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 The general area where the Tataviam language was spoken prior to European colonization (shown in red) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 United States ( California) | |
| Languages | |
| English,Spanish formerlyTataviam | |
| Religion | |
| Traditional tribal religion, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tongva,Chumash,Serrano,Kitanemuk,Luiseño,Vanyume |
TheTataviam (Kitanemuk:people on the south slope) are aNative American group inSouthern California. The ancestral land of the Tataviam people includes northwest present-dayLos Angeles County and southernVentura County, primarily in the upper basin of theSanta Clara River, theSanta Susana Mountains, and theSierra Pelona Mountains. They are distinct from theKitanemuk and theGabrielino-Tongva peoples.[1]
Their tribal government is based inSan Fernando, California, and includes the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch, the Tribal Senate, and the Council of Elders.[1] The current Tribal President of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians is Rudy Ortega Jr., who is a descendant of the village ofTochonanga.[1][2]
The Tataviam are notfederally recognized, which has prevented the tribe from being seen as sovereign and erased the identity of tribal members.[3][4] The tribe has established anAcknowledge Rent campaign to acknowledge "the financial hardships placed on non-federally recognized tribes."[5][4]
TheSanta Clarita Valley is believed to be the center of Tataviam territory, north of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In 1776, they were noted as a distinct linguistic and cultural group, by PadreFrancisco Garcés, and have been distinguished from theKitanemuk and theFernandeño.[6]
The Tataviam people had summer and winter settlements. They harvestedYucca whipplei andwa'at or juniper berries.[7]
According to settler accounts, the Tataviam were called theAlliklik by their neighbors, theChumash, meaninggrunter orstammerer, probably because of the way their language sounded to Chumash ears.[8]
The Spanish first encountered the Tataviam during their 1769-1770 expeditions. According to Chester King and Thomas C. Blackburn (1978:536), "By 1810, virtually all the Tataviam had been baptized atMission San Fernando Rey de España." Like many other indigenous groups, they sufferedhigh rates of fatalities fromOld Worldinfectious diseases brought by the Spanish, in particularsmall pox, or by theirlivestock (which broughtinfluenza,anthrax,leptospirosis, andbovine tuberculosis), resulting in major population declines.
TheFernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians claims that when theFirst Mexican Republic passed theMexican secularization act of 1833 and seized the California missions, that 50 Tataviam leaders where awarded vast land grants amounting to over 18,000 acres, or around 10% of theSan Fernando Valley, including vast swaths of what is today northern Los Angeles County.[9]
| Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians Fernandeños | |
|---|---|
| Unrecognized | |
 Seal | |
| Ethnicity | Tataviam |
| Location | Los Angeles County,California, United States |
| Population | 900+ (claimed)[9] |
| Surnames | Ortega, Garcia, Ortiz |
When the United States annexed California following theMexican American War, these land grants made by the Mexican government became void, and as such when theCalifornia Land Act of 1851 passed, and with the Tataviam rejecting American citizenship, their land entered public domain and was auctioned off by the state.[9] Some Tataviam attempted to challenge this seizure in theLos Angeles Superior Court, however, the court found against the Tataviam, as the United States was under no obligation to respect Mexican land grants.[9] By 1900 the Tataviam had lost all their land, and as such where ineligible to receive anIndian Reservation.[9]
The United States Indian Affairs decided to group the Tataviam with other Indian Villages in the same region, which is now Fort Tejon Indian Reservation.[10]
During theCalifornia Genocide from 1846 to 1873, California’s Native American population plunged from perhaps 150,000 to 30,000.[11] Many contemporary Tataviam people trace their lineage back to the original Tataviam people through genealogical records.[6]
Alfred L. Kroeber (1925:883) estimated the combined population of the Serrano, Kitanemuk, and Tataviam to be 3,500 people in 1770. By 1910, their population was recorded at 150.
TheFernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians claims that there are over 900 Tataviam, all of which are from one of three families; Ortega, Garcia, and Ortiz.[9]
On January 14, 2024,Land Veritas donated 500 acres of land between theAntelope Valley to the Pacific Ocean to theTataviam Land Conservancy, a non-profit group founded by theFernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians.[12] The uninhabited land consists of a few unpaved roads, and a concrete pad that the conservancy hopes to turn into an educational center.[12]
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