Maidu Museum & Historic Site, Native American cultural center in Roseville, United States

The Maidu Museum & Historic Site is a 7,200-square-foot interpretive center in Roseville, California, with exhibits, multimedia presentations and a trail through a site where hundreds of bedrock mortar holes, petroglyphs on sandstone boulders and a large midden remain visible.

This site shows evidence of people living there for thousands of years. The Nisenan Maidu inhabited and shaped this place over a long period before other cultures arrived in the region.

The museum is a centre for cultural preservation for Maidu people, run by the city of Roseville. It works to keep the endangered Maidu languages alive and to bring traditional Maidu foods and foraged edible plants to the public. Exhibits developed with a 2008 federal grant focus on Maidu traditions and family life.

The museum has limited opening hours, so it is wise to check ahead and possibly book a guided tour. The outdoor area is accessible and can be explored on your own, but you should wear sturdy shoes.

In the outdoor area you will find hundreds of holes carved into rocks that the Maidu used for grinding seeds and nuts. These work marks tell a story of daily tasks across many generations.