Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary Proposal Gains Support
and The Importance of Chumash Heritage to National Marine Sanctuaries
Introduction
Support for the designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary is gaining both local and statewide support to fill the gap with sanctuary protection between the Channel Islands and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries.
The Northern Chumash Tribal Council (NCTC), in collaboration with local, state, and national grassroots organizations is proposing the nomination of the California Central Coast Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.
Let’s Bridge the Gap Between Two Marine Sanctuaries
California Coast Campaign
The California Coast Campaign, part of the Wild America Campaign of national Sierra Club has hired Michael Thornton as their new coastal organizer. The California Coast Campaign is focusing on the ongoing effort to establish a new national marine sanctuary off the coast of San Luis Obispo County, and on educating and organizing coastal communities about fracking issues. The campaign will continue advocacy related to the Coastal Commission and the California Coastal Act.
As the Organizer of the California Coast Campaign, Michael Thornton, came to San Luis Obispo on Saturday, January 11, 2014 to speak and work with 26 volunteers who are building the grassroots effort to seek designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. Several groups were represented, including Chumash Northern Tribal Council, Sierra Club, Santa Lucia Chapter, Surfrider Foundation, San Luis Obispo Chapter, ECOSLO, COAST, and The Central Coast Marine Sanctuary Alliance. These local organizations and interested individuals are excited about the process of seeking to establish a new national marine sanctuary.
Visit these websites to learn more: Sierra Club, Santa Lucia Chapter, Sierra Club “Yodeler” San Francisco Bay Chapter, The Central Coast Marine Sanctuary Alliance
The Importance of Chumash Heritage to National Marine Sanctuaries
To best describe the importance of the native Chumash Heritage culture to National Marine Sanctuaries, we have cited two paragraphs from this National Marine Sanctuary website.
Native Cultures and the Maritime Heritage Program
“The Maritime Heritage Program is not only involved in the protection of physical artifacts (cultural, historical, and archaeological resources), but also in increasing appreciation of the many human connections to the sea. This includes an effort to support, understand and learn from diverse maritime histories and experiences, and particularly greater appreciation of indigenous maritime cultures, traditional seafaring, host culture perspectives and traditional marine environmental knowledge.”
“The Maritime Heritage Program seeks to support research into seafaring traditions and the preservation of maritime folklore and knowledge. Understanding the true human dimensions of our protected marine areas is incomplete without an awareness and recognition of the special cultural ties these areas have to indigenous seafaring cultures. Gaining an awareness of the great variety of human connections to the sea can help us all become better stewards of our ocean resources.”
Chumash Maritime Heritage
According to Karl Kempton, Chumash were competent and accomplished mariners. They used the sun, constellations and the Pole Star to create complex solstice and stellar alignments only now being recovered. He now surmises that the Chumash ancient maritime navigation techniques most probably were the source of these land-based alignments. Many of these sites became submerged as the ice age melted into the present day. For more information on Karl’s research, please read these previous SLO Coast Journal articles:
Yak Tityu Tityu, Northern Chumash, and the Chumash: A General Overview – Part One - August 2011
Yak Tityu Tityu, Northern Chumash, and the Chumash: A General Overview – Part Two Section A - September 2011
Yak Tityu Tityu, Northern Chumash, and the Chumash: A General Overview – Part Two Section B – October 2011
The Channel Islands National Park Service archeological investigations and research demonstrate the earliest maritime navigation for travel and trade was by the Chumash living along the channel coast. The sheltered waters allowed for use of a canoe called a tomol, a plank canoe constructed of redwood logs, pine pitch and asphaltum to seal the construction.
As stated by Roberta R. Codero, Member and co-founder of the Chumash Maritime Association, for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, in the article, “Full Circle Chumash Cross Channel in Tomol to Santa Cruz Island,” “Used for both fishing and transportation, these elegant and versatile canoes wove together coastal and island communities in a complex system of trade, kinship and a resource stewardship that was sustained over thousands of years.”
Chumash Tomol - Photo by Robert Schwemmer
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
Historical Ancient Chumash villages
In the Channel Islands as well as in the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, the most ancient Chumash villages and cultural heritage sites lie submerged. Fred Collins, Tribal Administrator of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council (NCTC) states, “The oldest scientifically dated Chumash sites along our coast are around 12,000 years old; many Chumash understand that we have been here much longer, perhaps beyond 20,000 years, and there are many who believe that as the First Peoples we have always been here.”
On the Channel Islands, archeologists estimate Chumash village sites of continuous occupation from 8,000 – 11,000 years according to the National Park Service.
More recently, Blake de Pastino states in his article, “11,000-Year-Old Seafaring Indian Sites Discovered on California Island,” printed in the January 6, 2014 Western Digs.org website, “archaeologists have discovered some of the oldest sites of human occupation on the Pacific Coast.” Blake states that on Santa Rosa Island, one of the Channel Islands, nearly 20 sites reveal signs of prehistoric human activity. In fact, at least nine sites have definitive evidence of ancient occupation, dated 11,000 – 12,000 years ago.
Moreover, Blake states that Santa Rosa Island was already famous as the home of Arlington Man (sic)(Woman) - perhaps the oldest human remains ever found in North America, discovered in 1959 and dated to 13,000 years ago.
More recent DNA and linguistic research support the Chumash Collective Community understanding of a 20,000-year history along the California Central Coast.
For example, Some linguists have contended that the sheer number of Native American languages ˜at one point there were 88 between Baja California and Oregon˜ indicate settlement for at least 20,000 years, well before the retreat of the glaciers would have allowed travel by foot.
The National Geographic News article, “First Americans Arrived Recently, Settled Paciric Coast, DNA Study Says,” states that the migration occurred at least 15,000 years ago, and that some scientists have proposed that the first Americans arrived up to 40,000 years ago.
A Local Ocean Plan of Cultural Significance
“An Ocean Action Plan of Cultural Significance” California Central Coast Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary was posted by Richard E.T. Sadowski and Marla Jo Bruton T. Sadowski on October 18, 2012 in Oceanspaces, an online community that fosters new knowledge of ocean health.
Richard and Marlo Jo discuss the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) goal of maintaining and creating “conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans.”
The authors surmise, “In California, the Chumash peoples heritage exemplifies this harmony under which man and nature had coexisted for thousands of years. The Chumash inhabited the California coast and historically are one of the few tribes that navigated the Pacific Ocean, to fish and facilitate the distribution of goods.”
Richard and Marla Jo also discuss the Advisory Council of Historic Preservation (ACHP), the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Governor Brown’s Executive Order B-10-11, and the West Coast Governors Alliance (WCGA) as they relate to communication with and inclusion of indigenous tribal leaders.
Conclusion
Jeanette Acosta, a Chumash individual working for ocean protection asserts, “The health of the ocean is at the very core of Chumash maritime cultural identity and tribal existence.”
Chumash Heritage is culturally significant to the California central coast because it is the common history of the coastal communities from Malibu to northern San Luis Obispo County.
The educational purpose of National marine sanctuaries is in harmony with the Chumash maritime culture. Education is needed to continue the health of this special ocean place, and a national marine sanctuary will provide education and research for both the health of the ocean and better knowledge and understanding of the Chumash Heritage. |
