Chumash: The Past and Present of California's Seashell People
Honoring Traditions Dolphins glide past a crew of men and women paddling across the Santa Barbara Channel Redwood and driftwood planks are sealed with tar and curve to form a 20 foot long 6 meter long canoe known as a tomol Chumash people today can ride modern boats across the 21 miles 34 kilometers of water to Santa Cruz Island But on special occasions they honor Chumash history by traveling as their ancestors once did Older tribe members appreciate that young people join them on the ocean journey Chumash of all ages work to protect their community and the traditions they nearly lost 200 years ago ancestor family member who lived a long time ago
A Lompoc California mural features Chumash spearing fish from a tomol BASKET WEAVING The Chumash people were well known for their baskets Other tribes and later the Spanish were eager to trade goods for their finely woven baskets The baskets were used for grinding nuts trapping fish cooking and storing food holding belongings and carrying babies Weavers twisted tan colored grass and wove it into baskets They also coiled and sewed it together They dyed some grasses black with mud or soaked the grass in water with a piece of iron They wove the grasses into stripes zigzags and geometric designs Some baskets were woven so tightly they could hold water The last of the Chumash's most experienced weavers died around 1915 Some Chumash weavers today find inspiration in their ancestors work Chumash baskets in museum collections today help them learn traditional techniques Weavers avoid new materials and use wild grasses and natural dyes
Chapter 1 Seashell People The Santa Ynez Mountains run parallel with the coastline near Santa Barbara California For more than 10 000 years most Chumash people lived along the Pacific coast between the present day cities of Paso Robles and Malibu California Some groups lived on islands in the Santa Barbara Channel Other groups lived in the mountains of what is now Santa Barbara County Mild winters made daily life comfortable for the Chumash They did not need heavy clothing or thick walled homes Bundles of cattails and grasses arranged in layers formed the walls and roofs of their dome shaped houses called 'aps
The Chumash did not need to farm because the ocean and land provided food all year Men carved hooks from shells and bone to catch many kinds of fish including swordfish They hunted sea otters and seals with nets spears and harpoons With traps and bows and arrows they hunted deer ducks and rabbits Chumash women gathered edible plants all year They found seaweed on the shore They collected acorns from oak trees to pound into mash or flour They made teas and jellies from wild strawberries and cherries They cooked stews outside a reconstructed Chumash ap in La Purísima Mission State Historic Park California Harvestingacorns Acorns played an important role in Chumash history California tribes harvested as much as 600 000 tons 544 300 metric tons of acorns a year
