The last native speaker of the Samala Chumash language, also called
Ineseño, died in 1965. Verbal inheritance was lost with the death of the last native speaker. The language was revived through documents and
archives, which created a sense of pride among modern Chumash descendants. In the early 1900s linguist/ethnographer
John P. Harrington worked with
Maria Solares, one of the last fluent speakers of Samala. He created manuscripts containing information on Chumash language, culture, and traditions. Dr. Richard Applegate, who received a PhD in linguistics from
U.C. Berkeley, used these manuscripts to write an extensive grammar of Samala and compile a dictionary of the language, which was released in 2008. Dr. Applegate and Nakia Zavalla, the Cultural Director for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash and a direct descendant of Maria Solares, have begun an effort to revitalize the language. Applegate began teaching Samala in 2003, and Zavalla has spearheaded an immersion-based language apprentice program. As of 2008, Applegate had five language apprentices; however, none had yet reached full fluency. An online Samala Chumash tutorial is available. ==Economic development==