Abbie Spence,
Philosophy-Lit Major
Time Travel and
Changing History
The Robinson Crusoe
Connection
About the Author and
his Next Book
All content ©2000
Arch Grove Press
ISLAND WOMAN: THE CHUMASH INDIANS
[Excerpt from the book:]
…Before noon we saw the rocky juttings of the small, closely joined Anacapa islands first. Manssard said the word Anacapa had evolved from the original Chumash name Eneeapah, meaning "ever-changing."
"Are there any Indians left?" I asked.
"Oh no. The last ones on these islands were killed off in the early 1800s. The famous 'Lost woman of San Nicholas Island,' further south of here, was captured in about 1853, I think. On the mainland the Chumash were centered in the Santa Barbara area and were mostly wiped out in the 1700s. I'm sure you've heard about how the good Mission fathers tried to convert and domesticate them and in the process gave them diseases."
"Yes, a shame."
"Well, the Chumash were regarded as superior to many other California tribes because they had a higher level of technology in weaving, basketry, tools, and the like. They weren't a warlike people. On the islands they had a nice life, getting most of their food from the sea. They built canoes called tomols that could carry up to twenty-five people. They could paddle back and forth between the islands and the mainland."
"It's too bad that way of life had to end," I said.
Bitterroot looked at me, amused. "It wasn't that long ago. It could be seen again."
Manssard smiled at me and winked.
"It would be fabulous to see Chumash life as it was in those days," I said.
Bitterroot nodded. "The only problem in going back and seeing those people is that they can also see you."
Not long after this Abbie finds herself alone on Santa Cruz Island in an earlier but unknown time. She struggles to survive by gathering abalone, lobster and other food from the "ocean supermarket." Eventually, Chumash hunters capture her and take her to their village.
Richard Sessions' description of Chumash culture is based on his research of anthropological sources at the UCLA Research Library. The portrayal of tribal life, the chief, his wives and other villagers is richly imaginative. Island Woman is perhaps the only novel that depicts the Chumash at the time of their contacts with Spanish maritime explorers.
