Photo Credit: Robert Schwemmer/NOAA. Art by Chumash elder Slo'w Guttierez, inspired by Chumash cave art.
We, the Northern Chumash People, live on the magical land that is called San Luis Obispo County. We are the First Peoples of this land and have thrived as a maritime culture along this coastline enjoying its magnificent beauty. We are still a vibrant community, actively practicing our Heritage and Culture here on the Central Coast of California today.
Established in 2006, the Northern Chumash Tribal Council (NCTC) is a CA non-profit corporation 501(c)(3) and a State Recognized Tribal Government under the guidelines of the state of California Senate Bill 18. We are dedicated to meaningful consulting with local governments and Native communities, as well as supporting Tribal well-being through sustainable farming, beekeeping, ranching, land restoration and community development, ecological stewardship.
Our Mission
NCTC’s mission is to offer a foundation for the Chumash people of San Luis Obispo and Northern Santa Barbara County to bring our culture and heritage back to life, create dignity with the people, educate the public that the Chumash have always been here, we have not gone anywhere, and we will always be here, one continuum. We are the Chumash of over 20,000 years of habitation in San Luis Obispo County.
Art by John Khus
Our Work
Today we are involved in many aspects of advocating for the Central Coast community and beyond. This includes monitoring of cultural heritage sites, the protection of Oceano Dunes, establishment of the Carrizo Plain National Monument, the decommissioning of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, and the successful nomination of the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.
Learn more about our Environmental StewardshipNCTC believes in early consultation with regional Governments to improve the respect for our cultural resources and to improve the quality of archaeology performed during the evaluation given to our ancestors during the decision making process for land use issues in San Luis Obispo County. This will offer a more complete project analysis for the protection of “Cultural Places and Sacred Sites.” NCTC is also working with the development community to assist them in the planning process so that we better understand each others’ concerns.
Learn more about our Cultural Monitoring & ConsultationThe Northern Chumash Tribal Council is creating self sustainability by working with local communities. We are reclaiming our ancestral Chumash lands for Tribal community housing, Chumash-led cultural & ecological education, and restoration/stewardship projects. We are striving towards incorporating sustainable, organic farming in tandem with restoration of the lands. This will create a foundation of self-reliance through agriculture and local community businesses.
We are looking to expand further upon the intersectional array of projects NCTC has already implemented. In all of our work we employ Tribal members in order to extend resources to our community members who have been historically excluded from involvement in the protection of our own cultural and natural resources. We understand that if we work together with common goals we will be able to achieve our vision of a Thriving future.
