Boy Scouts Help Build Chumash Village

A group of boy scouts are helping recreate a Chumash village at Calabasas Creek Park that will one day be the newest exhibit at the neighboring

"The newly constructed Chumash Village is probably located on or very near the original Chumash settlement," said Museum Director Diane Ramadan, who came up with the idea for the project, in a press release.

Boy scout Jason Scott-Sheets was looking for his latest volunteer effort when he heard about the museum's venture and decided to help out.

"To earn my Eagle Scout Badge, I decided to research, design and build an authentic Chumash village,” said the 16-year-old, who attends Chaminade High School, in a press release.

Scott-Sheets teamed up with Graywolf and Alfred Mazza from the Chumash Museum in Thousand Oaks to learn how to make an authentic site.

Over Labor Day weekend, he and about 60 other volunteers from Boy Scout Troop 127 helped build ramadas, granary stands, a drying rack, dance fence, and fire circle.

The only work left is the construction of two huts, which is expected to be finished in a month, said Lois Julien, a spokesperson with the museum.

Once completed, the site would give students and other visitors a peek into the life of Espiritu Leonis, a Chumash Indian who was the wife of Miguel Leonis, the adobe's original owner, said Museum Curator Michelle Covello.

"We wanted to build a Native American settlement along the creek in recognition of Espiritu Leonis’ Chumash heritage," Covello said in a press release.

The village is part of a grander project that would include a Victorian rose garden and a mission-era huerta garden, she said.

"The project is designed so that a visitor will start with the Victorian rose garden, then move on to the mission-era house and huerta garden, and then to the pre-contact Chumash village," Covello said in a statement.