Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians facts for kids
Flag of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indigenous Americans near Santa Ynez, Santa Barbara County, California.
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 154 enrolled members | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| United States (California) | |
| Languages | |
| English, historically Ineseño | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| other Chumash people |
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Chumash, an indigenous people of California, in Santa Barbara. Their name for themselves is Samala. The locality of Santa Ynez is referred to as ’alaxulapu in Chumashan language.
Reservation
The Santa Ynez Indian Reservation (34°36′10″N 120°05′29″W / 34.60278°N 120.09139°W) 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.
Samala Chumash language
The last native speaker of the Samala Chumash language, also called Ineseño, died in 1965. As of 2010, there has been a renaissance of Chumash pride and identity, including efforts to revive Samala and other Chumash languages.
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 Ph.D. 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. 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. As of 2008, Applegate had five language apprentices; however, none had yet reached full fluency.
An online Samala Chumash tutorial is available.
Economic development
The Santa Ynez Band owns and operates the Chumash Casino Resort, as well as the Chumash Cafe, the Creekside Buffet, The Willows restaurant, and Root 246, (the third largest employer in Solvang, 105) all in Santa Ynez, California.
Education
The reservation is served by the College Elementary School District and Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District.
