The official opening ceremony for the new Joshua Tree Cultural Center took place on Saturday morning during the weekly Farmers’ Market
Local leaders gathered Saturday morning to cut a ribbon, eat some cake, and welcome visitors to the new Joshua Tree Cultural Center as part of Freedom Plaza in Twentynine Palms.
Calling it “a game changer,” Joshua Tree Superintendent David Smith led the brief ceremony that featured official comments from the Bureau of Land Management, the Joshua Tree National Park Association, Twentynine Palms City Council, and the Twentynine Palms Band of Mission Indians.
Building of the center involved the coordination of local and federal agencies, as well as the collaboration of 15 local Native American tribes. The center will one day feature the known-but-rarely-seen Campbell Collection of native artifacts, but this will take time. Right now, the center features an exhibit on Keys Ranch.
“This is the homeland. This is the place of beginning. This is the place of culture and gathering for all the tribal communities – the Chemehuevi, the Serrano, Cahuilla and Mojave peoples. A couple years ago, we had a gathering here at the Oasis of Mara. In this past year, we’ve been having elders come back here and be able to experience the landscape. And so, as we’re working with the national park, we’re looking at ways to heal the relationships and heal and bring the culture back to Twentynine Palms. Because in the early part of the 1900s, there was a push for the tribal communities away from this area but in the last few years, they’ve been coming back so we’re really excited for this,” said Tribal Programs Director Sarah Bliss, Twentynine Palms Band of Mission Indians.
The Oasis Visitor Center in Twentynine Palms closed permanently on May 2 though other park visitor centers remain open and unaffected.
