Ernestine Ygnacio-De Soto facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ernestine Ygnacio-De Soto
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| Born | ca. 1938 |
| Occupation | cultural advisor, author, nurse |
| Children | 5 |
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Ernestine Ygnacio-De Soto (born around 1938 or 1939) is a special person who helps keep the history and language of the Chumash people alive. She is a writer, a cultural helper, and used to be a nurse. Her family belongs to the Barbareño Chumash group. She works hard to document and share the Barbareño Chumash language. She has also worked as an artist and a historian for the Chumash people.
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Early Life and Family Roots
Ernestine Ygnacio-De Soto was born in Santa Cruz, California, around 1938. Her mother was Mary Yee (1897–1965). Mary Yee was the very last person who spoke the Barbareño Chumashan language as her first language.
Because Ernestine grew up listening to her mother and other native speakers, she is a direct link to this language. This language is no longer spoken every day. Her ancestors lived near a place called Painted Cave, California. Some of her family's stories, including those from her great-grandmother Luisa Ygnacio, were written down by a researcher named John Peabody Harrington.
Helping to Preserve Culture
Ernestine Ygnacio-De Soto has worked closely with an archivist named John Johnson for more than ten years. Together, they have written down many family memories and cultural traditions of the Barbareño Chumash people. They became friends when John Johnson was studying Chumash family patterns for his PhD.
Illustrating Children's Stories
Ernestine helped illustrate a children's book called The Sugar Bear Story (2005). This book shares one of her mother's cultural stories. It was published by Sunbelt Publications with the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
Sharing Family History Through Film
In 2009, Ernestine helped write a script for a documentary film with John R. Johnson. The film is called 6 Generations: A Chumash Family's History (2010). It tells the story of her family's past. Filmmaker Paul Goldsmith produced the movie.
The 6 Generations film won several awards in 2012 at the Archaeology Channel International Film and Video Festival. It won for Best Film and Best Script. It also received a special mention for helping people learn more about cultural records and was named the Audience Favorite.
Protecting Sacred Sites
In 2019, Ernestine spoke out against a building project by the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara. The project planned to build bathrooms in an area that holds sacred Chumash graves. She worked to protect these important historical sites.
Connecting with Literature
The United States National Park Service has a special web page with Ernestine's thoughts. She shared her comments on Chapter 7 of Scott O'Dell's famous book, Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960).
Her Work as a Nurse
Besides her cultural work, Ernestine Ygnacio-De Soto also worked as a nurse. She cared for people at a rest home in Santa Barbara.
See also
