Children’s Storytime with Alan Salazar

Alan Ya’ia’c Salazar 
Fernandeno Tataviam Elder & Storyteller                                  

website: www.mynativestories.com

Watch the recording at https://vimeo.com/467798371.

Children and children at heart, please join us for a live storytime with Chumash and Tataviam elder, Alan Salazar on Saturday, October 10th at 10 AM. We will have time after the presentation for questions and answers. Don’t miss this opportunity to escape from your living room and into the Chumash and Tataviam worlds. 

 Bio:  I have worked in several different areas in my life.  I have been a traditional storyteller, a Native educator, a Native American monitor/consultant, a spiritual adviser, a traditional paddler of Chumash canoes, a preschool teacher, and a Tribal Elder.

I am a Fernandeno Tataviam Elder.  I am Fernandeno Tataviam and Ventureno Chumash. My Native ancestors were brought into the San Fernando Mission starting in 1799.  Like many Fernandeno Natives, my family has Tataviam ancestry from the Tataviam village of Chaguayanga near Castaic, California. and my Chumash ancestry from the Chumash village of Ta’apu near Simi Valley, California.  I still continue to actively protect my ancestor’s village sites and tribal territories.

I have been actively involved with several Native American groups. I am a founding member of the Kern County Native American Heritage Preservation Council and the  Chumash Maritime Association.  I am a member of the California Indian Advisory Council for the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.  I have been a community advisor with the Ventura County Indian Education Consortium for over 25 years. And I am currently on the Elder’s Council for the Fernandeno Tataviam Band of Mission Indians.

As a member of the Chumash Maritime Association, I helped build the first working traditional Chumash plank tomol, canoe, in modern times, and have paddled in plank canoes for over 22 years. I am one of the most experienced Chumash paddlers of our tomols and I have paddled in all of the crossings in historic times. The crossing are from Oxnard, California to Santa Cruz Island. I, also am the former Chairman of the Elder’s Council.  I have been involved with teaching youths about Native American cultures for over 25 years.  I have done professional educational programs at schools, museums, and cultural events for over 25 years.  And I have done storytelling programs at the American Museum of Britain in Bath England the summer of 2015, but it is the schools in Tataviam and Chumash territory I enjoy going to the most.

My life experiences have exposed me to many different cultures and people of different backgrounds. I have been a Spiritual adviser within the Fernandeno Tataviam and Chumash communities. I do ceremony and lead prayer circles during traditional Native American gatherings.  I was raised to be proud of my Native American heritage and I take pride in being a positive role model and a respected Elder.