Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
A nation today
Background
The only federal recognition any Chumash tribe has belongs to the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, on a reservation in Santa Barbara County the federal government established on December 27, 1901. The Chumash call themselves the first people and point to the Pacific Ocean as their first home, and their territory once ran 7,000 square miles from Malibu to Paso Robles and inland to the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley. The reservation began as 99 acres and grew past 1,500 acres in 2019, when more than 1,400 acres known as Camp 4 went into federal trust. The Tribe governs itself under its own constitution, through a Business Committee of four elected members and an elected Tribal Chairman serving unpaid two-year terms. Its Culture Department started a Samala language program in 2008.
Visit and learn
Santa Ynez Chumash Museum and Cultural Center
The Tribe's museum at 3500 Numancia Street, open Thursday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Adults 18 to 64 pay $15, ages 13 to 17 and 65 and over pay $12, ages 3 to 12 pay $10, and under-3s are free. Seeing the exhibitions takes about 60 to 90 minutes, and the whole property takes more than two hours.
Kitiyepumu' Park
The park stands among the Tribe's reservation facilities, alongside the Tribal Hall, the health clinic, and the Learning Center. It is the place where cultural and community events are held through the year.
Chumash Earth Day
The Tribe's annual free Earth Day event, held each April at Kitiyepumu' Park. The current notice is on the Tribe's latest-news page.
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians's own site
Tribal lands have their own laws. Check the nation's site before you visit.
Parks on its homelands
Channel Islands National ParkThe Chumash call themselves the first people and point to the Pacific as their first home. Their territory once ran 7,000 square miles from the beaches of Malibu to Paso Robles, and by 1831 mission registers counted 2,788 Chumash against pre-contact estimates of 22,000. Source
Programs
Culture Department, Samala language program
The Tribe's Culture Department started the Samala language program in 2008 with six language apprentices and expanded it in 2013. The department is a recipient of a federal Administration for Native Americans grant. Two of the department's teachers hold a California credential for teaching a Native American language in public schools.
Santa Ynez Chumash Environmental Office
Established in 1998 to prepare tribal lands for environmental change and to protect and regenerate natural resources. The office has monitored water quality in Zanja de Cota Creek every month since 2008, and its programs include wetland preservation, energy reduction, alternative fuels, sustainable landscaping, and hazard mitigation.
Education Department
A committee of seven elected tribal members guides the Tribe's education work alongside an education director. The department has run a financial aid program since 1994, opened a 5,000-square-foot Learning Center in 2012, and offers GED and high school diploma completion support.
Sources
- https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-01-30/html/2026-01899.htm
- https://chumash.gov/about
- https://chumash.gov/chumash-history
- https://chumash.gov/the-santa-ynez-reservation
- https://chumash.gov/culture
Checked September 2026.