Heritage
History
The distinct community of the present-day Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians (FTBMI) originated in the lineages, villages, and culture of the pre-Mission period. Mission San Fernando was established on September 8, 1797 at the village of Achoicominga and, for years following, enslaved our ancestors from the traditional villages in the geographically surrounding area, ranging from present-day Simi Valley and Malibu in the west, Cahuenga and Encino in the south, Tujunga in the east, and the present-day Tejon Ranch in the north. Before the founding of Mission San Fernando, our ancestors in the region lived in autonomous lineages within villages. These tribal lineages, or tribelets, consisted of speakers from the Takic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language, who intermarried with individuals from other linguistic groups within the area, as well as strengthened economic, social, and cultural relations with those outside of their language group by practicing exogamy. Each lineage held territory and maintained political and economic sovereignty over its local area, but was also linked through social exchange to neighboring villages and lineages.
Historical
Timeline
The Historical Timeline is an interactive timeline designed to provide important dates of the the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians (the FTBMI) community and history from time immemorial to present. Please note that this is not, and is not intended to be, an all-encompassing history of the FTBMI.


450 C.E.
Creation stories tie our ancestors to the land since time immemorial. Anthropologists have dated the migration of our ancestors....
















1851
Leandra Culeta's great uncles, Vicente and Francisco Cota, became prominent chiefs...



1870
Miguel Leonis acquired the adobe on a ranch in Calabasas (present-day Leonis Adobe), and entitlement...





1876
On July 1, 1876, a group of 7 Indians took over some land on the old mission and ejected Porter and ...

1878
Senator Maclay suit against Rogerio Rocha, Antonio Maria Ortega, et al. for removal from San Fernando...





1889
Leonis died and denied Espiritu being his wife in his will; she fought for 16 years in court and rec...



1892
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney recommended that the federal government take action to Fernandeño land rights...



1906
The Fernandeños during this time qualified as a landless band, composed of decentralized, yet inter...


1910
High number of Fernandeño men enlisted in the U.S. Army during the World War I....

1912
Alfred Kroeber begins his spotty research with Tataviam Indian Juan Jose Fustero...

1916
Ethnologist J.P. Harrington records a Jaminate (Kitanemuk language) name: tátaviat ...

1928
California Indian Judgment Act: compensation provided to California Indians of the 18 un-ratified tr...


1932
Bureau of Indian Affairs Sacramento Indian Agency seeks verification of Fernandeño community member...



1952
Mission San Fernando Indians decided to organize and elected Rudy Ortega Sr. as chairman....

1968
Amended California Indian Judgment Act; the Ortega family joins the Garcia and Ortiz families of the...

1971
The San Fernando Mission Band of Indians files a claim of establishing a Indian reservation with th...

1973
San Fernando Mission Indians created a non-profit named the San Fernando Valley Inter-Tribal, Inc. (...


1985
Rudy Ortega Sr., Charlie Cooke, and tribal members of the San Fernando Band Mission Indians ...

Historical
Pre-Mission
Linguistic speaking groups did not form political entities.
The social organization of California in general, and southern California in particular, is composed of a regional network of lineage communities that trade, share ceremonies, and intermarry. This regional pattern existed in the pre-Mission period, as far as scholars can reconstruct, and many principal aspects of the regional network and lineage communities continue to define the social and political patterns of the present-day Fernandeños (Mission San Fernando associated Indians); but all southern California tribes share similar social and political patterns. It is essential to understand the social and cultural organization of the Native lineages that populated the San Fernando Mission as well as the region for centuries if not longer before the missions were established. Before significant European contact, the lineages that were enslaved at Mission San Fernando after 1797, were independent, decentralized, uni-lineal kinship groups. Political recognition with each other came from mutual respect of boundaries, and agreed upon rules of ceremonial activities, economic exchange, as well as political cooperation and respect. Anthropologist Alfred Kroeber, writing in the 1950’s called this form of social and political organization a “tribelet.” Kroeber says:
(T)hese tribelet units, with around 200 to 300 members, were the basic political and social units in native California Indian life. Ultra-miniaturized as they were, they nevertheless constitute the nearest equivalent to the State or Nation among ourselves. This is true in the sense that, just as what in Europe is called the State, but in this country the Federal government or the Nation — just as this state or Nation does not recognize any authority or power superior to itself, and is supreme and autonomous, so in native California these tiny tribelet units recognized no superior authority, but were self-governing, independent, and land owning.
Since each lineal shared a common ancestor, kinship members could not marry inside, and therefore married eligible individuals from other lineages, which often spoke different languages. The region that composes the recruiting ground for Mission San Fernando included the territory of present-day San Fernando Valley, Simi Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, Antelope Valley, Catalina Island, Malibu, parts of northern Los Angeles, and other contiguous areas. At least 130 named Native settlements provided slaves to the Mission San Fernando. The region before contact was multi-lingual, multi-cultural, decentralized, and based upoon lineages that were interconnected and mutually supporting through networks, marriages, ceremonies, and trade. Linguistic speaking groups did not form political entities. It is a fundamental error to conflate language groups with political and social groups, especially in California, where such groups are not the same. Each linguistic group was internally composed of independent lineage groups that held territory, and political autonomy from all others, whether linguistically related or not. When the Spanish missionaries arrived they encountered an active regional multi-cultural economic, political, and ceremonial network, where the Natives respected cross-lineal rules and obligations, and where land, economic resources, and political leadership were established and carried on for many centuries. Pre-contact ancestors of the Tribe recognized each other’s land, ceremonial, kinship, and political relations. Recognition in the pre-contact period came from the respect of mutual rights and obligations observed among the regional network of lineages.
Lineage-community.
There appears a certain bias in the literature in favor of the village community over decentralized lineage communities, perhaps because the lineage communities are less familiar. Nevertheless, throughout the historical and contemporary period, lineage communities continue to be the primary form of social and political organization among reservation and non-recognized California Indians. The literature suggests that the post-contact period shows a movement away from lineage communities toward the village community or multi-lineal community. The appearance of multi-lineal or village communities is certainly an observable pattern. However, it is important to distinguish between the formation of an externally required village community (Missions, Reservations, etc.) as opposed to the formation of a village community based on internal consensus. The present-day Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians is a voluntary village community, composed of a coalition of three lineage communities that retains the integrity of each constituent lineage community.
