Bill Morem: Chumash give ‘Living Here’ new meaning

By Bill Morem

As they say, it was my turn in the barrel: I was tasked last December with editing our annual guide to life on the Central Coast, “Living Here 2008.”

The magazine (which is free to subscribers but $4.50 otherwise) is a compendium of things to do, places to go, arts, entertainment, wine guide, recreation and histories and outlooks of the county’s various communities.

After the book publishes in late March, invariably complaints about its content come rolling in: Why did our city not get a picture when every other city did? Our city is larger than so-and-so city; why did they get more ink than us? Why was our museum left out? How do I get my vineyard’s tasting hours into next year’s issue?

Mercifully, there were actually few complaints this year, and I hang that mantle of quality on researcher Lainey Smith and graphic artist/copy editor Jessica Fearnow. Well done.

But there was a surprise complaint this year. While updating various entries, we neglected to collect the most recent information on our area’s most venerable residents: the Chumash.

For years we had simply picked up information from previous issues dealing with the county’s early culture — information ostensibly provided by the San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum. That’s apparently not the case, and I can now say, I don’t know where the heck that information came from —but it wasn’t from the historical museum.

The copy reads in part: “The culture of the earliest residents of San Luis Obispo County is unknown.” It goes on to give scant mention of the Salinan and Chumash cultures who have called the Central Coast home for millennia. Members of those justifiably proud nations felt—and rightly so— that they’d been collectively slapped, dismissed out of hand, rejected as inconsequential.

The fact of the matter is that the Chumash have probably been living on the Central Coast for 20,000 years — quite possibly longer.

Fred Collins is the tribal administrator for the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, which is recognized by state law as a sovereign nation.

I have known Fred for more than 40 years. He’s a Yokut and Chumash descendant of Jesus Antonio Lopez, for whom Lopez Canyon and Lopez Lake are named. I used to hunt deer with him as a kid when he lived on an apple ranch in See Canyon.

These days, Fred and the tribal council are dedicated to “… bring our culture and heritage back to life, create dignity with the people, educate the public that the Chumash have always been here. We have not gone anywhere and we will always be here, one continuum.”

Evidence of that lineage was recently unearthed at a mastadon kill site in the county where Chumash weapons and tools were found. “We believe that site could be dated beyond 20,000 years,” he says.

Fred says today the Northern Chumash isn’t looking for a federal handout or a casino. It’s pursuing sustainability through organic farming and businesses. It’s also working with local governments to respect their cultural resources in land use decisions.

“Living Here 2008”? Try living here 20,008.