The Chumash

The Chumash — page 1 — CHAPTER one WHO ARE THE CHUMASH The Chumash are a group of American Indians that traditionally lived in and around the Santa Barbara Channel area in California and spoke languages from the Hokan language family Their name comes from the name Michumash which means a people who make shell bead money Chumash society was once widespread and diverse with at least eight dialects spoken and many variations across communities Over the centuries the Chumash society and culture were affected by the invasion of their lands by European and American settlers During the 18th and 19th centuries the Chumash suffered huge losses due to disease and war They were forcibly relocated enslaved and killed The Chumash have fought to recover from the many injustices they suffered in the past Today their culture continues to change as they work to honor their past and protect their future In this photo a man in traditional dress dances at a celebration at the Chumash Interpretive Center in Thousand Oaks California 4

The Chumash — page 2

The Chumash — page 3 — CHAPTER T WO CHUMASH ORIGINS No one knows when the first Chumash appeared Anthropologists believe that people arrived in the Alaska area in North America between 40,000 and 13,000 years ago Over many generations they moved south and by about 8,000 years ago some had settled in what is now California About 1,000 years ago a group of the people who’d settled in California came to share very similar tools practices and beliefs The Chumash descended from these people The early Chumash had a religious story that explained the origin of their people They believed that a female god called Hutash created humans from seeds Hutash sent some of the people she’d created across the Santa Barbara Channel by making a rainbow for them to walk on Some people fell into the ocean but Hutash turned them into dolphins to save them from drowning Religious beliefs showed how the Chumash understood their place in the world This modern Chumash man is performing a traditional dance at a Hutash Festival in Ventura California 6

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