Good People of UUVentura,
Yesterday, I sent the letter below to the members of Ventura’s City Council. They will be holding a second on-line hearing tomorrow evening. I encourage you to join in and share your own thoughts – either as a Chumash descendent or as an ally Chumash peoples.
In faith and solidarity, Rev. Dana
My Letter:
Dear Mayor LaVere, Vice Mayor Rubalcava, Council Members Brown, Friedman, Heitmann, Nasarenko, and Weir,
I write to you as a faith leader in Ventura to thank you for taking up the situation around the statue of Father Junipero Serra that stands before City Hall.
Yet first I want to express my thanks and admiration for the courage shown by Mayor Matt LaVere, Father Thomas Elewaut, and Tribal Chair Julie Tumamait Stensile who spoke together for hours to discuss this emotional, historical, and fraught issue that is far older than this particular statue. In our divided times when so many grow loud and angry and accusatory so quickly, it takes true courage to sit and speak and listen with open hearts, open to different perspectives, willing to be changed by another’s story.
I hope the entire council will follow their courageous leadership.
When I saw the statue on my first visit to Ventura as I was considering ministry here four years ago, my heart sank. Yes, it is an impressive and even majestic work of art, yet that is part of the problem. Before ministry, I spent a decade teaching California history in elementary school. I know that the story of the Native Peoples of California and of the Missions is complicated, including cruelty to the point of genocide. The majesty and the placement of this statue completely covers up, silences, and causes deep pain to those who are descendants of a people nearly wiped out by Spanish and later American settlers.
It was clear to me then, and my conviction only grows stronger, that this statue dishonors the first peoples of this land. And now I have heard their voices telling of their pain and the multi-generational trauma the statue re-triggers. Telling only one side of a multi-layered history disrespects all of us, though most especially the Chumash peoples. If their voices are not as loud as some and their numbers perhaps smaller, it is largely because of a history incompletely told.
After years of being marginalized and silenced, it is time for all to listen well to their stories, their pain, and their request. I ask that the council accept the agreement made by the two most direct two stakeholders in these stories – Tribal Leader Tumamait Stensile and Father Elewaut. Please move the statue from in front of City Hall to the grounds of Mission San Buenaventura.
Also, please resist any suggestions that you put this on the ballot. Making such controversial decisions is a significant part of your responsibility in this representational democracy. For the voice of the people most directly harmed can so easily be drowned out, essentially silencing them once more. That would simply compound the damage already caused and do nothing to address the deeper issues, which won’t somehow just go away.
Moving this statue does not erase history. Rather it teaches a more complete history. In telling the fullness of our history, we gain a chance for deep human meeting and the possibility of reconciliation of centuries-old wounds.
In our fractured times, with so many loud and divisive voices, I ask that you find ways to embrace the truths of the past that our future may bring healing and reconciliation. We can then move on together.
Respectfully,
Rev. Dana Worsnop, Minister
Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura