Brief history
The Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation (CBCN) is a sovereign nation of Coastal Chumash Indigenous Peoples, whose ancestors lived in what is now known as the San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and other Counties within central and southern California. There were many grandmothers and grandfathers that were active in forming our non-profit status and we continue to honor them with the work that we do today. We are in the process of seeking federal recognition and have been doing so for more than 35 years. Our ancestors have lived in this area for many thousands-of-years and continue to do so. Although we use the non-profit structure as a tool, we also understand that it has limitations as a settler colonial construct. We continue to incorporate our own Chumash social structures and governances in addition to using the non-profit structure.
Fund For Santa Barbara (Cultural Revitalization) In 2014 Coastal Band was awarded a grant from the Fund for Santa Barbara! We are honored and excited to be able to fund some of our long awaited dreams to bring a Cultural Education Program to our Chumash community. We hope to focus on the Coastal Band and blossom out into the other Chumash groups with classes about Regalia, Maritime Knowledge as well as the languages from various territories. We were honored with these two Certificates of Recognition from the California Legislature and State Senate as grant recipients.
LANGUAGE IS LIFE In September 2015, three members of the Šmuwič language class will be attending the AICLS (Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival) biennial workshop Language is Life held at Wonder Valley Resort. This gathering features tribes from all over California in their shared pursuit of revitalizing their languages. This is a time to share teaching strategies as well as presentations about new techniques or other information regarding language work. See these links for more information. AICLS Language is Life
ATALM In September 2015 one of our language students attended the annual ATALM conference held in Washington D.C.. Held every year and bringing together indigenous people from all over the world ATALM (The Association for Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums) offers information on grants and funding as well as gives a space for native people to discuss the latest in museum, library and archive policies and procedures. We hope to continue to send a representative in the coming years. The 2016 program was held in Arizona. ATALM
UNITED NATIONS In MARCH AND APRIL of 2015 through the help of Seventh Generation Fund, an organization that supports indigenous programs, The Coastal Band was able to send another tribal member to the United Nations meetings in South Dakota and New York. This is the sixth year in a row that a Coastal Band tribal member has attended these meetings. We use the UNDRIP document on a regular basis and we find these gatherings of the world's indigenous peoples to be inspiring and strengthening in our own goals as Chumash people. We will be having a report during the May meeting of these last two events.
Fund For Santa Barbara (Cultural Revitalization) In 2014 Coastal Band was awarded a grant from the Fund for Santa Barbara! We are honored and excited to be able to fund some of our long awaited dreams to bring a Cultural Education Program to our Chumash community. We hope to focus on the Coastal Band and blossom out into the other Chumash groups with classes about Regalia, Maritime Knowledge as well as the languages from various territories. We were honored with these two Certificates of Recognition from the California Legislature and State Senate as grant recipients.
LANGUAGE IS LIFE In September 2015, three members of the Šmuwič language class will be attending the AICLS (Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival) biennial workshop Language is Life held at Wonder Valley Resort. This gathering features tribes from all over California in their shared pursuit of revitalizing their languages. This is a time to share teaching strategies as well as presentations about new techniques or other information regarding language work. See these links for more information. AICLS Language is Life
ATALM In September 2015 one of our language students attended the annual ATALM conference held in Washington D.C.. Held every year and bringing together indigenous people from all over the world ATALM (The Association for Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums) offers information on grants and funding as well as gives a space for native people to discuss the latest in museum, library and archive policies and procedures. We hope to continue to send a representative in the coming years. The 2016 program was held in Arizona. ATALM
UNITED NATIONS In MARCH AND APRIL of 2015 through the help of Seventh Generation Fund, an organization that supports indigenous programs, The Coastal Band was able to send another tribal member to the United Nations meetings in South Dakota and New York. This is the sixth year in a row that a Coastal Band tribal member has attended these meetings. We use the UNDRIP document on a regular basis and we find these gatherings of the world's indigenous peoples to be inspiring and strengthening in our own goals as Chumash people. We will be having a report during the May meeting of these last two events.