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Chumash storyteller visits Paso library

Posted: Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
Julia Bluff 5-27-08

The oral tradition came alive on Saturday at the Paso Robles City Library
as Alan “Spirit Hawk” Salazar, a Chumash and Tatavian elder, shared
traditional Chumash stories with visitors to the library.

The Paso Robles Children’s Museum was awarded a grant from the Santa Ynez
Band of Chumash Indians to bring Salazar to 30 educational sites around the
region. At the end of the current school year, Salazar will have visited
about a dozen schools and plans to visit more when the new school year
begins in September.

On Saturday, Salazar shared a number of stories, each with a subtle lesson
for the listeners to learn from. Among Salazar’s program of stories was the
Chumash creation story, relating how the Earth goddess, Hutash, built a
rainbow bridge to transport the Chumash people from Santa Cruz Islands to
the California mainland.

The Chumash creation story was a favorite of 9-year old Spencer Abney.
Saturday marked the second time that Abney, a student at Virginia Peterson
Elementary School, was on the receiving end of some of Salazar’s stories.
Likewise, Abney’s mother, Jeannie, was also a fan of the presentation.
Jeannie said that children often have some disconnect with their own
nation’s history.

“I think our society just lets things go,” she said. “I think the kids are
losing that education.”

Salazar advocates for a strong sense of living history, which helps to
remove the stereotype from Native Americans. Teachers, he said, are doing a
wonderful job of educating children about the history of local Native
American tribes, but children are still influenced by long-held tropes
popularized by Hollywood. Salazar pointed to an instance at a school when a
young student, who was very educated on the history of the Chumash tribe,
asked if Salazar had ridden a horse to the school.

“The myths and misconceptions, even among the students and young people
that are learning a lot of good stuff, are still obvious,” he said. “So it
is important that they see and hear the stories from a Chumash person, from
a Salinian person.”

Salazar has been a storyteller since the early 1990s. Early in his career,
he said a tribal elder advised him on what qualities are required to make a
good storyteller — the first tip was to stay humble and the second was to
always remember that he was a representative of the Chumash people. Though
storytelling is not something that he planned on doing when he was young,
it is now a role that he takes very seriously.

“This is what I have chosen to do, to educate people as much as I possibly
can to Native American cultures,” he said.

Salazar will return to the Paso Robles Public Library on Saturday, June 28
to share more stories with all those interested. Schools and community
organizations can also call the Children’s Museum at 238-7432 to schedule a
visit with Salazar for the new school year.