Reliving her past

. Chumash descendent paints pictographs for museum



NATIVE ARTIST—Sarafina Julian, 16, a junior at Oaks Christian School, paints pictographs for the Chumash Indian Museum’s tile dedication program. The tiles, given to people who make a donation of $50 or more to the museum, are being installed around the new canoe exhibit.

NATIVE ARTIST—Sarafina Julian, 16, a junior at Oaks Christian School, paints pictographs for the Chumash Indian Museum’s tile dedication program. The tiles, given to people who make a donation of $50 or more to the museum, are being installed around the new canoe exhibit.

With every new pictograph she paints, Sarafina Julian gets to know her culture just a little bit more.

The 16-year-old Thousand Oaks resident, who is of Chumash descent, has actively embraced local Native American traditions her whole life.

As a young child she was often seen dressed in full Chumash regalia and dancing in local and regional powwows.

Today the teenager is exploring her heritage in a different way.

Sarafina, the granddaughter of prominent Chumash elder Beverly Folkes, has recently become the resident artist for the Chumash Indian Museum’s tile dedication program—a fundraising project that allows community members to leave their mark on the area’s living history.

Residents who donate a minimum of $50 to support the museum at 3290 Lang Ranch Parkway in Thousand Oaks can have a unique tile permanently placed in the wall under its new tomol—or canoe—exhibit.

Each tile, which displays a name chosen by the donor, features a hand-painted pictograph by Sarafina.

“Pictographs are the little drawings that the Chumash used to do on the cave walls to tell a story,” the Oaks Christian School junior explained.

“There are hundreds of them. When it comes to their meanings, I don’t know all of them yet. Each tile I do, I learn something new.”

Sarafina’s grandmother, who sits on the board of directors at the Chumash Indian Museum, said the board launched its tile dedication program last year in an effort to involve the larger community and to thank its supporters.

“Some of the tiles are bought for children and others are bought for family members they have lost,” Folkes said. “We cement them into the wall of the museum, and they can come in and see their tiles for years to come.”

In order to stay true to tradition, the board wanted someone of Chumash descent to paint the pictographs, she said.

That’s when Folkes suggested the idea to her granddaughter.

“I’ve always been very interested in art,” Sarafina said. “I’ve always loved to draw, paint, sing and dance, ever since I was a little kid. I feel very happy to paint the tiles because I get to give back to the Chumash center and research more into my culture as I do it.”

Since the program was launched, Sarafina has painted nearly 50 different tiles. Most are already on display.

The wall and the tomol exhibit were unveiled at the museum’s annual open house in December.

A few spaces for tiles are still available.

For more information, call the museum at (805) 492-8076.


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