Historic or customary items (such as the ones in this exhibition) were separated from their original makers and communities, resulting in a difficult, challenging history of collecting and exhibiting Native art. An unintended anonymity within Native art has occurred because the names of artists were not recorded at the time their art was collected. Past anthropologists and collectors were more interested in acquiring the items; the artists’ names were not a priority for them. Despite this error in judgement, these artists were known by his/her/their community. We acknowledge this relationship in our text labels that read “unrecorded artist of”.

The Atsugewi reside in what is now northern California, United States, in the vicinity of Mount Shasta, specifically the Pit River area along the Burney, Hat, and Dixie Valley or Horse Creeks. They were closely related to the Achomawi, who lived to their south. Due to their location, they were also known as "Hat Creek Indians" and "Dixie Valley Indians."

The Achomawi (also Achumawi, Ajumawi, and Ahjumawi) are one of several bands known as the "Pit River" tribe of Native Americans who lived in northern California. They lived in the Fall River valley, Tule Lake, and Pit River area near Montgomery Creek in Shasta County to Goose Lake on the Oregon state line. They were closely related to the Atsugewi; both speaking Palaihnihan languages.