Spoiler alert: Much of the region is governed by the city of L.A. But it also has some cities that have stayed independent. One of those is the Valley’s namesake, San Fernando, and it’s somewhat the runt of L.A. County.

On Tuesday morning, Rudy Ortega, Jr., president of Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, stood on land taken from his great-grandfather and signed an important agreement with the California Department of Parks and Recreation. While the Memorandum ...