, to ensure that California Indian Values are reflected in every aspect of development and operation, to form a network of California Indian Specialists to advise the California Indian Heritage Center, and to serve as ambassadors for the California Indian Center. Below is a list of the various groups and their individual duties:
Collections Management: The Collection Management Advisory Group advises on matters relating to the care, management, storage, handling, accountability, legal jurisdiction, and the physical and intellectual access to the California Indian Heritage Center’s collections.
Contemporary Arts: Advises on the role of contemporary art in the center. and how it can develop and nurture California Indian exhibits.
Libraries, Research, Archives: Advise on the center’s role as the principal repository for resource information regarding the history of California Indians. Some of the goals are: Identification of collection base, museum network and IT, library, classrooms, studios, etc.
Cultural/Outdoor Programming: Consults with local Native groups and advises on Outdoor programs, ceremonial spaces, public spaces, traditional structures, native plants, etc.
Operations: Advises on the California Indian Heritage Center’s visitor services, retail needs, special events, offices, public safety, physical plant building and grounds systems, operations and maintenance.
Interpretive Themes: Advises on the overall subject matter, design parameters, preparation and maintenance needs of the California Indian Heritage Center. Also advises on the centers theme as told through the stories and customs of the California Indian peoples.
Planning Process Description
Descriptions of the Programming and Master Planning tasks are also presented herein. Additional information regarding current process can be found on the Project Team page, and on the Project Glossary below.
CIHC Programming and Master Planning: Description and Goals
The consultant team’s goal is to create a Master Plan for the development of the Heritage Center. It will include detailed interpretive and architectural programs that reflect values expressed by the California Indian community.
The consultant team’s work will be accomplished through five main steps:
Meetings and Outreach: Three multi-day workshops will be held in Sacramento with Advisory Groups, Task Force members, and staff. Additional coordination and feedback meetings will be held, as necessary.
Programming (Interpretive and Architectural): Programming will be a two-part effort that will include Interpretive Programming and Architectural Programming for the California Indian Heritage Center.
The consultant team, in coordination with the California Indian Heritage Center Task Force and Advisory Groups, will develop the Interpretive Program through discussion of the California Indian Heritage Center's mission, goals, cultural heritage, perspectives, practices, activities, and aspirations. The initial Interpretive Programming discourse will set the groundwork for the definition of the message and the master concept for the California Indian Heritage Center.
The Architectural Program will later be developed by the consultant team, in conjunction with the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Advisory Groups, to define the spatial needs of the organization. The program will establish the areas required within the California Indian Heritage Center and their adjacencies. This will ultimately determine facility elements, size, needs, feel, use and operations - both inside and outside.
Site and Facility Master Plan: A Site and Facility Master Plan will be developed taking into consideration all natural and cultural features and constraints, including evidence of any cultural sites, site restoration plans contemplated by other agencies, as well as information from the programming efforts. Location and layout of facilities shall consider programmatic needs in addition to: floodplain and river hydrology, site ecology, native plants, biology, wildlife, view sheds, existing site occupation, relationship to water features, access from existing roads and transportation corridors and location of existing utilities and other site amenities.
The Master Plan will be summarized in a document, which shall be structured to provide flexible and sensible implementation of its recommendations, with the ability to accommodate changing needs and resources through time. The document shall be developed to convey the spirit of the project and to be useful in fund-raising efforts. In this stage of the work, the interpretive program developed in the previous task will be the basis to generate a building concept wed to the landscape.
Massing Studies: The consultant team will develop massing studies related to the primary exterior forms of the building or buildings. These studies will show the scale and massing of primary building forms and the effect the project may have on the surrounding lands, waterways and uses. The massing studies will be conducted in conjunction with the site and facility master planning component and will be based on the building/architectural concept developed in the previous task.
This study will answer questions regarding visual/perceptual aspects of the project’s buildings, including scale, view shed, sight lines, etc. The results of the massing exercise will be illustrated in perspectives representing the character of the proposed building(s).
Phasing and Implementation: The consultant team will develop capital cost estimates for the facility, site development and interpretation, staffing levels and operations. It is likely the California Indian Heritage Center project will develop in phases as funds become available. Thus, the consultant team, with input from the California Indian community, will also propose a phasing strategy for the project.
The process described above is structured to address all aspects of Programming and Master Planning integrally. The end product of this plan will communicate to the California Indian community and the public in general, the overall programmatic needs for the California Indian Heritage Center, and the building and architectural concept, the look and feel of the center and the site, and the plan to move forward to its realization.