Santa Barbara News

Guns, Caves, and Rights
Native American activists presented a short film at Marjorie Luke Theatre last Thursday night protesting the presence of the Winchester Canyon Gun Club near the sacred Chumash wind caves off of West Camino Cielo. The Chumash Wind Caves was filmed “to educate the public on the importance and knowledge of Native American spiritual rights,” said Monique Sonoquie, one of the event's organizers and a producer for “Red Rocks,” a Native American interest show on Channel 17. Sponsors included the Fund for Santa Barbara, the Indigenous Youth Foundation, and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. In addition to the film short, the event featured music from Native American rock musician and filmmaker Robby Romero, Toby McLeod's documentary In the Light of Reverence (which previously aired on PBS), and a panel discussion featuring Romero, McLeod, and Sonoquie.

The film's screening was timed to coincide with the gun club's negotiations to renew its long-term permit. (The club is now on an interim permit.) While the range hosts many gun enthusiasts, it is also used for training purposes by city and county authorities and even the Chumash reservation's law enforcement officials. According to Jeff Benson of the Forest Service, heightened summer fire restrictions have caused Winchester Canyon to be the only available firing range in the area. The nearest open range is Ojai Valley Gun Club. In the past, Winchester Canyon's long distance target practice range was closed to protect the caves. Despite such steps, Chumash activists such as Sonoquie still want the gun club gone completely. Protecting sacred sites “is a matter of cultural survival,” Romero said.
—Doug Comer