“The Continuum of Time” art mural dedicated to the Tataviam tribe. The mural will sit in the CSUN University Library. (Photo courtesy of Lindsay Carron)

When you enter the main floor of the west wing of the California State University Northridge library, you’ll soon notice a new mural blending art, nature and the Indigenous history that the campus sits on.

As a tribute to the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians (FTBMI), the celebratory mural, titled “The Continuum of Time”, will honor the historic tribe of northern Los Angeles County.

The CSUN Tataviam Mural Project is a collaborative artistic endeavor between artist Lindsay Carron — the winner of a selective mural competition— Tataviam tribal leadership, and the university to create a lasting mural legacy in the University Library. The mural is aligned with the University Library’s commitment to honor the land upon which it stands. The land, known as the Sesevenga, is the historic and unceded territory of the Sesevitam. The descendants of the first inhabitants of this land continue to live in the area as citizens of the FTBMI.

The art installation is part of the official land acknowledgement action plan for the University Library, developed by the library’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee and approved by the Executive Group (EG). The CSUN American Indian Studies program and its former Director, Scott Andrews, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, also played a pivotal role to make this project possible.

“The winner of the CSUN University Library Tataviam Mural Competition is Lindsay Carron. Many thanks go to the selection jury, made up of Samantha Fields (chair of the art department); Alesha Claveria (American Indian studies); and Mario Ontiveros (art history),” said Mark Stover, dean of the University Library, in a statement. “I’m also grateful to Mark Villasenor from the Fernandeño Band of Mission Indians, who spent time with each of the finalists and who, along with Rudy Ortega and others from the Tataviam leadership team, also gave important feedback on both the semifinalists’ submissions and the finalists’ compositions and sketches.”

The mural will be installed on an existing curved wall near the Creative Maker Studio Learning Commons, located on the first floor of the west wing of the library. The mural’s size will be about 10 feet high by 25 feet long and will include a commemorative plaque with a brief description of the art and artist’s attribution.

The design will be printed on polytab and then adhered to the wall in a two-layer polytab process that will be guided by professionals at Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC). Carron will be painting the mural on top of the printed polytab.

“This mural not only depicts the important history of the tribe,” said Carron, who has been a part of public art projects throughout the U.S and consulted with the FTBMI in presenting her final design. “But how the tribal members continue to celebrate their culture, land, and ways of life – time immemorial to present and future – through symbols of hope, resilience, strength and harmony with the natural environment of northern Los Angeles County.”

The mural is expected to be partially completed by mid-April, which will coincide with a mural talk — the first of three planned public events to celebrate the artwork in the next year — with Carron and Tataviam Tribe Members in the Gohstand Leisure Reading Room in the library on Tuesday, April 16, from 5– 6:30 p.m. The public will be able to meet Carron and learn about her practice working in collaboration with communities and in the wilderness and listen to Tataviam leaders share their perspectives.

The mural is expected to be fully completed by mid-May this year.

art mural, CSUN, CSUN library, Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, Native Americans