Fr. Gerónimo Boscana, Missionary Ethnographer
Lecture/Discussion/Panel/Talk/Q&A/Seminar
Libraries
S.B. Mission Archive-Library (SBMAL)
**Events may have been canceled or postponed. Please contact the venue to confirm the event.
Date & Time
Thu, May 28 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Address (map)
2201 LAGUNA STREET
Venue (website)
S.B. Mission Archive-Library (SBMAL)
May 28th, 2026 | Featuring: John R. Johnson, Ph.D – “Fr. Gerónimo Boscana, Franciscan Missionary Ethnographer“
🗣Fr. Gerónimo Boscana, Franciscan Missionary Ethnographer — Father Gerónimo Boscana’s extensive description of the “Acágchemem” or Juaneño Indians of Mission San Juan Capistrano is one of the classics of California anthropology, representing the only full-length ethnography left to us by a Franciscan missionary who served in Alta California.
The most-familiar version of Fr. Boscana’s manuscript was titled “Chinigchinich,” when it was first published in English translation by Alfred Robinson in 1846 as an appendix to his Life in California.
The name Chinigchinich refers to the principal deity of the Juaneño and Luiseño in their traditional religion.
Boscana’s original Chinigchinich account in Spanish has been lost, only two earlier manuscripts are known.
Dr. Johnson will discuss Fr. Boscana’s significant contribution to California ethnography and will also describe research in the Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Library and elsewhere to determine what happened to the original manuscript translated by Robinson.
📍 Location: Santa Bárbara Mission Archive-Library, 2201 Laguna Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105
💲 Cost: $30 public ($25 members) admission fee to support the work of the Archive-Library
Early-Bird Access for Good Friends+ starts May 1st. General public tickets start May 2nd.
ℹ️ Logistics: RSVP Required | Light Refreshments | Doors at 5:30pm
About the series: Join a select group of those interested in an informative conversation with experts who will first share from a vast store of knowledge, then engage with those present in a lively give & take.
About our speaker: John R. Johnson, Ph.D. — Dr. John Johnson served 37 years as Curator of Anthropology at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and since retirement in 2023 holds the position of Curator Emeritus.
He has an appointment as Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at UCSB where he taught an anthropology course on Indigenous Peoples of California Indians for eighteen years.
Dr. Johnson has long been engaged in research using mission records.
He has served on the board of directors of the Santa Bárbara Mission Archive-Library since 1993, and is current board president.
His written contributions include more than 100 studies regarding the cultures, history, and ancient past of California’s Indigenous peoples, especially emphasizing the Chumash Indians of the Santa Barbara region.
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For more details: https://www.sbmal.org/join-and-support
