"Last month our tribal leadership group, known as the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Business Committee, hosted the 2010 Chumash Legislative Forum at Hotel Corque.

Organized by our government and legal affairs representative and our Sacramento legislative consultant, the Legislative Forum was an opportunity to help politicians understand Native American tribal governments and current affairs affecting Indian Country in California.

Each year as new politicians enter the arena, we like to take the time as a tribal government to introduce ourselves and help these individuals understand the issues we face as a government and learn about us as a tribe.

Unfortunately, tribal governments aren’t always recognized as governments nor are they clearly understood by city, county or state governments. In addition, the issues Native American tribes face are often complex and multi-faceted.

Our Legislative Forum is designed to help politicians better understand tribes — our tribe and tribes in general — and gain knowledge of tribal issues.

The dozen participants, who represented state, county and city governments, spent the morning learning about the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians."

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Vincent Armenta: Chumash host Legislative Forum (The Solvang Valley News 9/4)