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Deep in the breezy and ever-changing sand dunes of Oceano, California, a unique collection of people once congregated and lived together in a semi-ascetic existence. They were a group of both men and women, artists and mystics, writers and political activists, and though they were called many names by the neighboring townspeople, they called themselves the Dunites. From the 1930s through the 1950s, the Dunites made cabins and shacks for themselves out of driftwood, disregarded windshields, and other materials largely scavenged or washed ashore. The group claimed their makeshiftstructures, as well as the sandy land they rested on, as their home for a period largely encompassed by the Great Depression and the Second World War. The isolation of the Oceano dunes offered a respite from the struggles and harsh realities of life in outside society, as well as a haven for artistic inspiration and alternative ideals. But another form of free expression explored by the Dunites, though often overlooked in the chronicling of their history, was the group's unique willingness to explore eclectic religious beliefs that set them counterpoised against mainstream society. Exploring the vast array of beliefs and religious practices expressed by the Dunites can offer a glimpse into a uniquely creative, exploratory, and alternative population that came together partially through economic necessity but stayed to form a truly diverse community. The Dunites' ability to create and sustain this community largely without judgment or reproof among their cohorts makes them a model of religious pluralism.
The community created in the dunes was possible largely because of the unique time and place of its creation. While the dunes had been sparsely populated by drifters and vagrants since the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad in Oceano in 1895, it was the Great Depression of the 1930s that sparked the formation of an intentional community of likeminded individuals.1 After the economic downturn, many poets, writers, and artists faced immense difficulty in finding audiences for their crafts. The arts came to be seen as a frivolous venture in a time when the necessities of food and clothing were difficult enough for most families to afford. Accordingly, the writers and artists who found their way to the dunes were ecstatic to discover an inexpensive and largely unregulated haven...