2023 November Preservation ePost

Assessments and Career Opportunities

State assessments are now open for the classifications of Associate and Senior State Archaeologist. Taking the assessments to establish eligibility is step one in applying for state positions. Now is the time for prospective applicants to position themselves competitively by obtaining list eligibility! Click on the links below for details and instructions:

Associate State Archaeologist 3PR55

Senior State Archaeologist 3PR04

Deadline for assessments: November 27, 2023.

We are pleased to announce that the Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) is accepting applications for three Associate State Archaeologist positions. Archaeologists at the OHP work with state and federal agencies, performing project review per Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

Associate State Archaeologist (multiple positions)

Deadline for applications: December 4, 2023.

In the coming weeks, we will be advertising for several additional positions in our office, including for the classifications of Senior State Archaeologist, Historian II, Historian III, and Staff Services Analyst. Announcements and details to be forthcoming in future ePosts and mailings. In the meantime, we encourage interested candidates to visit the State job site, CalCareers, to set up an account, apply for exams, fill out the state job application, and receive notifications of upcoming assessments for the above classifications and others. Information about becoming a state employee is also available at Job Seekers (ca.gov). We look forward to expanding our OHP team!

New Program Promotes Culture and the Arts

California State Parks recently announced the launch of a new program, Arts in California Parks, to help make California’s parks more inclusive and welcoming. Through this new program, artists, culture bearers, and California Native American tribes will be eligible to receive funding to create artwork throughout state and local parks.

The program represents a collaboration between State Parks, the California Arts Council, and Parks California, and is one of the many efforts underway as part of State Parks’ Reexamining Our Past Initiative. Arts in California Parks will fund projects that offer perspective on California’s past and present.

“The program will lift up and support artists, and create connections to culture, the community, and the world we live in," said California State Parks Director Armando Quintero.

The public is invited to provide input on the development of the program through a survey at ArtsinCaliforniaParks.org, and to participate as visitors or collaborators.

Photo courtesy of California State Parks.

Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) offers six grants, including for small museums, African American history and culture, Native American/Native Hawaiian museum services, and more.

Deadline for all six grant programs: November 15, 2023.

Save America's Treasures Grant Program (National Park Service) provides funding to support collections and projects that preserve artifacts, documents, and properties significant to our national heritage.

Deadline for applications: December 19, 2023.

California Humanities Grant Programs (California Humanities) support a variety of efforts by nonprofits and public agencies to preserve and educate about California's richly diverse heritage.

Upcoming deadlines in January and February 2024 for a variety of grant programs.

Tribal Nature-Based Solutions Program Grants (California Natural Resources Agency) support tribal nature-based priorities including ancestral land return projects, conservation and restoration, climate resiliency, and more.

Next Deadline for the application process: February 6, 2024.

Designating California!

We are pleased to report that on October 2, 2023, the Native Americans and the California Mission System, 1769-1848 Multiple Property Documentation Form (MPDF) was approved by the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places. The MPDF provides three historic contexts to incorporate Native American history and voices into evaluations of mission system related properties. The MPDF is also known as the Multiple Property Submission (MPS) cover document under which associated properties are nominated to the National Register.

Fifteen of the twenty-one California missions were previously listed on the National Register of Historic Places along with other mission system related properties. Most of those designations were from the 1960s and 1970s with sparse documentation that did not adequately represent the Native American experience during the mission era. The Native Americans and the California Mission System, 1769-1848 MPS serves to help recognize and more fully tell this history, and is the result of successful collaboration between California tribal communities and the OHP.

Mission La Purisima at 'Amuwu District, Lompoc, California, is the first property to have its National Register designation updated under the cover of the MPS. As the pivotal location of the largest Native American rebellion against the Spanish on North America’s West Coast, La Purisima is associated with the historic context “Native Identity, Persistence, and Resistance.”

We look forward to seeing additional properties updated and new properties designated as this important history expands and enriches the greater story of California!

Image: Mission La Purisima at 'Amuwu District.

(Photo courtesy of lapurisimamission.org).

State Historical Resources Commission

The SHRC meets quarterly each year. Commission meetings are open to the public and live-streamed through the Cal-Span network. Meeting dates, times, and agendas are posted to the SHRC Meeting Schedule and Notices page of the OHP website.

For upcoming nominations, visit the Pending Nominations page. Nominations already heard by the Commission are listed on the Actions Taken page, and video recordings of SHRC meetings are posted to the Meeting Recordings & Summaries page.

Learn more about the responsibilities and role of the SHRC.

News, Education, and More

CPF Webinar - Free

The California Preservation Foundation (CPF) is hosting a free, noontime webinar in November, that looks at two pioneering women of landscape architecture and their influence on California.

November 14: Pleasure Gardens, Movies, and Malls: How Florence Yoch and Ruth Shellhorn Reimagined the California Landscape

CAMS Webinar - Free

California Main Street (CAMS) is hosting a webinar that looks at the role Main Streets play in addressing the supply and cost of housing in their communities.

November 14: Baby Steps to Becoming Main Street Housing Heroes

HABS/SAH Fellowship Accepting Applications

The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) are accepting applications for the Sally Kress Tompkins Fellowship. The fellowship offers a graduate student in architectural history or a related field the opportunity to work on a 12-week HABS history project during summer 2024. A stipend of $12,000 is provided as well as registration to the SAH annual conference.

Application deadline: December 31, 2023.

CPF Preservation Awards Now Accepting Nominations

The California Preservation Foundation is now accepting nominations for the 2024 Preservation Design Awards. This annual awards program recognizes organizations and individuals for outstanding work in preserving California’s historic sites and buildings.

Deadline for nominations: January 26, 2024.

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