On this day September 28, 2014, a Tataviam family reunion decades in the making took place at the Hart of the West Powwow at Hart Park in Newhall.

Tataviam Siblings John James Romero, Dannette Ann Boynton Casarez, Geraldine “Jeri” Romero Perez, and Michael “Mike” Cooke, all children of Mary Louise Garcia Romero, stood together for the first time.

Mike, who grew up in Santa Maria, didn’t know he had half-siblings until that summer. His fiancée, Cat Shenk Park, stumbled across photos on SCVHistory.com of local Native American leaders and noticed a resemblance. 

That online discovery led to a private reunion in August, and by September 28, Mike and his 6-year-old son Rusty were meeting even more relatives at the Powwow.

The family’s roots run deep: their grandmother was Chief Mary Garcia Cooke, and their ancestry stretches back to Chaguayabit village (now Castaic Junction), where an ancestor was born in 1763.

A simple photograph sparked a connection that brought a family back together and reminded us how local history is often a story still unfolding.

To read yesterday’s Today in SCV History, click HERE.

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