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The Tataviam (Kitanemuk: people on the south slope) are a Native American group in Southern California.[citation needed] The ancestral land of the Tataviam people includes northwest present-day Los Angeles County and southern Ventura County, primarily in the upper basin of the Santa Clara River, the Santa Susana Mountains, and the Sierra Pelona Mountains.[citation needed] They are distinct from the Kitanemuk and the Gabrielino-Tongva peoples.[1][non-primary source needed]
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| This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2024) |
 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 formerly Tataviam | |
| Religion | |
| Traditional tribal religion, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tongva, Chumash, Serrano, Kitanemuk, Luiseño, Vanyume |
Their tribal government is based in San Fernando, California, and includes the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch, the Tribal Senate, and the Council of Elders.[2][non-primary source needed] The current Tribal President of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians is Rudy Ortega Jr., who is a descendant of the village of Tochonanga.[3][4]
The Tataviam are a not federally recognized, which has prevented the tribe from being seen as sovereign and erased the identity of tribal members.[5][6] The tribe has established an Acknowledge Rent campaign to acknowledge "the financial hardships placed on non-federally recognized tribes."[7][6]
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Pre-European settlement
The Santa Clarita Valley is believed to be the center of Tataviam territory, north of the Los Angeles metropolitan area.[citation needed] In 1776, they were noted as a distinct linguistic and cultural group, by Padre Francisco Garcés, and have been distinguished from the Kitanemuk and the Fernandeño.[8]
The Tataviam people had summer and winter settlements.[citation needed] They harvested Yucca whipplei and wa'at or juniper berries.[9][non-primary source needed]
According to settler accounts, the Tataviam were called the Alliklik by their neighbors, the Chumash (Chumash: meaning grunter or stammerer), probably because of the way their language sounds to Chumash ears.[10]
Spanish colonization
The Spanish first encountered the Tataviam during their 1769-1770 expeditions.[citation needed] According to Chester King and Thomas C. Blackburn (1978:536), "By 1810, virtually all the Tataviam had been baptized at Mission San Fernando Rey de España."[citation needed] Like many other indigenous groups, they suffered high rates of fatalities from infectious diseases brought by the Spanish.[citation needed]
Mexican governance
The Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians claims that when the First Mexican Republic passed the Mexican 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 the San Fernando Valley, including vast swaths of what is today northern Los Angeles County.[11][non-primary source needed]
American governance
| Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians Fernandeños | |
|---|---|
| Unrecognized | |
 Seal | |
| Ethnicity | Tataviam |
| Location | Los Angeles County, California, United States |
| Population | 900+ (claimed)[11][non-primary source needed] |
| Surnames | Ortega, Garcia, Ortiz |
When the United States annexed California following the Mexican American War, these land grants made by the Mexican government became void, and as such when the California Land Act of 1851 passed, and with the Tataviam rejecting American citizenship, their land entered public domain and was auctioned off by the state.[11][non-primary source needed] Some Tataviam attempted to challenge this seizure in the Los Angeles Superior Court, however, the court found against the Tataviam, as the United States was under no obligation to respect Mexican land grants.[11][non-primary source needed] By 1900 the Tataviam had lost all their land, and as such where ineligible to receive an Indian Reservation.[11][non-primary source needed]
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.[12][non-primary source needed]
During the California Genocide from 1846 to 1873, California’s Native American population plunged from perhaps 150,000 to 30,000.[13] Many contemporary Tataviam people trace their lineage back to the original Tataviam people through genealogical records,[8] demonstrating the resilience of the Tataviam people in the face of genocide.[citation needed]
Alfred L. Kroeber (1925:883) estimated the combined population of the Serrano, Kitanemuk, and Tataviam to be 3,500 people in 1770.[citation needed] By 1910, their population was recorded at 150.[citation needed]
The Fernandeño 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.[11][non-primary source needed]
On January 14, 2024, Land Veritas donated 500 acres of land between the Antelope Valley to the Pacific Ocean to the Tataviam Land Conservancy, a non-profit group founded by the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians.[14] The uninhabited land consists of a few unpaved roads, and a concrete pad that the conservancy hopes to turn into an educational center.[14]
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