Santa Ynez Band Of Chumash Indians Hires Jones & Jones To Design Tribal Museum

SANTA YNEZ, Calif., Sept. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians today announced that the tribe has retained the Seattle-based award-winning architectural firm of Jones & Jones to design the tribe's long-awaited cultural center and museum on 6.9 acres across the street from the reservation.

"We have waited more than a decade to build our museum, so it's only fitting that we are using one of the nation's leading architectural firms in developing nature-centered, culture-based and community-driven design," said Vincent Armenta, Tribal Chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.  "We look forward to working with founding partner Johnpaul Jones and his team to create a special place that honors our tribe's relationship to this region."

"Devotion to place, community identity, and nature kindles our craft," said Jones of his team of architects, landscape architects and planners.  "We are particularly interested in working with the Santa Ynez Chumash tribe on designing a cultural center/museum that will honor the nature, culture and community of the Chumash people and the Santa Ynez Valley."

Kathy Conti, Director of Museum Programs for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, has been working behind the scenes to assemble a collection of artifacts and replications to be displayed in the tribe's 15,000 sq. ft. museum.  "I'm pleased the tribe has selected an architectural firm experienced in Native aesthetic to create a place that highlights Chumash heritage and culture for posterity," she said. 

Jones, who was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Obama at the White House in July, is Choctaw/Cherokee by heritage and was the designer of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall in Washington, D.C. His body of work spans four decades and addresses Native cultural issues important to our nation. Jones & Jones has completed more than 650 projects in the Americas, Asia, Europe, Australia and Africa.

"Our vision with the museum is to promote understanding of the unique and diverse contemporary culture of the Santa Ynez Chumash, and the ancient heritage of our ancestors, the first people of the region," said Chairman Armenta.

Located on the Santa Ynez Reservation in Santa Ynez, California, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians owns and operates the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, Hotel Corque, Hadsten House Inn and Root 246 in Solvang and two gas stations in Santa Ynez.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140909/144677

SOURCE Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians