The First Californians-The Tataviam / Fernandeno Indians of Santa Clarita

In Southern California, before the Spanish moved into the area to found their extensive mission system up and down California, the Tataviam or Fernandeno Native Americans lived in the area north of Los Angeles in what is now the Santa Clarita Valley. They lived around the Santa Clara River, using the resources such as willow branches, oak trees and acorns. While not too much is known about the original population, it was estiamted that around the time of the Spanish missions, the Tataviam numbered over 3,000, but at the turn of the 19th century, there were under 200 members of the tribe remaining. Disease was the main culprit for their decline. Since they had no natural immunity to the influx of new diseases, they became ill quickly and usually died.

They were given the name Fernandeno because the Spanish built the San Fernando Mission close by, and they were in the habit of naming the local Indian tribes for whatever mission was closest. The Spanish monks who started the missions were tasked with converting the natives to Christianity, so they forced the Native Americans to be baptized and by the early 1800s, almost all of the Tataviam were Christian. Over time, they built up some immunity to the European diseases, but they were never able to fully recover their population and remained a small band who were reduced to laboring in the fields or homes of the Spanish.

The Tataviam tribe states that the name means 'people facing the sun' because they constructed their homes on the sunny side of the hills and mountains. It is believed that they originally settled in the Santa Clarita area as far back as AD 450 and they had homes similar in construction to that of the other neighboring tribes, the Chumash and Gabrielenos. The homes were shaped like a dome and made of willow branches. There was a hole in the center to allow smoke from indoor fires to escape. The houses were quite large and roomy. Making use of the natural resources around them, the Fernandenos lived among nature and knew better than to exploit the natural resources that provided them with everything they needed.

Since they were surrounded by other tribes, they were able to easily trade for a variety of goods. The tribes around the area were friendly to one another, probably due to the close proximity of their villages, but as their populations decreased, they became somewhat segregated from the other tribes.