Page 13 - scvhs_docenttrainingmanual2006

The Indians worked very hard everyday but also had sufficient time to play games, tell stories and
enjoy the wonderful world in which they lived. Games played on a regular basis were Kick the Stick,
Hoop and Pole, Stickball and the very popular and quite competitive Walnut Shell Dice game.

The arrival of the Spanish in 1797 decimated the Indian population. Hundreds died from Smallpox,
the common cold and stress associated with the changing lifestyle. By 1810 nearly all the Tataviams
had been baptized at the San Fernando Mission and many had intermarried with other local Indian
groups. The last full-blooded Tataviam, Juan Jose Fustero, died in 1916.

The Tataviam people occupied this valley when rivers lined with huge sycamore trees ran year around
and great oak woodlands stretched from one end of the valley to the other. They had the privilege of
sharing this environment with grizzly bears, bald eagles and other animals that will never live here
again. They had no large cities and no great stone temples or pyramids. Their world was a very
simple one of good intentions and true integrity. They lived, laughed, loved and raised their families
in harmony with the earth for over 1300 years. In less than two hundred years we have successfully
conquered the landscape and converted the valley into a modem urban area. However, in the quiet
comers and hidden canyons of the Santa Clarita Valley, the peaceful energy of the Tataviam people
still exists.