A day of service kicks off an ongoing partnership to reestablish a sacred Chumash site on campus.
By Marya Barlow
Rising above the west side of campus, Round Mountain stands as a striking feature in the 海角社区 Channel Islands landscape. From the top, it offers panoramic views of the campus, Oxnard plains, Camarillo, Point Mugu, and surrounding mountains and agricultural fields.
The mountain also boasts a historic identity as 鈥淪at鈥檞iwa鈥� (the bluffs), a sacred site where the native Chumash inhabitants gathered for the winter solstice and set up shrines to celebrate harmony, healing, forgiveness, and compassion. The centuries-old tradition died out nearly 200 years ago.
On a sunny Saturday in September, 126 volunteers gathered to take the first step in reviving it. 海角社区CI students, staff, faculty, and alumni joined with Chumash descendants and members of the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council for the inaugural Round Mountain Day of Service. Armed with picks, rakes, and hand tools, the volunteers began clearing a path to the top of the mountain. They hope to restore Sat鈥檞iwa as a sacred Chumash shrine and, later, open the trail and mountaintop to the public as a cultural and recreational site.
For 海角社区CI Director of Facilities Support Raudel Ba帽uelos, who is also a Chumash elder and vice tribal chair for the Barbare帽o/Venture帽o Band of Mission Indians, leading the service day was a meaningful milestone. He helped kick off the event by offering a Chumash blessing, burning sage, and sharing Sat鈥檞iwa鈥檚 history.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an honor to be able to contribute to the campus in this way and involve young minds who will carry on this tradition,鈥� Ba帽uelos said. 鈥淲e want to bring back the shrine as a sacred site and celebrate winter solstice with all of the community as a yearly event. These celebrations are so needed in this time of disconnect and separation in our world.鈥�
After spending the morning clearing overgrown brush from the four-foot-wide trail, volunteers returned by bus to campus to enjoy lunch and share reflections and observations. Salvador Ambriz, a history major of Chumash descent from Tulare, California, found the experience deeply moving.
鈥淭he trail restoration event for me was a spiritual experience as well as hard work,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 felt as if it was my duty to help restore a sacred site of my heritage. To set foot on a mountain that my ancestors found sacred was a great honor. To have such a site on my own university campus is an even greater privilege for all students to enjoy.鈥�
Zakiyyah Willis, a fourth-year health science major from Sacramento, added, 鈥淚 wanted to kick my semester off with community service. This experience further validated for me that promoting unity and serving others should always be top priorities. I feel honored being able to say I was on Round Mountain and assisted in restoring it.鈥�
鈥淭he Round Mountain/Sat鈥檞iwa Restoration Service Project is important for many reasons,鈥� said Pilar Pacheco, director of 海角社区CI鈥檚 Center for Community Engagement, which recruited volunteers for the event. 鈥淚t provides our campus an opportunity to honor Chumash traditions and deepen our cultural awareness as we learn about living history and protecting and restoring sacred spaces. Doing so, students may gain a sense of connection and belonging to this land鈥檚 history and 海角社区 Channel Islands鈥� perhaps even seeing themselves as stewards of this place.鈥�
Working alongside the volunteers, President Erika Beck said the Day of Service is part of a collaborative effort between 海角社区CI and the Chumash to increase the visibility of their local heritage, restore places and practices of cultural significance, and promote opportunities for education and outreach. In the year ahead, she said, the University also plans to update building and road signs to include the Venture帽o Chumash dialect of the region and construct a tomol - the Chumash plank canoe - for educational purposes.
鈥淩ound Mountain overlooks our campus as a powerful reminder that our University is built on sacred ground,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e can never forget that we are all stewards of the land of this region and it is entrusted to all of us.鈥�
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漏 Fall 2019 / Volume 24 / Number 2 / Biannual