Creator Spotlight: Sisterhood of the Sun and Sea

The Sisterhood of the Sun and Sea is a tomol group led by Barbareño/Ventureño Chumash and Fernandeño Tataviam matriarchs. With help from Native relatives and other community members, the group will build a traditional tomol led and built by women for the first time in modern history.

Today, we’re interviewing member Dayna Barrios to learn more about their groundbreaking project.

What does this tomol project mean to you and for Chumash/Tataviam communities?

After the missions came, much of our traditional knowledge was stolen from our communities. We want to reclaim that knowledge and pass it on to future generations so they don't have to experience culture loss at the levels we have. We are not just building a tomol. We are building community amongst ourselves and our neighbors; we are empowering the next generation to take our culture back and attempt to reverse some of the harms that were done to us.

Where did you turn to learn the traditional skills necessary for this project?

We turned to our elders and our community. We are so grateful to have both Tataviam and Chumash community leaders, including Alan Salazar and Raudel Banuelos, who have truly taken us under their wing, sharing their knowledge, guidance, and experience with us along the way. Non-Native community members, including Peter Howorth and others, have also generously shared incredible knowledge and insight. 

Eleanor Fishburn and Julie Tumamait-Stenslie have been pivotal in supporting Native women throughout this project and helping us carry this vision forward. 

There are literally teams of people who continue to show up for us, and it has been such a beautiful and humbling thing to witness. I wish I could name everyone, but I am incredibly grateful for each person who gives their weekends, knowledge, and hands to help us build our tomols. 

How are you preserving traditional practices amid modern constraints?

While we have not yet started building the women’s tomol, many have helped build the Ventureño Chumash tomol and are currently helping with the Tataviam tomol. In reading early accounts of traditional tomol building, we learned that our ancestors used shark skin as sandpaper and bones, shells, and stones as tools. Today, we have saws and power tools. Where our ancestors relied on redwood that traveled down the coast and washed onto our shores, we can now purchase lumber.

Modern technology has made the work more accessible, but it also brings an important and ongoing conversation: How do we use the tools available to us today while staying true to the traditions, knowledge, and spirit at the heart of tomol building? I think we are doing the best we can with the knowledge and resources that we have. 

In your view, what makes women-led cultural revitalization uniquely powerful?

Traditionally, we were a matriarchal people. But with the arrival of Christianity and the imposition of European social and political structures, those traditions were disrupted. Chumash men have been building tomols again for several decades, and while women participate and paddle, there has not been a women’s tomol for hundreds of years. We are creating a space to empower our women and girls, to show them that they can lead, that they can do what some call impossible, and that they are incredibly powerful. We are not just bringing back the tradition of tomol building. We are bringing back matriarchy.

What are the next steps in your tomol journey?

We plan on starting our tomol in the new year and are in the planning stages now. Our next steps are pretty big ones. We need a space to build our tomol and possibly a fiscal sponsor to assist us with donations. We are planning a fundraiser before the end of summer, with the goal of getting the entire Ventura community involved. We have the vision, we have the hands, we just need some additional support to get this project off the ground. This is where we rely on our allies, on our community. As with anything, we are stronger together. 

You can follow our journey on Instagram @sisterhoodofthesunandsea or email us at sisterhoodofthesunandsea@gmail.com for more information.