Native American tribes in Texas

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Locations of American Indian tribes in Texas, ca. 1500 CE Indigenous Texas 1500.svg
Locations of American Indian tribes in Texas, ca. 1500 CE

Native American tribes in Texas are the Native American tribes who are currently based in Texas and the Indigenous peoples of the Americas who historically lived in Texas.

Contents

Many individual Native Americans, whose tribes are headquartered in other states, reside in Texas. The Texas Historical Commission by law consulted with the three federally recognized tribes in Texas and as well as 26 other federally recognized tribes headquartered in surrounding states. [1]

In 1986, the state formed the Texas Commission for Indian Affairs, later renamed the Texas Indian Commission, [2] to manage trust lands and assist three federally recognized tribes headquartered in Texas. However, the commission was dissolved in 1989. [3]

Federally recognized tribes

Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas reservation Alabama Coushatta Tribe - panoramio.jpg
Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas reservation

Texas has three federally recognized tribes. [1] They have met the seven criteria of an American Indian tribe:

  1. being an American Indian entity since at least 1900
  2. a predominant part of the group forms a distinct community and has done so throughout history into the present
  3. holding political influence over its members
  4. having governing documents including membership criteria
  5. members having ancestral descent from historic American Indian tribes
  6. not being members of other existing federally recognized tribes
  7. not being previously terminated by the U.S. Congress. [4]

The three federally recognized tribes in Texas are:

These three tribes are served by the Southern Plains Regional Office of the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs located in Anadarko, Oklahoma. [6]

American Indian reservations

These are three Indian Reservations in Texas:

Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Cultural Center in El Paso, Texas Tigua Cultural Center 2.jpg
Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Cultural Center in El Paso, Texas

State-recognized tribes

State-recognized tribes do not have the government-to-government relationship with the United States federal government that federally recognized tribes do. Texas has "no legal mechanism to recognize tribes," as journalists Graham Lee Brewer and Tristan Ahtone wrote. [7] The Texas Commission for Indian Affairs, later Texas Indian Commission, only dealt with the three federally recognized tribes and did not work with any state-recognized tribes before being dissolved in 1989. [2] Texas has no state-recognized tribes. [8]

Several groups have claimed to be state-recognized based on congratulatory resolutions; however, "Resolutions are statements of opinions and, unlike bills, do not have the force of law." [9] For example, the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas were honored in Texas Senate Resolution 438 in 2009 [10] and Texas State Concurrent Resolution 61 [11] and Texas House Concurrent Resolution 171, both in 2019. [12]

Texas Senate Bill 274 to formally recognize the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas, introduced in January 2021, died in committee, [13] as did Texas Senate Bill 231 introduced in November 2022. [14] Texas Senate Bill 1479, introduced in March 2023, and Texas House Bill 2005, introduced in February 2023, both to state-recognize the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation also died in committee. [15] [16]

Historical tribes of Texas

These are some of the tribes that have existed in what is now Texas. Many were forcibly removed to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, in the 19th century, and few to New Mexico or Louisiana. [1] Others no longer exist as tribes but may have living descendants.

Flag of the Comanche Nation Flag of the Comanche Nation.svg
Flag of the Comanche Nation
Flag of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes Bandera Wichita.PNG
Flag of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes
  • Kichai, formerly north, now Oklahoma [48]
  • Taovaya, formerly north in the 19th century, now Oklahoma [49]
  • Tawakoni, formerly north and east in the 19th century, now Oklahoma [50]
  • Waco, formerly north, now Oklahoma [51]

Contemporary tribes headquartered outside of Texas

Descendants of the tribes with historical ties to Texas that are now headquartered in surrounding states are:

Unrecognized organizations

More than 30 organizations claim to represent historic tribes within Texas; however, these groups are unrecognized, meaning they do not meet the minimum criteria of federally recognized tribes [5] and are not state-recognized tribes. [52] Some of these cultural heritage groups form 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

See also

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The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas is a state-recognized tribe and nonprofit organization in Texas. Members of the tribe descend from the Lipan Apache, a Southern Athabaskan Indigenous people. The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas is headquartered in McAllen, Texas.

The Choctaw-Apache Tribe of Ebarb is a state-recognized tribe and nonprofit organization in Louisiana. The members of the tribe are the descendants of Choctaw and Lipan Apache people and are required to prove lineal descent as part of their state-approved membership process. The tribe is based in the towns of Zwolle, Louisiana and Ebarb, Louisiana, both of which are in Sabine Parish, Louisiana, where the group have lived since the early 18th century.

The Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas, Inc., is a cultural heritage organization of individuals who identify as descendants of the Comecrudo people. Also known as the Carrizo people, the Comecrudo were a historic Coahuiltecan tribe who lived in northern Tamaulipas, Mexico, in the 17th to 19th centuries.

References

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  2. 1 2 "Texas Indian Commission" (PDF). Texas Sunset Advisory Commission. April 1988. p. 1. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
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  4. Newland, Bryan (30 April 2022). "Federal Tribal Recognition". Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs. US Department of the Interior. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  5. 1 2 Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior (30 April 2022). "Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs". Federal Register. 86 FR 7554: 7554–58.
  6. "Tribes Served by the Southern Plains Region". Indian Affairs. U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
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