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Over the weekend, the Biden administration approved the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, encompassing 4,543 square miles of central California coastline. The new marine sanctuary will be the third largest in the U.S., and the first to be led by Indigenous people. The effort to designate the marine sanctuary was driven by the Northern Chumash Tribe, who will manage the marine sanctuary in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other Indigenous groups in the area.
The designation results from a 40-year campaign by Tribal and community leaders to protect sacred Chumash sites that date back thousands of years. “It’s where we spiritually believe that all people leave this world into the next life,” said Violet Sage Walker, chairwoman of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council. “They take their journey—whatever faith you are, whatever spirituality you have—and that area will be fully and forever protected. For my father, our ancestors, elders who have passed—I think they would be the most excited about that.”
The marine sanctuary protects an internationally significant ecological transition zone that is home to a diverse ecosystem including many at-risk species, such as snowy plovers, southern sea otters, leatherback sea turtles, black abalone, and blue whales.
To hear from Violet Sage Walker and others about the Chumash proposal, watch CWP’s Road to 30 Postcard film.
Podcast: How climate, crowds, and colonialism are complicating the concept of wilderness
On the latest episode of The Landscape, Kate and guest host Sterling are joined by journalist and producer Marissa Ortega-Welch to talk about her new podcast series, How Wild, which was recently released by KALW and distributed by NPR. The podcast explores how the concept of Wilderness is changing due to climate change, technology, crowding, and shifting views on colonialism.
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We’re still here, and so are the Indigenous people wherever you live. Being able to address climate change, use traditional ecological knowledge, and participate in co-management is Indigenous peoples’ contribution to saving the planet.”
