Geveronga was a

Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous peoples of California, Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Channel Islands of California, Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . In the precolonial era, the peop ...

village located at what is now Pico-Union, Los Angeles, California along the

Los Angeles River The Los Angeles River (), historically known as by the Tongva and the by the Spanish, is a major river in Los Angeles County, California. Its headwaters are in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and it flows nearly from Canoga Park ...

. Part of the village area is also located on the campuses of the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC) at its University Park Campus. The USC History Department provided a map of the general location of Geveronga in its

land acknowledgement A land acknowledgement (or territorial acknowledgement) is a formal statement that acknowledges the indigenous peoples of the land. It may be in written form, or be spoken at the beginning of public events. The custom of land acknowledgement is p ...

in 2021. People from the village were known as Geverovit ('' English'': "People of Geveronga").

Village

The village rested above the Los Angeles River floodplain along with the large village of

Yaanga Yaanga was a large Tongva (or Kizh) village, originally located near what is now downtown Los Angeles, just west of the Los Angeles River and beneath U.S. Route 101 in California, U.S. Route 101. People from the village were recorded as ''Yabit ...

on what is known as Glendale Narrows. It was described in historical accounts as being located near Yaanga and immediately adjoining the early

Pueblo de Los Angeles Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlemen ...

settlement that would eventually grow into the city of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Geveronga was a smaller and less influential village than

, which held the primary influence in this region of

Tovaangar Tovaangar (''Tongva'': "the world") refers to the Tongva world or homelands. It includes the greater area of the Los Angeles Basin, including the San Gabriel Valley, San Fernando Valley, northern Orange County, parts of San Bernardino County and ...

Destruction

The village was dismantled in 1781, along with the original site of

, as part of the

Anza Expedition Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 6 or 7, 1736 – December 19, 1788) was a Novohispanic/Mexican expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician primarily in California and New Mexico under the Spanish Empire. He is credited as on ...

by the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

. Settlers came into the area and destroyed the village that year under a land claim to the area from

King Carlos III Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735� ...

in Spain for four Castilian leagues of land. The grant included a monopoly claim to the water rights of the

. It began much of the issues with Europeans taking water rights from

Indigenous peoples of California Indigenous peoples of California, commonly known as Indigenous Californians or Native Californians, are a diverse group of nations and peoples that are indigenous to the geographic area within the current boundaries of California before and afte ...

. At least 23 to 28 villagers from Geveronga were recorded to be baptized in the records of

Mission San Gabriel Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality *Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * O ...

References

{{Tongva villages Tongva populated places Former Native American populated places in California History of Los Angeles University of Southern California