OXNARD — The Channel Islands Maritime Museum (CIMM) is delighted to announce that it will be hosting a celebration and book launch on Saturday, February 4, 2023, for the new book Coyote Saves Hawk by local author and tribal elder Alan Salazar “Puchuk Ya?ia?c.”
Coyote Rescues Hawk is based on a Chumash story dating back at least 300 years. Mr. Salazar brings humor and insights from twenty-five years of experience in bringing back the traditional Chumash canoe culture to a tale sure to delight readers of all ages. Mr. Salazar will be on hand for storytelling and book signing, followed by time for questions and answers from the audience.
The illustrator of Coyote Rescues Hawk, Mona Lewis, will also offer a free earth pigment class, demonstrating how she made paint from local soil for the illustrations in the new book. Participants of all ages will learn to make natural earth paint and use it to paint their own pictures.
The event will take place on Saturday, February 4, 2023, from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm. Guests will have the opportunity to meet Alan Salazar for storytelling from 1:00 pm until 2:30 pm and to also meet illustrator Mona Lewis for a natural paint class from 2:30 pm until 4:00 pm. This event is family-friendly, appropriate for all ages, and free for the entire community.
About Alan Salazar “Puchuk Ya?ia?c”: Alan Salazar is a tribal elder in both the Chumash and Fernañdino Tataviam Band of Mission Indians. As a founding member of the Chumash Maritime Association and a member of the California Indian Advisory Council for the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, he helped build the first traditional Chumash plank tomol (canoe) in modern times and has paddled in all the historic crossings from Oxnard to Santa Cruz Island. At 71, Alan is still paddling tomols and has the honor of mentoring many of the young Chumash paddlers, including his son and grandson. Alan has also taught youths about Native American cultures for over 25 years, helping to create educational programs at schools, museums, and cultural events in the United States and Great Britain. As a spiritual adviser within the Fernandeño Tataviam and Chumash communities, Alan leads ceremonies and prayer circles during traditional native indigenous gatherings.
About Mona Lewis: Mona’s family comes from the United Kingdom, France, and Scandinavia. She is a watercolor artist and teacher of handwork in Waldorf education since 1996. She is co-director of the Waldorf Practical Arts Teacher Training program associated with the Southern California Waldorf Teacher Training Institute. Mona teaches artists of all ages, teachers, and home-schooling families in the plant-dye arts, making earth pigments, and in the practical arts of the Waldorf curriculum. Mona is the author of Nature’s Paintbox: Colors from the Natural World for the Young Artist ?and Those Who Are Young at Heart), and has illustrated three books for Alan Salazar: Coyote Rescues Hawk, A Chumash Story; A Tataviam Creation Story; and Tata, the Tataviam Towhee, a Tribal Story All four books are available online at: www.sunspritehandwork.com.
About Channel Islands Maritime Museum — Founded in 1991 and located in Oxnard’s Channel Islands Harbor, the Museum’s galleries feature rare and beautiful maritime paintings dating back to the 1600s, more than sixty world-class models of historic ships, rotating thematic fine arts exhibitions, and interactive exhibits that encourage visitors to expand their horizons about everything maritime. The Museum is open to the public Thursday through Monday, from Noon until 4 pm.