Photos by Bobbie Stephenson, November 15, 2021
The Grand Opening of the Tipai Kumeyaay Mut Niihepok Land of the First People Exhibit Area was on October 26, 2021. The exhibit area is located at the corner of Juan and Taylor Streets, directly south from the Caltrans Building.
Above: The Exhibit Area with the Caltrans building in the background.
The exhibit area is the site of the old Caltrans building that was erected in 1952; the building began to be demolished in 2018. The site now belongs to California State Park and is full of native plants and interpretive information, including Kumeyaay names for plants, animals, insects and places in San Diego and Baja California Norte. The project included the following new improvements:
Interpretive elements, such as a Native American
interpretive public gathering area for events and
ceremonies, trilingual displays (Kumeyaay, Spanish and
English) and art features.
Lighting and seating.
Landscaping, including native trees, ground cover and a dry
riverbed.
Enhanced pedestrian circulation system with stabilized
accessible pathways.
Shaded structures.
Above: Dry streambed.
Below: Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) tree with native shrubs around it.
There is a mosaic of the summer night sky with Kumeyaay constellations (below).
Above: Dry rocky streambed.
Below: Grassy expanse at the south end of the site.
Below: Additional photos of the site.
This is a website for the Land of The First Peoples: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/09a796d4faec41af90dc4 f564ec4711a