For at least the last 10,000 years Salinan people have inhabited the Central part of California from the Pacific Ocean East to the Temblor Mountains. Today we are known as the Salinan People named by the California Spanish Missionaries who built Missions San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, San Miguel Arcangel and San Antonio de Padua. Through self-reliance and preservation, we continue to thrive through hundreds of years of changes that impacted our culture. Living in the lands of our ancestors we have all we need to survive, we continue to hunt, fish, and gather traditional materials during these modern times. We continue to speak our traditional language, which is part of the Hokan Language group, believed to be the oldest in California. The Missionaries divided Salinans into three dialects, the Playano (of the beach people), northern Antoniano, and southern Migueleno. Through our Educational non-profit we educate the people of the Central Coast and the world about our connection to this land and the importance of protecting and preserving this special place for generations to come.
