The Antelope Valley Indian Museum State Historic Park: Showcasing Cultural Heritage

Howard Arden Edwards, a self-taught artist, became enchanted with the desert scenery around Lake Los Angeles while visiting the Antelope Valley. He homesteaded 160 acres on Piute Butte and in 1928, Edwards, his wife, and their teenage son began building a home, which included a special area he called his Antelope Valley Indian Research Museum. In it he displayed his collection of prehistoric and historic Native American artifacts, which he interpreted in a way that he thought would be instructive and entertaining for visitors. Some of his imaginative descriptions can still be seen in displays in the museum's upper gallery, which was his former research museum, now called California Hall.

Grace Wilcox Oliver, who had taken some courses in anthropology, purchased the property, reinforced the main building, expanded the physical facilities, and added her own artifacts. She opened the Edwards' house as the Antelope Valley Indian Museum in the early 1940s and operated it intermittently for the next three decades, gradually adding to the collections. Mrs. Oliver's approach to interpreting Native American materials can be seen in the museum's Southwest Room.

Local support for the acquisition of the property, spearheaded by Beryl Amspoker, resulted in the state of California purchasing the museum in 1979, with Grace Oliver donating all of the artifacts. The majority of the museum's collections emphasizes the Southwestern, California, and Great Basin Native Americans, although it contains artifacts from a number of other geographic regions.

In 1982, Friends of the Antelope Valley Indian Museum (FAVIM) was incorporated as a non-profit support group that did docent and volunteer training programs, field trips, and other cultural activities in support of the museum. Forty-plus years later, FAVIM is still strong and vibrant, actively reaching out, promoting community, and furthering the museum’s mission.