The Tataviam: The First known Inhabitants of Santa Clarita
Exploring the Rich Culture and History of the Tataviam People
At the February 21, 2023 meeting of the SCV Water Agency Board, the concept of a land acknowledgement was brought up by Beth Braunstein, prompting confusion from many members of the board. In the interest of providing context and understanding, it's important to recognize the first known inhabitants of the region: the Tataviam people. The Tataviam consisted of many tribes spread across San Fernando, Santa Clarita Valley, and Antelope Valley, including the Chaguayaga, Piinga, and Mapopingna tribes who lived specifically in Santa Clarita Valley. It's worth noting that even the name Tujunga is derived from the Tataviam tribe that lived in that area. In this article, we'll delve into the history and culture of the Tataviam people and their enduring legacy in the Santa Clarita Valley.
First Awesome Towners
Around AD 450, a group of Shoshone-speaking people moved to the Santa Clarita Valley, which was called the Tataviam by the Kitanemuk Indians living in the Antelope Valley. The name originated from their words taviyik, or "sunny hillside," and atavihukwa, or "he is sunning himself." Thus, the term Tataviam could be translated as "people facing the sun" or "people of the south-facing slopes."
The Tataviam were more aggressive than the Chumash, who lived in the region at that time forcing them to move west down the Santa Clara River toward Piru creek. The Chumash referred to the Tataviam as "Allikliks," which means people who stammer or do not speak clearly.
The Tataviam inhabited around 20 different-sized villages in the upper reaches of the Santa Clara River drainage east of Piru Creek, with their territory extending over the Sawmill Mountains to the north and including the southwestern fringes of the Antelope Valley. Some of the areas they occupied were Nuhubit (Newhall), Piru-U-Bit (Piru), Tochonanga, and the massive village of Chaguibit, of which the center is buried under the Rye Canyon exit of I-5. They also lived in the present-day locations of Saugus, Agua Dulce, and Lake Elizabeth.
The Tataviam homes were made up of a cone-shaped framework of willow poles tied together and covered with grass or other brush. The larger villages also contained gaming and dancing areas, cemeteries, granaries, work areas, and sauna-like sweat houses used for cleaning and relaxation.
The Tataviam lived without agriculture or domestic animals and developed a sophisticated system for exploiting the ecosystem. They hunted and trapped deer, rabbits, squirrels, birds, lizards, snakes, grasshoppers, and caterpillars for food, and regularly consumed acorns, yucca, toyon berries, chia seeds, and buckwheat. Few, if any, non-agricultural peoples in the world could draw on so many food sources.
The Tataviam were among the most ingenious, industrious, and peaceful Indians in North America, living an honest life without laws, money, jails, or a welfare system. They had no bad spirits and had no concept of hell or the devil before the missionaries arrived in 1769. They adapted themselves to the land, rather than changing it.
The last full-blooded Tataviam, Juan José Fustero, died on June 30, 1921, making any chance of collecting firsthand information about this obscure group of people disappear forever. Although much of the Tataviam culture has been washed away by floods or covered over by concrete, some still remains.
In May 1884, McCoy Pyle found a cave in the hills above the present Chiquita Canyon Landfill, north of Highway 126, containing many large woven baskets, stone axe heads, obsidian knife blades, crystals, whistles made from deer bones, headdresses, capes made of iridescent condor and flicker feathers, and four ceremonial scepters consisting of painted stone discs attached to wooden handles. Stephen Bowers purchased the entire collection for $1,500, which he sold to private collectors all over the world. Some of the "Bowers Cave" collection was sold to the Peabody Museum of American Ethnology at Harvard University, where it remains today. The fate of the rest is unknown.
Some small displays of Tataviam artifacts can be found at the Placerita Canyon Nature Center, the Saugus Station at Heritage Junction in downtown Newhall, and the Tataviam Interpretive Village in Val Verde, which features replicas of traditional homes, tools, and artifacts. In recent years, the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians has worked to preserve and promote their culture and heritage, including through the establishment of the Tataviam Cultural and Educational Center in San Fernando. Through these efforts, the legacy of the Tataviam people continues to be remembered and honored.