The Tataviam people have continued to maintain a tribal government since time immemorial. During the era of the Spanish Missionaries the Tataviam was referred to as the Mission Indians of San Fernando (Fernandeño). At the revolving period of the Mexican government, the Fernandeño Tataviam Tribe made several land grant treaties within the Tataviam (Fernandeño) ancestral territory. Furthermore, following the commencement of California as a state, the United States Indian Affairs grouped the Fernandeño Tataviam, along with other numerous Indian villages in the region, at Fort Tejon (Sebastian) Indian Reservation.

The unceasing political authority in the Tribe derives from the will of the Fernandeño Tataviam people. Today Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians is not a federally recognized American Indian Tribe. Despite this lack of acknowledgment, the Tribe defies limitations in its continued perseverance to defend the rights of Fernandeño Tataviam people as Indian people.