Publisher
Ritch K. Eich, Ph.D.

Editor
Carol Keochekian ’81

Associate Editor
Peggy L. Johnson

Art Director
Michael L. Adams ’72

Contributing Editors
Scott Flanders
Lynda Fulford, MPA ’97
Rachel Ronning ’99 Lindgren

Editorial Assistant
Doris Daugherty

Editorial Board Members
Bryan Card ’01
Scott Flanders
Lynda Fulford, MPA ’97
Linda Heidtke
Ed Julius
Rachel Ronning ’99 Lindgren
Michael McCambridge, Ed.D.
Ryann Hartung ’99 Moresi
Jean Kelso ’84 Sandlin
Sheryl Wiley Solomon
Bruce Stevenson ’80, Ph.D.

Mission of
California Lutheran University
California Lutheran University is a diverse scholarly community dedicated to excellence in the liberal arts and professional studies. Rooted in the Lutheran tradition of Christian faith, the University encourages critical inquiry into matters of both faith and reason. The mission of the University is to educate leaders for a global society who are strong in character and judgment, confident in their identity and vocation, and committed to service and justice.

CLU Magazine is published by, and editorial materials should be submitted to:

California Lutheran University
60 West Olsen Road
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360-2787
Phone: (805) 493-3151
clumag@clunet.edu

The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect California Lutheran University policies.

 


FALL 2005


In Their Own Words
 CLU project chronicles Chumash heritage

Story and photos by Joyce Gregory Wyels

When Beverly Folkes first shared her Chumash heritage with the children in a local school, their response shocked her. Asked what they knew about Native Americans, they replied,
“They’re all dead!”

Other misconceptions abound. “There are still a lot of kids – and even parents – who think we lived in teepees, like the Plains Indians,” says Chumash storyteller Alan Salazar.

Now, in a 180-degree turnaround, the Chumash are telling their own stories – not only chronicles from their past, but stories of how they live today, with individual responses to the challenge of integrating into mainstream society while maintaining important cultural traditions. And it was made possible through an initiative of CLU.

The concept took root when Sue Bauer, Ed.D., CLU’s Director of Computer Training, became aware of grants being offered by the California Stories Uncovered campaign of the California Council for the Humanities. The campaign organizers envision a kind of “cultural dig,” in which researchers look beyond statistics and stereotypes to get a sense of the real people who make up the state’s population. Bauer saw an opportunity for the University not only to participate but also to provide a meaningful experience for students.

“It was up to us to craft what we wanted our project to be,” she explains, “so I thought of the indigenous people. Chumash Indians have been the foundation of this area’s heritage. We need to know more about their roots, but also what life is like for them today.”

Bauer, who served as project director, recruited history professor Michaela Reaves, Ph.D., and Director of Educational Technology David Grannis to collaborate on the project. Once the grant was awarded, the History and Multimedia Departments went into action: students fanned out to homes, workplaces, campus locations and the Chumash Interpretive Center with lists of questions and recording equipment in hand. History students interviewed while videography students videotaped 10 individuals of Chumash descent.

Interviewees readily obliged. “I think it’s marvelous,” says Juanita Flores. “We’re urbans – we don’t live on reservations – so it’s an entirely different way of living.”
Citing inaccuracies in books and articles, Folkes says she appreciates being contacted by CLU. She believes the videos will help counteract those inaccuracies. The completed videos are destined for interactive kiosks to be set up at the Chumash Interpretive Center in Oak Regional Park.

The students posed broad questions about family and growing up, history and religion, and contemporary life. Though some topics – notably religion – drew a range of responses, common threads emerged. “My grandmother had the final word,” says Ted Garcia. “If there was a problem, she would discuss it, and she would say, ‘This is how it is.’”

Regina Washtigoligol notes that the Chumash are considered a matrilineal, matriarchal society, “Our tribe is one of the only ones that recognized women. Many times there were women leaders, women chieftains.”

Listening to the Chumash describe their experiences growing up in and around Ventura County, students got the impression that the Native Americans were not much different from other Americans of their generation. Washtigoligol, in her mid-40s, lists baseball, beachgoing and hanging out with friends as her favorite youthful pastimes. Julie Tumamait-Stenslie says she and her sisters used to dance to “American Bandstand.”

But both later decided to explore the Chumash side of their heritage. Regina adopted the surname Washtigoligol. “It’s my ceremony name,” she says. “I was not given a traditional name at birth, so I basically earned it by going through many different ceremonies.”

Julie takes pride in her traditional name of Tumamait. “My great grandfather, Juan de Jesus, took it as a last name,” she says. Many Chumash, like other California Indians, had Spanish surnames conferred on them by the padres at the missions.

“Some families even today are still finding out their ancestors had some Chumash blood,” says Tumamait-Stenslie. “In the early days there wasn’t a lot of acknowledgment of Chumash heritage. There was a stigma attached to being Indian. My father sometimes had to change his name to a Spanish surname to get work.”
To culminate the Chumash Project in the spring, two audiences were treated to the results of the collaboration. In the morning, fourth-graders from nearby schools saw their California History curriculum come to life as they viewed five of the completed videos and received a packet to take back to school for further study.

The evening audience enjoyed additional highlights – storytelling by Tumamait-Stenslie, a presentation by retired National Park Service anthropologist Don Morris, and a Chumash dance performed by Dennis Garcia, with accompaniment by Denise and Ted Garcia.

Those who attended the presentations came away with greater understanding and knowledge of the Chumash who have occupied parts of central and southern California for generations, and these opportunities for increased knowledge will continue. Thanks to the people who agreed to tell their stories and the CLU students and staff who recorded them, visitors to the Chumash Interpretive Center will gain new insights into Chumash oral tradition.

Rachael Hanewinckel ’06 records Beverly Folkes in front of an ap.