Chapter 1
Jerry Lassos, a Gabrielino, talks about Scott O’Dell’s use of the word Ghalas-at, which is actually a Chumash word, and about his tribe’s name for San Nicolas Island. The Gabrielino Indians live on the mainland and historically lived on the southern Channel Islands. They are the tribal group most closely connected to the San Nicolas Island people, who are referred to as Nicoleños. The Chumash Indians live on the mainland and historically lived on the northern Channel Islands.
Ghalas-at is the Chumash name for San Nicolas Island. It’s possible that Scott O’Dell chose to use the Chumash word Ghalas-at for the name of Karana’s village believing that the Lone Woman was Chumash, which is not correct. Evidence suggests that the Lone Woman was Nicoleño.
We call the island Haraashngna. We don’t know what the Lone Woman and her people might have called their village or island.
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Last updated: February 25, 2020