We Are Still Here
Nisenan Presence and Cultural Reclamation at Southside Park
In the heart of Southside Park in Sacramento, a new mural now stands – vibrant, layered, and deeply intentional. It is part of a larger, evolving public art project that honors the cultural histories of California, centering Indigenous and Mexican heritage in a space that has long been a gathering place for the Sacramento community.
Among the newly completed sections is a powerful contribution from HUṠWEJ’s Visibility Through Art team: a Nisenan panel titled We Are Still Here – an act of presence, memory, and reclamation.
This mural arrives at a moment when visibility – especially Indigenous visibility – is not just about representation, but about truth-telling, continuity, and the reaffirmation of belonging.
A Mural Rooted in Community and History
The Southside Park mural project has been years in the making, led by community organizer Richard Alcala, whose vision has guided the effort from concept to completion over the past three years. His intention was clear from the beginning: to create a space where the histories and cultures that shape California are not only acknowledged, but honored in public view.
In many public spaces, the histories of this region are shared incompletely – leaving out the depth, continuity, and lived presence of the multi-Cultural communities who have shared this place. This mural project offers an opportunity to see more fully, highlighting stories that are alive, ongoing, and rooted in relationship to land and community.
Richard spoke to the importance of this work in both Cultural and political terms. His words echo a sentiment carried across generations and communities: “Aquí estamos y no nos vamos” – we are here, and we are not going anywhere.
That declaration resonates powerfully alongside the Nisenan message embodied in this panel: The Nisenan are still here.
Together, they form a shared language of continuity and resistance – one that feels especially significant in today’s climate, where Cultural erasure and displacement remain ongoing realities.
The Nisenan Panel: We Are Still Here
The Nisenan section of the mural was created through a collaborative effort led by HUṠWEJ’s mural team, including lead mural artist Nikila Badua, assistant artist Jennifer Rain Crosby, Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribal Council member Saxon Thomas, and HUṠWEJ’s Art Coordinator Mira Clark.
At the center of the panel is a portrait of Nisenan Elder Dutch Rose – a leader, peacemaker, and connector whose presence helped hold the Nisenan community through a time of fragmentation and Cultural invisibility. His earnest and compassionate leadership wove together surviving strands of Nisenan kinship and tradition, carrying them forward across generations. As the great-grandson of Nisenan leader Pamblo, he stands within a lineage of leadership that continues to live on today.
The portrait itself draws from an earlier work created by Jennifer Rain Crosby through HUṠWEJ’s Visibility Through Art 2022 exhibition. In the mural, Dutch is depicted wearing sacred California condor regalia – something that was denied to him during his lifetime. This choice is deeply intentional. It is not simply symbolic, but restorative. Through this image, the mural offers a form of Cultural and spiritual reclamation, honoring what should have been possible, and bringing it into visibility now.
Surrounding him are elements that extend the narrative imagery beyond the individual and into the Land itself. Elk and condors – animal-kin who have been deeply impacted by the violence of colonization – move through the background, reminding us of the interconnected relationship between Land, Animal-kin, and People that have been disrupted, but not erased. Behind them rises ˀeṡtom janim (Marysville Buttes), the world’s smallest mountain range that are sacred to the Nisenan People, anchoring the mural in geography, memory, and relationship.
Together, these elements tell a layered story: of People, of Land, of what has been lost, and what continues.
A Collective Effort
This mural would not have been possible without the dedication and collaboration of many individuals who brought their time, skill, and vision to the project.
Deep gratitude goes to Richard Alcala for his leadership and long-term commitment to bringing this vision to life, as well as to the HUṠWEJ mural team, including Nikila Badua, Jennifer Rain Crosby, Saxon Thomas, and Mira Clark. Their work stands now in Southside Park as both an offering and a statement – a reminder of the beauty, strength, and enduring presence of the communities who call this place home.
If you find yourself in Sacramento, we invite you to visit the mural at Southside Park.
Take a moment to pause, to witness, and to reflect on the stories held within it – and the enduring presence of the Nisenan People in their Ancestral Homelands.