SANTA ANA, CA.- The Bowers Museum presents its newest exhibition, First Americans: Tribal Art from North America, on view April 7, 2018 - August 19, 2018. This exhibition features over 100 highlights from the Bowers’ Native American collection, specifically presented to explore the diversity of North America’s native peoples.

This fourth stop on First Americans’ international tour marks its homecoming to the Bowers after a critically acclaimed opening at the Museo del Oro in Bogota, Colombia in 2012 and three museums across China from 2014-2015. This groundbreaking Chinese tour was the first ever major exhibition of Native American art on view in China.

First Americans includes artwork representative of native people from the Artic North, Northwest Coast, California, Southwest and the Great Plains. The diverse artistic traditions found in these regions share common ground in their roots- a profound connection with nature and the environment and the exploration of a person’s role within the spiritual world. These themes are explored throughout the exhibition. Highlights include what may be the earliest example of a transitional Navajo First Phase Chief’s blanket, an early Hopi katsina doll, and a rare Seri feathered kilt from Baja, California. Each work of art selected for this exhibition reflects the beauty, diversity, and power achieved by artists of the past and of those that carry their traditions into the present day.

Several programs will be held in conjunction with this exhibition, including lectures and culinary experiences, and textile investigations. See reverse for a full list of exhibition related programs.