The Venue

The history of the Sacramento area, and the people, is rich in heritage, culture and tradition. This area was, and still is, the Tribal land of the Nisenan people. Sacramento was a gathering place for many local Tribes who have lived throughout the central valley and the foothills for generations and were the original stewards of this land. We would like to acknowledge the Southern Maidu people to the North, the Valley and Plains Miwok/ Me-Wuk Peoples to the south of the American River, and the Patwin Wintun Peoples to the west of the Sacramento River.  We would also like to honor the Wilton Rancheria, the only federally recognized tribe in Sacramento County. We acknowledge that we are standing on the tribal lands of Sacramento’s Indigenous people.

Sutter’s Fort catalyzed a pattern of change in California. The purpose of Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park is to make available to all people an inclusive, complex, and accurate representation of the Fort’s role in the colonization of California. The Fort enticed immigration and sparked the gold-rush, leading to the disruption of life and loss of traditional homeland for Indigenous people who still found ways to persevere. The Fort is central to the state of California’s complicated and sometimes dark past, but it is also the key to developing an inclusive future. 

The mission of interpretation at Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park is to create a laboratory of learning to empower all visitors to discover an inclusive, complex, and accurate history of Sutter’s Fort and California in order to develop deeper understanding and personal meanings in the events of the past.

We acknowledge that we are standing on the tribal lands of Sacramento’s Indigenous people.