Regions

• The state of California contains the artwork of more than 300,000 Native Americans.los angeles image by Pontus Edenberg from Fotolia.com
  
  More than 50 tribes with over 300,000 Native American Indians reside in California, according to the California Native Americans Commission. Each tribe offers distinct pieces of art ranging from baskets to jewelry. For example, the Pomo Indians, located in the Fresno area, create well-known elaborate baskets made of feathers. The Hupa, or Hoopa, tribe of northwestern California uses the nearby Redwood trees for art. The Mohave Indians take advantage of local gemstones and precious metals, and they make jewelry in their region of eastern California and northern Arizona.
  
  

Types

• Cloth dolls comprise just one type of California Native American art.indian peg doll image by Daughterson from Fotolia.com
  
  The California Native Americans produce a large assortment of ethnographic artworks, including dolls, weapons and clothing. The Native American women of California create dolls using clay, fabric, natural materials, such as straw, and paint. The dolls originally complemented the Native American tradition of storytelling and now serve as a source of income for the tribes. Weapon artistry requires skill and time. The Native American Indian men of California carve wood and create tools used as weapons against animals, such as rabbits. The artistic nature of California Native American clothing includes primitive bark skirts and intricate women's pieces made of ribbon.
  
  

Specialty

• The Pomo Indians of California produce high-quality basket art.indian corn, goards and blanket image by Allen Penton from Fotolia.com
  
  Baskets remain the primary form of California Native American art. The women of the tribes began using materials found in the natural California environment, such as the roots from Redwood trees, to create decorative and useful tools for daily life. In addition to holding grain, the artfully crafted baskets provided vestibules for spiritual ceremonies. Tribes still create, use and sell baskets specific to the California Native American art scene.
  
  

Materials

• The Redwood Forest provides a wealth of materials for California Native American art.redwood sun image by Dennis Carrigan from Fotolia.com
  
  Much of California Native American art features natural materials harvested from the forests of the region. Unlike the Indian tribes of the plains, California Native Americans have access to a variety of elements drawn from the woodlands. Bark comprises a large component of California Native American art and functions as a canvas for painting, material for skirts and twine for baskets. Northern California Native Americans design brushes from the dried leaves of a regional plant known as soap root, according to The National Archives. In addition, California Native Americans use dead wood for arts and crafts so as not to disturb the life of the forests.
  
  

Aboriginal

• The Kumeyaay tribe of California creates face paint with naturally derived pigments.mur image by Jacques PALUT from Fotolia.com
  
  California Native American art features aboriginal forms native to the people and their way of life. Face painting comprises a significant part of the Kumeyaay tribes of what is now the San Diego area. The bark skirts made by the California Native American women offer another example of indigenous California Native American art.