Chumash Indians
Location: Central California, from Estero Bay in the north to
Malibu Canyon in the south, and from Carizzo Plain in the east to the Santa
Barbara Channel Islands in the west. The Northern Chumash call
themselves Stishni and are in some ways distinct from other Chumash
people.Traditions: The Chumash originally did not cultivate. They
hunted wildlife and marine animals including, fish, shellfish, whales,
seals, sea otters, shark, sea birds, albacore, tuna, sardines, deer,
wild game, grizzly and black bear, mountain lion, fox, coyote, badger,
quail, pigeons, and doves. The Chumash Indians also used animals
for a variety of tools, such as needles, fishhooks, and sandpaper.
They also made
spear-throwers, atl-atl, bow and arrows and fishnets. Plank canoes (tomal in Chumash or cayuco in Stishni) made out of redwood or pine were
the most important tool for the Chumash, because they were used for
fishing, and travel between different tribes along the coast and
neighboring islands. Domed houses approximately 30 feet in diameter were
their shelter. At the time of missionaries (about the 1700s) the
population was ten to twenty thousand, but the turn of the 20th century the population had dwindled to 200 descendents.
The Chumash Indians also minted their own bead money (anchum) made from the Olivella
shell (also known as the Purple Olive) but only the Indians that lived
on the Channel Islands specialized in making the money. The
Chumash made rock art in caves and on
overhangs, the most abundant rock art is found in Los Padres National
Forest. They are thousands of
years old.
Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not
claim expertise on the Chumash.
Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the web address of this page.
If you are Chumash, your feedback is much appreciated.
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians: http://www.santaynezchumash.org/
Northern Chumash Tribal Council: http://northernchumash.org/
Wishtoyo Foundation: http://www.wishtoyo.org/
Resources:
www.sbnature.org/chumash/
www.rain.org/~ktml/city/history.html
www.beachcalifornia.com/lompoc3.html
By: Becky Jo Corle
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