Floating across the horizon of the Southern California coastline, the eight Channel Islands — which stretch from San Miguel Island south of Point Conception down to San Clemente Island west of San Diego — are both a constant presence and curious puzzle for most mainlanders. Especially here in Santa Barbara, we see them daily, but many know very little about them, and a surprising few have set foot on their shores.
That’s started to change in recent years, with more publicity about how to visit the northern islands, which are run by the National Park Service, and lots of headlines about sometimes controversial programs to save their rare species. But that growing awareness is primarily focused on exploring and protecting nature, not so much concerned about the people who’ve lived and worked on the islands for literally millennia.
Prepare, then, for a new era of island appreciation. The upcoming release of West of the West: Tales from California’s Channel Islands will shine a bright, meticulously crafted light on the islands’ fascinating human history. Broken into three one-hour segments covering 14 chapters, the documentary’s ambitious scope spans from the earliest Chumash inhabitants and explorers, such as Juan Cabrillo, to the ranchers, rock stars, archaeologists, authors, dreamers, and deep-sea divers who’ve become intertwined into the lore of this awesome archipelago.