The sun had just set over Estero Bluffs State Park in the vicinity of Cayucos, California. I carefully navigated my way through tide pools while keeping a lookout for octopuses hidden between rocks. I was on a tour foraging with the organization KelpfulLearn to collect and cook seaweed just like the Chumash People and Salinean People did thousands of years ago.
Over the last decade, several Indigenous communities in the state have worked to create a zone of protection along this section. California’s Central Coast. The idea was first proposed in 2015 by Chief Fred Collins of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council and kept alive by his daughter, Violet Sage Walker—now the council’s chairperson—after he died in 2021. Walker said, “My dad believed we had to do better for Mother Earth and the animals. We also have to do better for each other.” “It is an honor to continue his legacy.”
Robert Schwemmer, NOAA
The Biden administration declared the first Marine Sanctuary in the United States, a 4,500-square-mile area of coastal waters that stretches from San Luis Obispo up to the Gaviota Coast, Santa Barbara County, last September. The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary The law protects beaches, shorelines and extends into the Pacific Ocean for 60 miles. It also safeguards a variety flora and fauna including blue whales, black abalone, leopard and horns sharks and dense kelp forest. Walker noted that the act also recognizes “tribal burying grounds, sacred sites and places of spiritual significance”.
Indigenous-led tours will be available soon. Until then, visitors can whale-watch with Best Day Ever Boat Adventures Rent a kayak like I did. Avila Beach Paddlesports.
For my father, our ancestors, and elders who have passed, they would be most excited knowing that area will be forever protected.”
If you’re interested in learning more about Chumash lifestyle, the Chumash Cultural Center is a good place to start. Santa Ynez Chumash Museum & Cultural CenterIt opened last summer. Visitors enter the large ‘Ap, A traditional dome shaped house with handles made from clappersticks. (A musical instrument used during songs and ceremonies). Visitors can also wander through a 3.5-acre garden that has native plants like dogbane and yerba mansa as well as exhibits about Chumash basketry, redwood canoes, and other traditions.
The museum is located at Point Conception in the western part of the state, which the Chumash called home. Humqaq, Where their ancestors entered the spirit world from the physical realm. “For my father, our ancestors, and elders who have passed,” Walker said, “they would be most excited knowing that area will be forever protected.”
A version of this story first appeared in the February 2025 issue of Travel + Leisure The title of the article is “Sacred Waters.”
