Photos by David K. Yamamoto / Special to The Star Tristan Arenzana, 5, explores a cave at the Chumash Interpretive Center in Thousand Oaks with members of his Cub Scout pack. The cave contains traces of the Chumash tribe's legacy.

The Chumash Interpretative Center in Thousand Oaks is in the midst of a major transformation.

Recent capital improvements to the center's nonprofit museum, along with dozens of newly installed acquisitions of Chumash Indian artifacts, are turning it into a top-notch educational facility that serves the entire county, said Dawn Mena, education director. The center is in Oakbrook Regional Park.

"We took a look at what we are and what we want to be," Mena said. "Then we made a new commitment to create a more dynamic, interactive experience that will help people understand the history of the area and better appreciate the indigenous people who first lived here."

New exhibits include a vast collection of authentic Chumash grinding stones, rare woven baskets, delicate seashell beadwork, an indigenous animal collection, and a visual representation of a young Chumash Indian woman dressed in authentic clothing and handmade jewelry. Some of the exhibits are on loan from the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

Over the last few months, structural improvements to the museum have included a new roof, new paint, windows, display cases, exhibit signs and outdoor picnic tables.

Plans to modernize and improve interior lighting and create more display areas are in the works. Rebuilding and improving an existing outdoor replica of a Chumash village is also on the drawing board.

Mena said about $40,000 went into creating new exhibits and $60,000 was spent on physical improvements. Volunteer workers spent more than 350 hours helping with the renovation.

The center will host its grand reopening Dec. 1 with a Chumash Winter Solstice celebration, featuring authentic Indian arts and crafts, dancing, drumming and a Christmas display of dolls from many tribes.

After settling an artifact ownership dispute last year with its former unofficial curator, Kent Christenson, the center has new record-keeping procedures in place and has enlisted the help of two Native American curators to keep the new direction on track.

"Our plan is for a first-class museum the city of Thousand Oaks can be proud of," said the new curator, Graywolf, his legal name for 35 years.

"In our culture, it doesn't matter what name you're born with, it's what you do with your life that counts," said Graywolf, who lives in Simi Valley and owns Graywolf Productions, a company that consults with film studios on how to depict authentic Native American customs and traditions.

"The Chumash have been disrespected for too long — just pushed aside and ignored," he said. "It's time to change that, to honor them and their way of life."

To bring attention to the revitalization effort, Graywolf invited Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist Ken Lubas to the museum to display some of his renowned photography of eagles and Native Americans.

"It's an incredible honor to have my work shown there, and to be able to tell the story of indigenous people — to visually show their way of life," said Lubas, a retired Los Angeles Times photographer.

His work has appeared on the covers and in the pages of National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, and Life magazine, among other national publications. Signed prints of his art work are for sale, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the help the museum.

Lubas said the traditions of Native Americans appeal to him on a spiritual level, and that he sees great beauty, power and grace in what he photographs.

He said he was visiting Whidbey Island in Washington in 1994 and saw an eagle fly by. It changed the course of his life as a photographer.

"The eagle came so close, I could almost touch him. That night I had a dream of a Native American eagle dancer, which prompted me to take more photographs," said Lubas.

He started attending pow-wows, and a new world opened for him. He hopes his work draws attention to the "near extinction of Native Americans," he said, and to the threat posed to eagles by hunters and pesticides.

His fine art photography is on display until the end of the year.