One of the oldest American Indian groups, the Chumash people lived in the central and southern coastal regions of California.
Some bones of Chumash ancestors were dated as being more than 13,000 years old. Its roots are in parts of what are now Kern, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles counties, from Morro Bay in the north to Malibu in the south to Mount Pinos in the east, as well as the Channel Islands.
Any of several related but independent American Indian groups speaking a Hokan language were referred to collectively as the Chumash.
Before the Spanish mission period, the Chumash lived in more than a hundred and fifty independent villages and spoke variations of the same language. They were involved in basketry, bead manufacturing, and trading with one another and other tribes. As they primarily inhabited the coastal regions, their cuisine made use of clams, mussels, abalone, and fish. They used red abalone shells to produce fishhooks, beads, ornaments, and other artifacts. They practiced herbalism, using local herbs to produce teas and medicinal potions.
The Chumash also created arborglyphs, or carvings into the bark of a tree depicting astronomical features, as well as rock art,
Prior to their contact with Europeans, the coastal Chumash relied more on maritime resources than on terrestrial resources, while Chumash who live further inland hunted deer and other game animals. Acorns played a significant role in their diet, as well.
The Chumash were among the first California Indians encountered by Spanish explorers in the mid-16th century. When the Spanish colonized the California coastal areas, they named the larger Chumash tribes the Obispeño, Purismeño, Ynezeño, Barbareño, and Ventureño, for the Franciscan missions, San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, La Purísima Concepción, Santa Ynez, Santa Barbara, and San Buenaventura, respectively, as the Spanish began forcing Chumash villages into the missions that sprung up all along the coast. While most of the Chumash people joined one mission or another between 1772 and 1806, a large portion of those inhabiting the Channel Islands didn't move to mainland missions until 1816.
When Mexico seized control of the missions in 1834, the Chumash either fled into the interior, attempted subsistence farming, or were enslaved on large Mexican ranches.
Chumash populations are believed to have been severely impacted during a period that has become known as the California Genocide. This was the organized killing of thousands of California's Indigenous people by United States government agents and private citizens in the 19th century. Beginning with the U.S. conquering California from Mexico and the influx of settlers entering the area during the California Gold Rush. It is estimated that from 10,000 to more than 15,000 of California's native people were killed, starved, or worked to death. Enslavement, kidnapping, rape, child separation, and forced displacement were encouraged, tolerated, or actually carried out by state authorities and militias.
After 1849, nearly all of the Chumash land was stolen by Americans or lost due to declining populations. In 1855, 120 acres were set aside for the remaining hundred Chumash Indians near the Santa Ynez mission, and this became the only Chumash reservation, although Chumash individuals continued to live throughout their former territory.
Today, the Chumash reservation is 127 acres. No native Chumash is known to speak the traditional language since the last Barbareño speaker died in 1965.
Since the 1970s, several people have come forward to claim Chumash heritage, tracing the lineage from the descendants of Spanish colonists who inhabited the domain of the initial Chumash people. They promote the traditions of the Chumash, and many of them are recognized locally, but others criticize their cultural assumptions.
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash is the federally recognized Chumash tribe on the Santa Ynez Reservation in Santa Barbara County. Other Chumash people are enrolled in the Tejon Indian Tribe of California. The Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation and the Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians are fighting for federal recognition. Other Chumash tribal groups include the Cuyama Chumash, the Island Chumash, the Kagismuwas Chumash, the Los Angeles Chumash, the Malibu Chumash, the Monterey Chumash, the San Fernando Valley Chumash, the Yak Tityu Tityu Yak Tilhini Northern Chumash, the Tecuya Chumash, and the Ventura Chumash.
Topics related to the Chumash people are the focus of this portion of our web guide. Websites representing Chumash tribes, recognized or unrecognized, may be listed here, along with other online Chumash resources, such as tribal organizations, businesses, industries, schools, health facilities, museums, or events. Informational sites dealing with primarily Chumash issues would also be appropriate here.
Recommended Resources
Barbareño Band of Chumash Indians
The website claims that the ancestors of the Barbareño Band of Chumash Indians are the people who have traditionally inhabited the coastal Santa Barbara County region and parts of the backcountry, but who were forced out of the reservation by a corrupt Indian agent. The history of the Band is set forth; council members are introduced, and information about its traditional language, basket weaving, and culture is. Photographs, a calendar of events, and contacts are posted.
https://www.bbc-indians.com/
Barbareño Chumash Tribal Council of Santa Barbara
The Barbareno Chumash Council is a tribal organization representing Chumash descendants whose ancestors lived in what is now the Santa Barbara area of California and has been the primary host of the annual crossing of the Chumash people from the mainland to the Channel Islands, believed to be the origins of the tribe. The tribal council is introduced, the maritime history of the tribe is set forth, and notable advancements are highlighted. A petition to rename the Channel Islands is included.
http://www.barbarenochumashcouncil.com
Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians
Comprised of Chumash families from Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, the people who make up this tribe are also known as "Lulapin" (lul: badger, and lapin: coastal Indians), and refer to a confederation of different California Indian people who spoke Chumash and who were coerced into settling at the San Buenaventura Mission near the beach of the Santa Barbara Channel in the late 18th century. Its tribal government is introduced, contacts are noted, and a private login is available for members.
https://www.bvbmi.com/
Open on weekends, the museum is situated in Thousand Oaks, California. In the 1980s, significant Chumash cultural sites were discovered, and a portion of the area was preserved as Oakbrook Park. Ventura County agreed to build the Chumash Interpretive Center, which opened in 1994. Currently operated by the Oakbrook Park Chumash Indian Corporation in conjunction with the Conejo Park and Recreation District, its location, hours, exhibits, educational programs, and events are highlighted.
https://www.chumashmuseum.org/
Highlighting an ancient tree carving known as the "scorpion tree," which was determined to be a sophisticated map of the stars, used as a calendar to help Chumash people know when to carry out harvests, ceremonies, and other activities. The Arborglyph Project examines the significance of Indigenous knowledge in their being able to thrive in California. Under that umbrella, the site may examine other examples of Indigenous knowledge and include examples from the Cherokee, as well.
https://chumashscience.com/
Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation
CBCN claims to be a sovereign nation of Coastal Chumasn Indigenous Peoples, whose ancestors inhabited the San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and other counties in central and southern California. Claiming more than 2,600 members, it has applied for federal recognition as a tribe but has not yet received it. Its website presents a history of the tribe, tribal council contacts, meeting schedules, cultural workshops, and other events, and links to other online resources are provided.
https://coastalbandofthechumashnation.weebly.com/
Northern Chumash Tribal Council
Established in 2006, the Northern Chumash Tribal Council is a California non-profit corporation and a state-recognized tribal government. Situated in San Luis Obispo County, the Council represents people whose ancestors were the Chumash of over 20,000 years of habitation in the county. The Council monitors cultural heritage sites related to the Chumash and is in the process of reclaiming its ancestral lands for Tribal community housing, cultural education, and restoration projects.
https://northernchumash.org/
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians (Samaia) is a federally recognized tribe of Chumash people headquartered in Santa Ynez, California. Its reservation, the only established reservation for the Chumash people, is 127 acres. The Band operates the Chumash Casino Resort, the Chumash Cafe, the Creekside Buffet, the Willows Restaurant, and Root 246, all in Santa Inez. Its history, government, sovereignty, and contacts are posted, along with tribal departments and services.
https://chumash.gov/
Santa Ynez Chumash Museum and Cultural Center
The museum has its roots in the 1970s when a traditional Chumash dwelling made of tule reeds (known as a "tule 'Ap) was constructed on the Santa Ynez Reservation, and used to showcase Chumash artifacts. In 2000, the tribe submitted an application to place a 6.9=acre parcel across from the reservation into a federal trust to build a museum. The museum features exhibits of Chumash tradition and culture, a classroom, and an amphitheater. Hours, schedules, and contacts are provided.
https://www.sychumashmuseum.org/
The Yak Titʸu Titʸu Yak Tiłhini Northern Chumash Tribe of San Luis Obispo County and Region (YTT Tribe) is a yet unrecognized tribe in San Luis Obispo County, California, which claims to represent an unbroken chain of lineage, kinship, and culture of the earliest residents of the central coast of California. Its tribal council, board, partners, and allies are acknowledged, along with collaborations, advocacy, and issues, particularly taking land back, are featured.
https://yttnorthernchumashtribe.com/
