Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians

The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Chumash, an indigenous people of California, in Santa Barbara.[2] Their name for themselves is Samala.[3] The locality of Santa Ynez is referred to as ’alaxulapu in Chumashan language.[4][5]

Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians
Samala
Flag of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indigenous Americans near Santa Ynez, Santa Barbara County, California.
Total population
154 enrolled members
Regions with significant populations
United States (California)
Languages
English,[1] historically Ineseño
Related ethnic groups
other Chumash people

Government

The Santa Ynez Band is headquartered in Santa Ynez, California. They are governed by a democratically elected, five-member tribal council. Their current tribal administration is as follows:

  • Chairman: Kenneth Kahn
  • Vice-chairman: Mike Lopez
  • Secretary/Treasurer: Maxine Littlejohn
  • Business Committee Member: Gary Pace
  • Business Committee Member: Raul Armenta[6]

Reservation
Location of Santa Ynez Indian Reservation

The Santa Ynez Indian Reservation (34°36′10″N 120°05′29″W) is the only Chumash reservation.[1] It was 127-acres large and was established on 27 December 1901.[2] Beginning in 1979, the tribe established a housing program and began improving the infrastructure on the reservation.[7]

Expansion

In 2019 the Santa Ynez Indian Reservation was allowed to place Camp 4 into tribal trust lands, expanding the reservation an additional 1,390 acres[8][9]

Samala Chumash language

The last native speaker of the Samala Chumash language, also called Ineseño, died in 1965. Verbal inheritance was lost with the death of the last native speaker. The language was revived through documents and archives, which created a sense of pride among modern Chumash descendants.[10][11]

In the early 1900s linguist/ethnographer John P. Harrington worked with Maria Solares, one of the last fluent speakers of Samala. He created manuscripts containing information on Chumash language, culture, and traditions. Dr. Richard Applegate, who received a PhD in linguistics from U.C. Berkeley, used these manuscripts to write an extensive grammar of Samala and compile a dictionary of the language, which was released in 2008.[12] Dr. Applegate and Nakia Zavalla, the Cultural Director for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash and a direct descendant of Maria Solares, have begun an effort to revitalize the language. Applegate began teaching Samala in 2003, and Zavalla has spearheaded an immersion-based language apprentice program.[13] As of 2008, Applegate had five language apprentices; however, none had yet reached full fluency.[14]

An online Samala Chumash tutorial is available.[15]

Economic development

The Santa Ynez Band owns and operates the Chumash Casino Resort, as well as the Chumash Cafe, the Creekside Buffet, The Willows restaurant, and Root 246,[16] (formerly the third largest employer in Solvang, 105, until its closure in 2021[17][18]) all in Santa Ynez, California.

Education

The reservation is served by the College Elementary School District[19] and Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District.[20]

Notes
  1. "Chumash Indians." SDSU: California Indians and Their Reservations. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  2. Pritzker 122
  3. "Maria Solares." The Chumash Languages. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  4. 2nd Annual Santa Ynez Cultural Day Flyer, Link
  5. Timothy Paul Henry-Rodriguez Purisimeño-English, English-Purisimeño LexiconLink
  6. "Government". Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  7. "Santa Ynez Reservation." Archived 23 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. 2012. 6 June 2012.
  8. "Camp 4 placed into federal trust - Chumash start plans to build homes - Santa Ynez Valley Star". 23 January 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  9. "The Santa Ynez Reservation". Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  10. Ventura, Mailing Address: 1901 Spinnaker Drive; Us, CA 93001 Phone: 805 658-5730 Contact. "Bringing Back the Samala Chumash Language - Channel Islands National Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  11. Tongues, Our Mother. "Our Mother Tongues | Chumash". www.ourmothertongues.org. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  12. Chawkins, Steve (20 April 2008). "Chumash recover their 'alishtaha'n: Armed with a trove of scattered notes, linguist saves ancestral tongue from brink of extinction". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  13. "Bringing Back the Samala Chumash Language". Channel Islands National Park. 8 April 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  14. Preston, Ben (24 April 2008). "Chumash Dictionary Breathes Life into Moribund Language". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  15. "Inezeño Chumash Language Tutorial". Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  16. "Solvang's Root 246 restaurant closing for good". KSBY News. 13 February 2021.
  17. "City of Solvang CAFR". Archived from the original on 22 July 2012.
  18. "Archive Center • Solvang CA • CivicEngage". www.cityofsolvang.com.
  19. Developing world class learners everyday!. College School District. (n.d.). https://collegeschooldistrict.org/
  20. Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District Home. Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District. (n.d.). https://www.syvuhsd.org/

References
  • Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-19-513877-1
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