1970’s-1990’s: A New Era of Collaboration for Chumash Sovereignty and Stewardship

In the early days, there were no laws to protect our cultural resources and cultural sites. In the 1970’s, Coastal Band begins to partner with newly formed environmental protection organizations like the California Coastal Commission, legal aid like the Environmental Defense Center, as well as with long-established agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Office of the Attorney General. We team up with like-minded archeologists, anthropologists, and universities, refine laws, and create guidelines for land owners. A new era emerges—one in which Chumash people gain steadfast allies in the ongoing effort to protect the health of our homelands and waters, and to uphold the sovereignty of our people and culture. Sacred sites, cultural landscapes, and burial grounds are preserved at places like Rincon Point, Carpinteria, Goleta, Las Cruces, Los Carneros, Bacara, and the Santa Barbara County Jail. This was not only a fight to safeguard what remained, but a movement to shape the legal and cultural frameworks that would empower future generations to carry this responsibility forward. Today, Coastal Band members work to protect sites under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act.

In the late 60’s and early 70’s Coastal Band and its allies fought to protect the village site of Shalawa (Hammond’s Meadow) from development—and won a historic first victory. A commemorated plaque was added in 1989 to honoring the ancestors who lived and died here. It reads:

“The Sacredness of the land lies in the minds of its people. This land is dedicated to the Spirit and memory of the ancestor and their children.”

While this was a victory, “safe” is a relative word—each year, new threats from development and changing laws threaten this site and others. We continue to fight for them.