Chumash Indian Museum

Chumash Indian Museum is a Native American Interpretive Center in northeast Thousand Oaks, California. It is the site of a former Chumash village, known as Sap'wi (meaning "House of the Deer"). It is located in Oakbrook Regional Park, a 432-acre park which is home to a replica of a Chumash village and thousand year-old Chumash pictographs. The pictographs by nearby Birthing Cave are not open to the public, but can be observed on docent-led tours. Chumash people inhabited the village 10,000 years ago. It became a designated archaeological zone in 1971 after the discovery of nearly twenty caves at the property. It was designated Ventura County Historical Landmark #90 in 1983. It is designated Thousand Oaks City Landmark No. 5. The museum is home to exhibits of various Chumash artifacts, paintings and historical items. Dedicated to preserving the cultural and historical legacy of the Chumash people, the museum was established in 1994 and is operated by the nonprofit Oakbrook Park Chumash Indian Corp. It is owned by Conejo Recreation and Park District. The museum grounds were severely damaged by the 2018 Woolsey Fire.