The Chumash (Indians of North America) [Paperback]

Robert O. Gibson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Indians of North America | Publication Date: October 1990

Examines the history, changing fortunes, and current situation of the Chumash Indians. Includes a photo essay on their crafts.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 103 pages
• Publisher: Chelsea House Pub (T) (October 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791003760
• ISBN-13: 978-0791003763
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,303,418 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A solid intermediate look at the Chumash tribe of Southern California, April 11, 2006

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Chumash (Indians of North America) (Library Binding)

For thousands of years the Chumash Indians lived along the southern coast of what is now California, where they developed a social system that included class divisions and used shell-bead currency. When the first Spanish exploration parties arrived during the 16th and 17th centuries, they had little impact on the Chumash. But in the middle of the 18th-century, the Spanish expanded colonized the Chumash homeland, bringing with them diseases that caused most of the Chumash to either die or leave the area. Then Spanish missionaries erected five missions in Chumash territory and their priests began to destroy the beliefs and social practices of the remaining tribe members. Under the authority of the Mexicans and Americans in the 19th century their degradation continued, until the once powerful Chumash were reduced to nothing more than a small bands of underpaid and ill-treated laborers. However, today, the Chumash are enjoying a renaissance that is seeing their ancient traditions not only being recovered and preserved, but also once again being practiced.

Robert O. Gibson is anthropologist who has worked extensively in southern and central California specializing in Chumash prehistory and culture. In addition to publishing articles on prehistoric and historic shell beads, and ornaments, he has worked as a private consultant for various governmental agencies and with Chumash organizations. So with this look at the Chumash for the Indians of North American series we are talking about an author who is actively involved with this particular culture in the real world. The result is a solid intermediate level look at "The Chumash," that begins by looking at how the Paleo-Indians who discovered North American eventually became the Chumash. The second chapter, A Homeland of Abundance, looks at the geography inhabited by the tribe and what they did for food, and includes a four-page sidebar on Chumash mythology. In the third chapter, A Thriving Way of Life, focuses on the tribal culture, from their currency to what their women did in childbirth.

Those first three chapters detail the life of the Chumash before the arrival of the Spanish, while the final two chapters constitute what happens afterwards. The Mission Ear is covered in the fourth chapter, and Gibson is able to talk about some of the differences between the five missions established between 1771 (San Louis Obispo de Tolosa) and 1804 (Santa Ynez). Chapter five looks at life After the Spanish, with an emphasis on the revival of Chumash culture in the last half of the 20th century. Except for six-page color insert in the middle of the book, the dozens of other photographs are in black & white. These include both historical photographs of the Chumash along with contemporary shots of artifacts and dioramas. One of the ways you can tell this is an intermediate book about the Chumash is that the emphasis is on the information and not on the way the book looks, but the artifacts and traditional clothing shown are instructive.

The Indians of North America series includes not only volumes on such well-known tribes as the Navajo, Cherokee, and Apache, but also on less known but equally significant tribes, such as the Nanticoke, Quapaw, and Tunica-Biloxi, each of which are representative of the major cultural areas of North America. There are over 50 volumes in this series (including topical volumes on "American Indian Literature," "The Archaeology of North America," "Federal Indian Policy," and "Women in American Indian Society"), so no matter where students reading these books might live they should be able to find a volume or two that covers tribes that were from their area (although you always have to remember to take into account that a lot of tribes were relocated).