John Peschong: California tribes clash over rights to sacred rock

In 1966, the state of California took ownership of Morro Rock, and in 1968 it was officially protected and declared a California Historical Landmark. Since that time, in the name of preservation, the public has not been allowed to climb the rock.

One group has been granted an exception: the Salinan Indian Tribe of Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties.

Indigenous to the Central Coast and recognized by the state of California, the Salinan Tribe has been climbing to the top of Morro Rock twice a year, each summer and winter solstice, for centuries to perform religious ceremonies.

In 1999, the climbs of the Salinan Tribe to the top of Morro Rock for religious ceremonies were officially protected by the state of California after the tribe filed paperwork asking for permission to resume its twice-a-year climbs.

Last December, however, the practice was halted when the Northern Chumash Tribal Council claimed the rock to be a Chumash sacred site. According to a December 2014 Tribune article, the Northern Chumash filed a suit in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, requesting documentation proving the Salinan Tribe’s religious claims to Morro Rock.