Chumash
The Chumash are a prominent Indigenous group native to California, primarily located in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties. Historically, they were one of the largest and most sophisticated Indigenous cultures in the region, with an estimated population of around 15,000 at the time of European contact. Distinctive features of Chumash culture include their rich tradition of rock art and advanced boat-building skills, creating canoes from pine planks stitched with deer sinews. The Chumash engaged in extensive trade and communication, particularly with those living on the Channel Islands.
Following European contact, the Chumash faced significant challenges, including the imposition of the mission system, which greatly impacted their population and traditional way of life. Despite these pressures, many aspects of their culture were preserved, although their numbers declined dramatically from the early 19th century onwards. By 2021, approximately 4,123 individuals identified as having Chumash ancestry, with a portion residing on the federally recognized Santa Ynez Reservation. This reservation not only provides opportunities for economic development but also promotes healthcare, education, and cultural preservation, including a museum dedicated to Chumash history. Today, the Chumash celebrate over 9,000 years of their tribal heritage, highlighting their resilience and ongoing cultural significance.
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Chumash
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: California
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Chumashan
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties, California
- POPULATION SIZE: 4,123 (2021: ACS 5-Year Estimates American Indian and Alaska Native Detailed Tables/ US Census)
The Chumash were one of the largest (15,000 is a likely estimate) and most sophisticated Indigenous American cultures of California at the time of European contact. Of the many unique features of their culture, two are distinctive: their extensive rock art and their construction of boats. The Chumash area abounds in pictographs, mostly of abstract forms. By the time of the arrival of Europeans, no Indigenous Americans were still living who could recall the origins or meaning of the paintings, and vandals destroyed many of the sites. Many of the Chumash lived on islands in the Santa Barbara Channel, and trade and communication between those islands and the mainland was extensive. The Chumash became very proficient in making canoes of pine planks stitched together with deer sinews and sealed with thick asphaltum. Canoes varied in length from 8 to 25 feet, were usually painted red with shell decorations, and held two to twenty people.
While some scholars have attempted to identify and preserve indigenous terms for regional subdivisions, others have simply borrowed the names of the five Spanish missions in the region: Tsoyińneahkoo or Obispeño for the San Luis Obispo mission (founded 1772); Ahmoo or Purisimeño for Purísima Concepción (1787); Kahshakompéah or Ynezeño for Santa Inés (1804); Kaśswah or Barbareño for Santa Barbara (1786); and Chumash or Ventureño for San Buenaventura (1782). Inland territorial districts have been named Hooíkookoo, or Emigdiano, and Kahshenahsmoo, or Cuyama.
The Spanish expedition of 1769 reported the Chumash as friendly and peaceful, so missionaries were eager to enter the area. By the 1820s, nearly all the Chumash, including those of the Channel Islands and the inland mountainous areas, had become part of the mission system. As happened elsewhere, however, the Chumash preserved many features of their own culture. Although they generally proved to be, as anticipated, a very peaceful people who quietly accepted Hispanization, the most serious uprising in the entire history of the California missions occurred in 1824 when a violent Chumash revolt at several missions resulted in the death of several Indigenous Americans and Whites. Historians are uncertain about the cause of that rebellion, but one explanation is that the Chumash fought to preserve some of their traditional social and marital patterns.
Despite their efforts to maintain their traditional lifestyle, the Chumash population experienced a familiar pattern of decline during and after the mission period. By 1832, they numbered only 2,471; by 1865, only 659; and by 1920, a mere seventy-four. The federal roll of 1928 identified thirty-one Chumash, of whom only eight were of unmixed ancestry. In May 1941, Juan Justo, identified as the last surviving full-blood Chumash, died in Santa Barbara. The federal government established the Santa Ynez Reservation near the mission of that name on December 17, 1901. In the US Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey, 4,123 individuals reported having Chumash ancestry. Only a small portion of Chumash lived on the reservation. Although they were federally-recognized, other bands of Chumash existed without federal recognition. The reservation operates the Chumash Casino Resort, which features a luxury hotel. The Santa Ynez Reservation provided economic development opportunities, as well as healthcare, education, and programs that promoted environmental stewardship and cultural preservation. The reservation opened a museum honoring the Chumash people. The In the 2020s, the Chumash people honored over 9,000 years of tribal history.
Bibliography
Beebe, Rose Marie, and Robert M. Senkewicz. Junípero Serra: California, Indians, and the Transformation of a Missionary. U of Oklahoma P, 2015.
"Channel Islands - Native Inhabitants." National Park Service, 4 Dec. 2023, www.nps.gov/chis/learn/historyculture/nativeinhabitants.htm. Accessed 25 Oct. 2024.
"Culture." Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, chumash.gov/culture. Accessed 25 Oct. 2024.
Gamble, Lynn H. The Chumash World at European Contact: Power, Trade, and Feasting among Complex Hunter-Gatherers. U of California P, 2008.
Gamble, Lynn H. First Coastal Californians. School for Advanced Research, 2015.
Haas, Lisbeth. Saints and Citizens: Indigenous Histories of Colonial Missions and Mexican California. U of California P, 2014.
"Our Heritage." Chumash Casino Resort, chumashcasino.com/about-us/our-heritage. Accessed 25 Oct. 2024.
"Our History." Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, chumash.gov/chumash-history. Accessed 25 Oct. 2024.
Sonneborn, Liz. The Chumash. Lerner, 2007.
"2021: ACS 5-Year Estimates American Indian and Alaska Native Detailed Tables: Chumash Tribal Grouping Alone." US Census Bureau, data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5YAIAN2021.B01003?q=chumash. Accessed 25 Oct. 2024.
"Who We Are." Santa Ynez Chumash Museum and Cultural Center, www.sychumashmuseum.org/about/. Accessed 25 Oct. 2024.