Editing Chumash people (section)

===Mexican era (1834–1848)===
[[File:Librado Making Kelp Fetish 1912.jpg|thumb|[[Fernando Librado]] was born in the Mexican era to two Chumash parents from ''[[Santa Cruz Island|Limuw]]''.]]

Mexico seized control of the missions in 1834. Tribespeople either fled into the interior, attempted farming for themselves and were driven off the land, or were enslaved by the new administrators. Many found highly exploitative work on large Mexican ranches. After 1849, most Chumash land was lost due to theft by Americans and a declining population, due to the effects of violence and disease.

The remaining Chumash began to lose their cohesive identity. In 1855, a small piece of land (120 acres) was set aside for just over 100 remaining Chumash Indians near Santa Ynez mission. This land ultimately became the only Chumash reservation, although Chumash individuals and families also continued to live throughout their former territory in southern California. Today, the Santa Ynez band lives at and near Santa Ynez. The Chumash population was between roughly 10,000 and 18,000 in the late 18th century. In 1990, 213 Indians lived on the [[Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians#Reservation|Santa Ynez Reservation]].<ref>(Pritzker).</ref>