Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians#Samala Chumash language

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{{cite web|title=Government|url=https://www.santaynezchumash.org/government#committee|access-date=November 28, 2021|website=Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians}}

File:3540R Santa Ynez Reservation Locator Map.svg

The Santa Ynez Indian Reservation ({{coord|34|36|10|N|120|05|29|W|scale:25000_source:GNIS|display=inline}}) is the only Chumash reservation. It was 127-acres large and was established on 27 December 1901. Beginning in 1979, the tribe established a housing program and began improving the infrastructure on the reservation.[http://www.santaynezchumash.org/reservation.html "Santa Ynez Reservation."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140723234524/http://www.santaynezchumash.org/reservation.html |date=23 July 2014 }} Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. 2012. 6 June 2012.

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{{cite web |title=Camp 4 placed into federal trust - Chumash start plans to build homes - Santa Ynez Valley Star |url=https://santaynezvalleystar.com/camp-4-placed-into-federal-trust-chumash-start-plans-to-build-homes/ |access-date=28 March 2023 |date=23 January 2017}}{{cite web |title=The Santa Ynez Reservation |url=https://www.santaynezchumash.org/the-santa-ynez-reservation |website=Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians |access-date=28 March 2023}}

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.{{Cite web |last1=Ventura |first1=Mailing Address: 1901 Spinnaker Drive |last2=Us |first2=CA 93001 Phone: 805 658-5730 Contact |title=Bringing Back the Samala Chumash Language - Channel Islands National Park (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/chis/learn/news/bringing-back-the-samala-chumash-language.htm |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Tongues |first=Our Mother |title=Our Mother Tongues {{!}} Chumash |url=http://www.ourmothertongues.org/language/chumash/17 |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=www.ourmothertongues.org |language=English}}

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.{{Cite news

| last = Chawkins

| first = Steve

| title = Chumash recover their 'alishtaha'n: Armed with a trove of scattered notes, linguist saves ancestral tongue from brink of extinction.

| work = Los Angeles Times

| access-date = 2013-05-07

| date = 2008-04-20

| url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-apr-20-me-chumash20-story.html

}} 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.{{cite web

| title = Bringing Back the Samala Chumash Language

| work = Channel Islands National Park

| access-date = 2013-05-07

| date = 2010-04-08

| url = https://www.nps.gov/chis/learn/news/bringing-back-the-samala-chumash-language.htm

}} As of 2008, Applegate had five language apprentices; however, none had yet reached full fluency.{{Cite news|last=Preston|first=Ben|date=April 24, 2008|title=Chumash Dictionary Breathes Life into Moribund Language|work=Santa Barbara Independent|url=https://www.independent.com/2008/04/24/chumash-dictionary-breathes-life-into-moribund-language/|access-date=November 28, 2021}}

An online Samala Chumash tutorial is available.{{cite web

| title = Inezeño Chumash Language Tutorial

| access-date = 2013-05-07

| url = http://www.chumashlanguage.com/index.html

}}

The Santa Ynez Band owns and operates the Chumash Casino Resort, as well as the Corque Hotel, Chumash Cafe, the Creekside Buffet, The Willows restaurant, and Root 246,{{Cite web|url=https://www.ksby.com/news/local-news/solvangs-root-246-restaurant-closing-for-good|title=Solvang's Root 246 restaurant closing for good|date=13 February 2021|website=KSBY News}} (formerly the third largest employer in Solvang, 105, until its closure in 2021{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofsolvang.com/index.php/departments/finance/budget-and-other-documents/doc_download/599-2008-09-cafr|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120722072157/http://www.cityofsolvang.com/index.php/departments/finance/budget-and-other-documents/doc_download/599-2008-09-cafr|archivedate=2012-07-22|title=City of Solvang CAFR}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityofsolvang.com/Archive.aspx?AMID=36|title=Archive Center • Solvang CA • CivicEngage|website=www.cityofsolvang.com}}) all in Santa Ynez, California.

The reservation is served by the College Elementary School DistrictDeveloping world class learners everyday!. College School District. (n.d.). https://collegeschooldistrict.org/ and Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District.Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District Home. Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District. (n.d.). https://www.syvuhsd.org/

In April 2022, under the federal law Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the remains of Arlington Springs Man was repatriated to the band. He was an ancient Paleoindian Indigenous American whose remains were found in 1959 on Santa Rosa Island, one of the Channel Islands located off the coast of Southern California. He lived about 13,000 years Before Present, making his remains some of the oldest dated in North America. The claim for repatriation was made by the tribe in October 2021, along with a request to return other tribal items held by the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Tribal Chair Kenneth Kahn commented that "These items have come home to our tribe, and it allows us to do the important work of repatriation and reburial."{{cite web |url=https://www.kclu.org/community/2022-05-06/museum-returns-chumash-remains-and-objects |title=Museum returns Chumash remains and objects |work=KCLU-FM |first=Caroline |last=Feraday |date=May 6, 2022 }}

{{reflist}}

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

• {{NPS|title=Bringing Back the Samala Chumash Language|url=http://www.nps.gov/chis/parknews/bringing-back-the-samala-chumash-language.htm}}

{{Mission Tribes of California}}

{{Indian reservations in California}}

{{Santa Barbara County, California}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians}}

Category:Native American tribes in California

Category:Federally recognized tribes in the United States

Category:Organizations based in Santa Barbara County, California

Category:Santa Ynez Valley

Category:Native American language revitalization