Meeting on Museum Idea Scheduled

Thousand Oaks Councilman Frank Schillo will hold a meeting at 4 p.m. Wednesday in City Hall to gauge public support for a Native Peoples Museum in the city.

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The three people who proposed the museum will present their concept, which they envision as a cultural center bringing together exhibits, lectures and performances by and about indigenous people worldwide.

The three are Al Fiori and Lauren DeChant of Rising Hawk Productions in Montecito and Jean-Michel Cousteau, an environmentalist who lives in Santa Barbara County and is the son of explorer Jacques Cousteau.

Also attending will be local Chumash Indians, politicians and business people who may be able to donate land or raise money for a museum.

“The way I see it, this will be a wide-open meeting where we can talk about the possibility of a museum here and get a reality check to see what the interest level is,” Schillo said.

Schillo began considering a Native Peoples Museum earlier this fall, when he determined that the Southwest Museum and its renowned collection of Indian art was unlikely to move to Thousand Oaks.

The Southwest’s director recently said Thousand Oaks is still in the running, but city officials doubt that they can raise the $35 million necessary to lure the museum from its location in Highland Park.

After Wednesday’s meeting, Schillo may set up a task force to study the feasibility of building a Native Peoples Museum. “If there’s interest,” he said, “we’ll get all the players that can facilitate this together.”