"I Am The Expert"

A Message From Deborah Sanchez, Wishtoyo Chair

Mati Waiya is Chumash. Who am I? How do I know? Because I am a community member. I am the expert. Not the anthropologist. Not the DNA professor. Although newspapers and others would lead you to believe that those others are the experts. They are not the experts. We are the experts. We are the community.

Mati Waiya has been part of our community for decades. Through Wishtoyo, he has protected our environment, educated children from all walks of life, and has given us a place for ceremony. A place to reconnect with ourselves, with each other, and the ancestors. We are the experts.

I was with Mati Waiya in Malibu in 2005, at what is now Wishtoyo Village. It was a parcel of neglected space, the small creek was filled with trash, and the land was overrun with invasive plants. We stood there in the darkness and he talked about his hopes and dreams for that sacred place. He described how his mother laid down in a small depression in the earth, which is the center of the village today. This happened shortly before she died.

Mati transformed that space. This is one of the places where we all gather to honor the lives of those who have passed on; where we have welcomed our lost members home again. It is a place where we have celebrated weddings and new life; a place where we have welcomed guests from all over the world. Wishtoyo’s hospitality is legendary for a reason. The love that went into transforming the Village is the same love that welcomes us back.

Our brothers and sisters on the other side of the fence are still our brothers and sisters. We are all suffering from the trauma of near genocide and sometimes our own are influenced by non-Native academics who convince them of their specialness. We have to love them, too. Pray for our people, pray for our community.

The old timers would never have approved of what has transpired. The old ones, now gone, who hung on to a world view and were blessed with bits and pieces of knowledge that survived the holocaust in California. People like my grandfather, who told us stories that showed us how to be in the world. These stories told us to never let anybody go hungry, not to gossip about other people’s misfortune, and to keep your word even when someone has hurt you. It was an honorable way to be. A sacred way of living.

Years ago, Mati prayed. He had a vision of a place for us to be together. He had the calling to protect our environment and the vulnerable species that live here. He was compelled to move forward. He had the intelligence, talent and courage it took to create a place for all of us. He is the one who had everything it took to manifest the Village, and now the conservancy, into reality. It is an honor to know him.

Let there be no mistake. I stand with Mati Waiya. I do so now, tomorrow, and always will.

Deborah Sanchez, Wishtoyo Chair