About Me
Hello everyone! My name is Alexandra A. Garcia; I am a 23-year-old graduate student born and raised in San Jose, California. I am currently in the Applied Anthropology program at SJSU (San Jose State University). I wear many hats, both academically and professionally. I am a Research and Evaluation Assistant at the Exploratorium, a Research Assistant at both SJSU and its research foundation, an intern at NUMU, and I also have worked as a tribal monitor for the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. In my free time, I enjoy watching tons of movies, taking long drives up the Santa Cruz mountains, spending time with my very hyper Border Collie, and traveling to new places. Because of my work for the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and a previous project working on StoryMaps with Mosaic America, I was inspired to aid in any way I can to join the efforts of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe to reaffirm their federal recognition. I wanted to pursue a graduate project that educates the broader public on their rich history, culture, and places of significance in an educational and interactive way.
About My Degree
Currently, at SJSU, I am pursuing my MA degree in Applied Anthropology. The curriculum for this program has taught me important application skills as well as giving me both academic and professional experience. I have been able to apply what I have been taught in the classroom to real-life experiences for conducting research, oral history interviews, collaborations, and developing a StoryMap that educates the public on the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and brings awareness to their presence and their struggle towards reaffirming their federally recognized status.
My Time at NUMU
I am interning with NUMU as a part of a larger collaborative project and exhibition about the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. My part of the project was creating an ArcGIS StoryMap that highlights the important ancestral heritage sites in and around the Bay Area. I closely collaborated with members of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and Alan Levanthal, who works as the Muwekma Ohlone’s tribal archaeologist and ethnohistorian, to construct this StoryMap. The map also highlights the work being done to revitalize the Chochenyo language, dance, and regalia by current Muwekma tribal members. It has been a wonderful experience being part of a collaborative team that all share the same goal of educating the broader public on the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe's culture, history, revitalization of the Chochenyo language, dances, and regalia, and contemporary issues. It was important to create an exhibition and a safe space that showcased the voices of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and have them tell their stories. Throughout the creation of the mapping project, oral histories were conducted by me with various members of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. Tribal members talked about their experiences, their ties to places on the map, and their work to reclaim federal recognition. I also developed visitor evaluation surveys that would provide information about how NUMU can continue this relationship with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and how people engage with the exhibition.
Throughout my work on this project and interning at NUMU, I have learned much and had a great experience working with a museum like NUMU. I hope to continue this work and this StoryMap , and that other localities significant to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe can be added in the future. I am excited for people to see this StoryMap and engage with the information about the ancestral homeland of the Ohlone people.
Takeaways
I appreciate the support and experience I have gained interning at NUMU. One thing that stood out to me was how NUMU valued and represented the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe’s voice when it came to developing the exhibition. I am honored to have worked with amazing collaborators who had the same goal of creating a safe space for the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe to tell their stories to the broader public. I had a great opportunity to understand and learn more about the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe’s story and construct a StoryMap that provided more narrative context in an interactive and educational way. It was a pleasure to work with an institution like NUMU that strives to bring awareness to contemporary issues and create a safe space for groups to tell their stories in their own ways. My internship at NUMU has changed my perspective on educational institutions like museums. NUMU provides a welcoming and inviting experience for a greater audience to enjoy the work being done. I hope people come see the great work at NUMU and feel welcomed and seen just as I did.
I hope you enjoy the StoryMap and the amazing exhibition!
If you’d like to connect with me, you can reach out via LinkedIn or by email at alexandragarcia4094@gmail.com
-Written by Alexandra Garcia
