Image from Santa Barbara Independent
About Art Cisneros
Chumash Elder & Fire Keeper
"Art Cisneros is a Chumash elder and firekeeper. He is of Chumash descent on his mother’s side and Mexican descent on his father’s. Though his roots in Santa Barbara County go back tens of thousands of years, Cisneros isn’t focused on the past but rather on the present and the future. Technically retired, he works passionately to unite humanity in caring for “our Mom”: planet Earth. Striving to live up to his Chumash name, “Earth Man with a Good Heart,” he holds fire ceremonies and tells about our need to heal our relationships with ourselves, the Earth, and each other" (Leslee Goodman).
"The Chumash People are the original native peoples of the central California Coast. Art holds the sacred space for their annual Tomol crossing to Limu on the Channel Islands. His spiritual name means “Earth Man with a Good Heart” and he truly embodies these virtues. Art also speaks throughout the US for the indigenous voice and for those who have no voice. He offers fire ceremonies at his home for the Santa Barbara community and also offers healing and cleansing ceremonies. Cisneros believes that the time is now for all of us to begin the process of restoring the balance of energy. “We can heal each and the world through our willingness to share what we hold as material wealth and what we hold in our heart as love, kindness, compassion, and generosity”.
- Tribal Trust Foundation, "About" Art Cisneros