Ancestral Lands of the Chumash People
Rancho Tajiguas Chumash History
Rancho Tajiguas, and the entire Gaviota Coast, is part of the ancestral lands of the Chumash people. The Chumash lived on the Gaviota Coast for at least 10,000 years, and likely for much longer. As described in the Chumash National Marine Sanctuary Nomination:
“The unique environment, a south-facing coast with a channel sheltered by the offshore islands, allowed coastal Chumash to develop fishing and trading with Chumash residing on the offshore islands. They fished with a complex array of fishing gear, including harpoons, shell carved hooks, nets, lines, sinkers and fish traps. The tomol, the only sewn sea going plank canoe caulked with tar in North America, is central to Chumash heritage even today. Accomplished mariners, Chumash used their solar, lunar and stellar knowledge to create complex solstice and stellar alignments only now being rediscovered.”
Chumash Tomol ‘Elye’wun paddlers crossing at Santa Cruz Island. California Channel Islands NMS, 2006. Image: Robert Schwemmer, CINMS, NOS, NOAA.
Tajiguas Canyon was used by the Chumash to gather holly-leaved cherry (Prunus ilicifolia), and may have derived its name from the Barbareno Chumash word for the plant, `akhtayukhash.
Southern California black walnut (Juglans californica) is another California native plant gathered by the Chumash that still exists, although in vastly diminished numbers, in Tajiguas Canyon today.
Treasures of architectural, agricultural and cultural history exist in abundance at Tajiguas, promising untold opportunities to celebrate, understand and preserve coastal California’s cultural and natural heritage. Our vision is to continue this agricultural legacy, steward and restore Rancho Tajiguas and its historic structures, and to educate the public about coastal California ranching history, this historically significant Gaviota Coast ranch, and regenerative agricultural practices that will help the land stay productive when faced with a changing climate.
Early Settlements
Large Chumash settlements existed near the mouths of many Gaviota Coast canyons, including Tajiguas Canyon which in 1770 supported a population of approximately 400 living on either side of the mouth of Tajiguas Creek. Described by Father Crespi, there were 42 houses on one side of Tajiguas Creek, and 37 on the other, and 15 canoes (tomols) used for travel along the coast and to the Channel Islands. Six years later the De Anza expedition noted the settlement at Tajiguas Creek had been abandoned.
The arrival of the Spanish inflicted untold turmoil on the Chumash – stealing their land, subjugating them to the brutal mission system, destroying their natural way of life, and spreading infectious diseases. During the Spanish era, the Chumash were forced to provide much of the labor for cultivating crops and running cattle, working for others on ranches within their own lands.
References:
Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary Nomination (June 2015)
The Early Years of Rancho Tajiguas By Hattie Beresford (Montecito Journal, 2019) https://www.montecitojournal.net/2019/05/30/early-years-of-rancho-tajiguas/#:~:text=In%201834%2C%20the%20Ortegas%20finally,which%20he%20enlarged%20and%20remodel
A Maritime People: The Chumash Tribes of Santa Barbara Channel, by Hadley Meares (PBS SoCal, July 16, 2015)
Cultural Landscape and Historic Rural Landscape Study and Phase 1-2 Historic Resources Management Report for El Rancho de Tajiguas (Post/Hazeltine Associates, November 2020)
Learn more about the Chumash:
Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation: https://cbcntribe.square.site/home
Barbareño Band of Chumash Indians: https://www.bbc-indians.com
The Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians: https://www.bvbmi.com
Northern Chumash Tribal Council: https://northernchumash.org Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/chumash-heritage/