Like most of Los Angeles, the campsite we utilize at King Gillette Ranch lies upon native Chumash land… We were honored to have native Chumash and Tatavian elder, story-teller, activist and author Alan Salazar join us each day at Wilderness Camp for All. His native name is Spirit Hawk, and he told us some great stories, as well as reading to us from one of his children’s books, beautifully illustrated by Mona Lewis…After each story-telling session, we made lovely, native Abalone shell necklaces, with special acorn beads Alan himself prepared. We polished and prepared the shells in the traditional way. Abalone shells were traded thousands of years ago by the Chumash and Tatavian people, up and down the California coast…(The name “Chumash” translates to “seashell people” and “bead-maker”) The campers loved doing this, as you can see…They also gained some powerful knowledge, and made some awesome memories…You can learn more about Alan’s work on his website here: alansalazar.tripod.com.