Fest Sounds the Drumbeat of the Chumash

Surrounded by family, friends and scores of strangers, Abel Salazar celebrated his 75th birthday Saturday at the Oakbrook Chumash Indian Interpretive Center.

But it wasn’t the cake and gifts he received that made the day special for the Chumash elder.

“When I was growing up, we never dreamt that the Native American people would be recognized,” Salazar said. “What we’re doing today is bringing back the culture.”

Although Salazar of Sylmar had a reunion with his family, the day of storytelling, dancing and drumming was held to honor the fourth anniversary of the Chumash center, a source of Native American history and educational outreach.

With dozens of visitors entranced, the group Staying Brave pounded a large circular drum and sang near the center of the courtyard behind the museum on Lang Ranch Parkway.

The rhythm of the drum signifies the heartbeat of the Native American people, said Dodie Leon of Reseda, a member of the six-person ensemble from the San Fernando Valley.

Leon, 29, said discovering her own history through singing has allowed her to understand herself. She regularly travels to Native American festivals to pass along what she has learned.

“It’s good to educate people that are here,” she said. “They don’t teach this stuff in school.”

That’s why Ricardo Palavecino of Thousand Oaks brought his son, Stefano, 10, to the daylong fete. He hopes his son will come to have the same respect and admiration that he has for the Chumash Indians.

“They were here before us,” Palavecino said. “They were the real Americans.”

Stefano seemed to agree, calling the event “cool.”

“They have all these different things from their culture,” he said. “I like the drumbeat and the singing.”

Other Native Americans told stories and performed traditional dances, including one to awaken hibernating bears in honor of the beginning of spring. A man cloaked in a bearskin danced through the courtyard as others chanted.

“In most Indian cultures, the bear is a healer,” said Alan Salazar, who was there to celebrate his father’s birthday and tell traditional Indian stories to the crowd of more than 100. “They’ll touch the bear for healing power.”

Visitors strolled through the small museum that features the tools, jewelry and weapons of the Chumash. In the courtyard, some bought Indian necklaces and others had temporary tattoos painted on their arms.

People getting together to share a day of dancing, singing and storytelling is what the Native American culture is all about, said the center’s executive director, Paul Varela.

“That’s the way it’s been done for hundreds and hundreds of years,” he said.

Kyle Jones, 12, of Newbury Park said he thought the dancing was a little weird but liked most everything else.

“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “I’m learning stuff, how they make the crafts and the tools.”

And for the elder Salazar, the true gift was celebrating his culture.

“It’s the greatest birthday I’ve had in a long time,” he said. “When young and old can get together, then you realize that you come from a good culture.”