"Our tribe in 2000 began the steps to create a museum to celebrate our heritage. Since then, what we’ve witnessed would make an informative exhibit on the ignorance and hatred that still exist when it comes to tribal governments.

What we proposed was straightforward: Create a museum, cultural center, park and a small amount of retail on 6.9 acres across the street from our reservation. Our goal was to make it part of our reservation because of our ancestral connection to this land, and because a museum about our culture should be on land under the stewardship of our tribal government.

Now it’s 12 years later. But our dream of a Chumash museum as an educational resource for our tribal community and the entire county still isn’t a reality."

Get the Story:
Vincent Armenta: Ignorance shows need for Chumash museum (The Solvang Valley News 7/19)

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