WE ARE ON OHLONE LAND
Designating a small part of this City as the first American Indian Cultural District in California provides a small reparation for the land stolen and genocide of us, the original people on this land. It shows the strength and spirit of our people to survive and be resilient. This area will allow us to establish needed resources and space to give honor to those that came before us, support for those who are here and a foundation for those that will follow after us. It also elevates our visibility to those that believe or want us to be gone to show "we are still here".”
- Mary Travis-Allen, AICD Advisory Board President
Our Purpose
To elevate and celebrate American Indian arts, cultures, peoples, and contributions while advancing policies and opportunities that strengthen American Indian communities, organizations, and businesses throughout Yelamu (San Francisco).
Our Vision
To build a culturally rooted, economically vibrant community base that uplifts American Indian/Alaska Native cultures, increases visibility, and advances policies that ensure equitable resources, funding, and opportunities in Yelamu (San Francisco).
About Us
Founded on March 31, 2020, the American Indian Cultural District (AICD) is the only city- and state-recognized American Indian Cultural District in the United States. AICD is dedicated to elevating and celebrating American Indian arts, cultures, peoples, and contributions while advancing policies and opportunities that strengthen American Indian communities, organizations, and businesses throughout Yelamu (San Francisco).
The Cultural District is rooted in Yelamu, the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone, within what is now known as San Francisco’s Mission District. This area is home to a unique concentration of American Indian organizations, programs, public art, cultural resources, and gathering spaces that have long been—and continue to be—vital to American Indian communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Through Indigenous-led placemaking, placekeeping, advocacy, and public art, AICD advances Native visibility, cultural preservation, and economic vitality. Guided by community-driven priorities, we strengthen Native businesses, organizations, and cultural resources while advancing policies that address the historic underrepresentation of American Indians within government systems.
Our main office, the American Indian Cultural District Hub, is located at the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, where we provide collaborative workspace for Native organizations. AICD also operates a satellite office within the Cultural District at Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits (BAAITS), located at 415 Valencia Street, strengthening our presence and services within the community.
Ultimately, we seek to empower urban American Indian communities, address generations of systemic oppression and racism, and secure the tools and resources needed to serve our own people. We believe culturally relevant and culturally competent initiatives must be created and led by American Indians for American Indians.
Uplift Local & IndigenizeSF
The AICD Uplift Local Campaign is a neighborhood-based economic development initiative within the broader Indigenize SF Initiative, a citywide placemaking and placekeeping effort dedicated to uplifting American Indian cultures, histories, and contributions through public art, cultural heritage, and educational experiences. While Indigenize SF creates a network of cultural destinations and Native-led storytelling across San Francisco, Uplift Local focuses on translating these cultural investments into tangible economic opportunities within and around the American Indian Cultural District.
Centered along the Mission and Valencia Street Corridors between 14th and 18th Streets, the Uplift Local Campaign leverages arts and culture, workforce development, tourism, asset mapping, and shop-local strategies to strengthen relationships among merchants, service organizations, Native artists, and entrepreneurs. By connecting cultural expression with community wealth-building, Uplift Local helps create a vibrant, inclusive, and culturally rooted district that benefits residents, businesses, and visitors alike.
Native American Heritage Month: American Indian Cultural District
About City & State Cultural Districts
In 2018, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors established the Cultural Districts Program to recognize geographic areas that embody the city’s unique cultural heritages. Through formal partnerships between the City and diverse communities, the program coordinates resources to help stabilize communities facing displacement and gentrification while preserving, strengthening, and promoting their cultural assets.
AICD became San Francisco’s eighth Cultural District in March 2020. We are honored to be part of this diverse collective and stand in solidarity with our sister Cultural Districts. Read more about Cultural Districts here.
Established through Assembly Bill 189 in 2015, the California Cultural Districts Program recognizes areas with concentrated cultural activity and helps communities preserve their heritage, support artists and cultural workers, strengthen local economies, and build vibrant and inclusive creative communities.
In December 2025, AICD was selected by the California Arts Council as one of California’s state-designated Cultural Districts. We are honored to join this statewide network and stand in solidarity with our fellow California Cultural Districts.
Cultural District Timeline
12/12/2025: The California Arts Council selected the American Indian Cultural District as one of 10 new state-designated California Cultural Districts. AICD’s state designation runs from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2030. Read the California Arts Council announcement.
2022: The San Francisco Planning Department, in collaboration with AICD and the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone, began developing the San Francisco American Indian Historic Context Statement and National Register Multiple Property Document. The project documents American Indian history, significant places, stories, and cultural traditions in San Francisco from the pre-contact period to the present. Learn more about the American Indian Historic Context Statement.
12/15/2020: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously gave final approval to legislation expanding AICD’s boundaries to include additional areas of cultural and historical significance, including Mission Dolores, Mission Dolores Park, and the former American Indian Center site at 225–229 Valencia Street. Mayor London Breed approved the ordinance on December 23, 2020. Read the final boundary expansion ordinance.
12/8/2020: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the AICD boundary expansion ordinance on its first reading. Read the boundary expansion ordinance and legislative history.
11/30/2020: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee amended the proposed AICD boundary expansion to extend the District from 18th Street to 20th Street and include Mission Dolores Park. See Agenda Item 2.
11/4/2020: The San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission unanimously supported expanding AICD to the boundaries originally discussed by Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Rafael Mandelman in March 2020. View the Historic Preservation Commission supporting documents.
4/7/2020: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously gave final approval to the ordinance establishing the American Indian Cultural District as San Francisco’s eighth Cultural District. Read the final AICD ordinance and legislative history.
3/31/2020: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the American Indian Cultural District ordinance on its first reading. AICD recognizes March 31, 2020, as its official founding date. Read the AICD ordinance or watch the Board of Supervisors meeting. The discussion begins at approximately 12:00.
12/18/2019: The San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission recommended approval of the ordinance establishing the American Indian Cultural District. Review the Historic Preservation Commission report and recommendation.
11/19/2019: Supervisors Hillary Ronen, Rafael Mandelman, and eight co-sponsors introduced the ordinance to establish the American Indian Cultural District. Review the ordinance and Planning Commission materials.
11/13/2019: Mayor London Breed announced the proposed American Indian Cultural District during the American Indian Cultural Center’s annual Native American Heritage Night Celebration.
6/1/2019: American Indian Cultural Center staff and local American Indian community leaders began working with the American Indian community and the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development to establish AICD. Read the American Indian Cultural Center’s creation story.
4/7/2019: Elder Mary Jean Robertson began a community mapping project to identify places of historical, cultural, and contemporary significance to American Indian communities in San Francisco. Watch the community mapping project video.