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Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas

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Not to be confused with Lipan Apache Band of Texas.
Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas
Named afterLipan Apache people, State of Texas
FormationIncorporated in 2007[1]
Type
US Texas TIN 13311748407[1]
EIN 33-1174840[2]
Legal statusactive
PurposeTo promote and preserve the cultural, social, educational, spiritual, linguistic, economic, health, and traditional needs[2]
Location
Official language
English
Websitelipanapache.org

The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas is a state-recognized tribe[3][4][5][6] and nonprofit organization in Texas.[7] Members of the tribe descend from the Lipan Apache,[8] a Southern Athabaskan Indigenous people.[9] The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas is headquartered in McAllen, Texas.[10]

The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas incorporated as a non-profit in 2007.[11] In a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior (DOI) initiated by a Lipan tribe member, a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit resulted in a settlement with the DOI, which granted over 400 Native American plaintiffs access to eagle feathers.[12] The City of Presidio, Texas, and County of Presidio Texas transferred a historic Lipan Apache cemetery back to the Tribe.[13] The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas attend the yearly Apache Alliance summit meetings.[14]

They are not a federally recognized American Indian tribe.[15][16] State-recognition status can take different forms, including by state law and by legislation.[17][18]: 137  The Texas government has not developed a process of recognition.[18]: 103  The Tribe has been recognized by legislation,[19] which does not carry the force of law.[20]

Organizations

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The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas, Inc., became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2007.[11][1] It is based in McAllen, Texas.[1]

Their subject areas are arts, cultural awareness; education, agriculture, fishing, forestry, and community and economic development .[2] In 2013, the organization held $10,013 in assets.[2]

Bernard F. Barcena Jr. is the registered agent of this tribe.[1]

Officers of the organization include:

  • Director and agent: Bernard F. Barcena Jr.
  • Director: Robert Soto
  • Officer: Erika Sauseda
  • Officer: Juan S. Garcia[1]

The Lipan Apache Tribe Cemetery Association, another 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was registered in 2023.[21][better source needed] Bernard F. Barcena of San Antonio is also the registered agent of this organization.[22]

Resolution and bill

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On March 18, 2009, SR 438, titled "Recognizing the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas," a congratulatory resolution authored by State Senator Juan Hinojosa, was adopted in the Texas Senate, legislative session 81(R). Jointly, on the same day, HR 812, titled "Recognizing the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas," was adopted in the Texas House of Representatives. Although not signed by the Governor or law, these resolutions expressed the sentiments of the Senate and the House in recognizing the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas as "the present-day incarnation of the clans, bands, and divisions historically known as the Lipan Apaches, who have lived in Texas and northern Mexico for 300 years"[23] and commending the people of this Tribe for their contributions to the state.[19]

In 2019, the State of Texas 86th Legislature adopted concurrent resolutions, Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 61 (SCR 61) and House Concurrent Resolution No. 171 (HCR 171), that affirmed the Texas Legislature's views that the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas was "the present-day incarnation of a proud people who have lived in Texas and northern Mexico for more than 300 years." In addition, the resolutions commended the people of this Tribe for their contribution to the state. The Senate, House, and the Governor signed each concurrent resolution.[24][25]

There are alternative forms and means for States to recognize tribes,[17] including by state law and by legislation.[17][18]: 137 Texas has "no legal mechanism to recognize tribes."[26] While they do not hold the same legal weight as state law or administrative recognition, concurrent legislative resolutions in Texas can “convey the sentiment of the legislature and may offer…a statement of congratulations” and simple resolutions can offer “a statement of congratulations”[27] to tribal organizations. Such resolutions do not carry the force of law, but can serve as a means of establishing an official relationship between the State and a tribe or tribal organization.[18]: 137  The 2009 resolutions were referenced in a 2012 U.S. Government Accountability Office report titled INDIAN ISSUES: Federal Funding for Non-Federally Recognized Tribes, which stated that the "Texas Senate and House of Representatives each adopted a simple resolution (voted on only by the house in which it was introduced and not sent to the Governor to sign) to commend and recognize the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas.... According to Texas officials, such simple resolutions do not go beyond the bounds and the authority of the house that acts on it and do not officially establish any group as a state recognized tribe."[28] In 2016, the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) stated that "States’ government- to-government relationships with tribes continue to evolve, taking many forms, including formal recognition. Usually accomplished through legislative action, state recognition of American Indian tribes is just one tool used to build state-tribal collaboration."[29]

The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas sent a letter of intent to file a petition for federal recognition on February 22, 2011.[30] It has thus far not filed a petition for federal recognition as a Native American tribe.[31]

State senator Hinojosa introduced Texas SB 274 in January 2021 and SB 231 in November 2022 "[r]elating to state recognition of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas." The bills died in committee.[32][33]

Court case

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In August 2014, after nine years of litigation by Robert Soto (Vice-chairman of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas) and other plaintiffs against the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found that the seizure of 50 eagle feathers during a 2006 Lipan Apache pow wow violated Robert Soto's rights as a "sincere adherent to an American Indian religion" under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993.[34] They concluded that Congress did not specifically aim to safeguard the religious rights solely of federally recognized tribe members.[35] The Court accepted that he was "without dispute an [American] Indian" and a member of the Lipan Apache Tribe acknowledged to have "long historical roots" in Texas and who had a history of "government-to-government" relationships with the Republic of Texas, State of Texas, and the United States.[35] The opinion was limited only to "Soto's RFRA claim based on his and his tribe's status".[36] They remanded to the lower district court for proceedings consistent with their opinion, and the case was cabined to "Native American co-religionists" (referring to the "religious practices of real Native Americans").[36] The DOI and the plaintiffs settled the case on June 3, 2016. Through the settlement, the DOI granted lifetime permits to over 400 Native American plaintiffs who were not members of federally recognized tribes to "possess, carry, use, wear, give, loan, or exchange among other Indians, without compensation, all federally protected birds, as well as their parts or feathers" for their "Indian religious use," in accordance to "the terms set forth in the DOI's February 5, 1975 'Morton Policy'". The case was officially closed on February 17, 2017.[12]

Cemetery

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In 2021, officials in Presidio and Presidio County, Texas, transferred a late 18th- and 19th-century cemetery, Cementerio del Barrio de los Lipanes, to the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas.[13][37] The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas partnered with the Big Bend Conservation Alliance to protect and study the site in the Lipan Apache Cemetery project. The project was funded in part by the Mellon Foundation,[38] [39] which supported the project with a grant of $650,000 to be used to complete the protective structure and to install interpretive signage at the site, as well as to support a study to help understand the needs of Indigenous peoples in West Texas.[40] The architect firm MASS Design Group designed the boundary structure, to help protect and delineate the burial site. MASS is known for building architecture that "promotes justice and human dignity," such as the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, a memorial to victims of lynching nationwide.[41][42] The Lipan Apache Cemetery project was marked as completed on March 23, 2024.[43]

Activities

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The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas hosts two annual powwows in Alton, Texas.[44]

A member of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas, Gonzo Flores, served as Southern Plains Vice-President of the National Congress of American Indians in 2022.[45] He was succeeded by Reggie Wassana (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes).[46]

The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas attend the yearly Apache Alliance summit meetings, alongside federally recognized Apache tribes such as the San Carlos Apache Tribe and the Jicarilla Apache Tribe.[14] They have support from two federally recognized Apache tribal leaders who attended the Apache Alliance meetings, former Chairwoman Gwendena-Lee Gatewood of the White Mountain Apache Tribe (Apache Alliance meeting, 2019) and Chairman Terry Rambler of the San Carlos Apache Tribe (Apache Alliance meeting, 2021).[47][48]

Notable members

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See also

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Notes

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The State of Texas has no office to manage Indian Affairs.[51] The Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council notes that the list made by the NCSL may be incomplete,[52] but as of the publication of this article there has not been an established office for said affairs in the State of Texas.[citation needed]

This organization is separate and distinct from other federally unrecognized organizations who also identify as Lipan Apache descendants, including the Apache Council of Texas (Alice), Cuelgahen Nde Lipan Apache of Texas (Three Rivers), Lipan Apache Band of Texas (Brackettville), and Lipan Apache Nation (San Antonio).[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas Inc". OpenCorporates. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas, Inc". GuideStar. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  3. ^ Wilson, Khrystye H. (2023). "Eagle Permits, RFRA, and American Indian Religious Freedom: Legal Avenues for First Amendment Protection" (PDF). The Indigenous Peoples' Journal of Law, Culture, & Resistance. 8: 87. 2018 Petition to Fish and Wildlife Service "Pastor Robert Soto, a member of the state-recognized Lipan Apache tribe..."
  4. ^ "Indigenous Students and Families" (PDF). Texas Education Agency. The state-recognized Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas has its headquarters in McAllen
  5. ^ Moss, Margaret P. (December 16, 2015). American Indian health and nursing. Springer Publishing Company. p. 378. ISBN 9780826129840. In a Appendix B the Lipan Apache Tribe is listed as state-recognized for Texas.
  6. ^ Breslin, Beau; Cavanaugh, Kathrine (2014). Case 1: A.A. v. Needville Independent School District. Studies in Law, Politics, and Society. Vol. 65. p. 144.
  7. ^ McNally, Michael D. (Summer 2019). "Native American Religious Freedom as a Collective Right". BYU Law Review. 2019 (1): 269. The Court also noted that the Lipan Apache tribe, as a non-profit, was, among the four hundred federally unrecognized tribes, one of only fifty that had received federal funding.
  8. ^ Seymour, Deni J.; Rodriguez, Oscar (2017). "Embracing a Mobile Heritage Federal Recognition and Lipan Apache Enclavement". In Seymour, Deni J. (ed.). Fierce and indomitable: The protohistoric non-pueblo world in the American Southwest. University of Utah Press. p. 77. ISBN 9781607815211.
  9. ^ Hoijer, Harry (1938). "The southern Athapaskan languages". American Anthropologist. 40 (1): 75.
  10. ^ "Indigenous Students and Families" (PDF). Texas Education Agency.
  11. ^ a b "Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas Inc". Texas Company Directory. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Keim, Adèle Auxier (2023). "The Religious Freedom Restoration Act and Indian Act: From Individual Advocacy to Collective Action". Journal of Appellate Practice and Process. 23 (1): 186 – via Gale General Onefile.
  13. ^ a b "Presidio County of Commissioner's Court Minutes" (PDF). Presidio County Texas. October 13, 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 31, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "13th Annual Apache Alliance held in San Carlos".
  15. ^ "Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs". Federal Register. January 8, 2024.
  16. ^ "What is a federally recognized tribe?". Bureau of Indian Affairs. U.S. Department of the Interior.
  17. ^ a b c Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law (LexisNexis ed.). New York, New York. 2012. p. 169. ISBN 9780769855165.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  18. ^ a b c d Koenig, Alexa; Stein, Jonathan (2008). "Federalism and the State Recognition of Native American Tribes: A Survey of State-Recognized Tribes and State Recognition Processes across the United States". Santa Clara Law Review. 48 (1). Retrieved July 8, 2024 – via Santa Clara Law Digital Commons.
  19. ^ a b "Lipan Apache Tribe wins recognition in Texas". IndianZ. March 24, 2009.
  20. ^ Koenig, Alexa; Stein, Jonathan (2013). "Federalism and the State Recognition of Native American Tribes: a survey of state-recognized tribes and state recognition processes across the United States.". In De Ouden, Amy E.; O'Brien, Jean M. (eds.). Recognition, sovereignty struggles, and indigenous rights in the United States: A sourcebook. Chapel Hill, NC: UNC Press Books. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-4696-0215-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  21. ^ "About the Lipan Apache Tribe Cemetery Association (LATCA)". Official Website of the Lipan Apache Tribe. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  22. ^ "The Lipan Apache Tribe Cemetery Association". Bizapedia. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  23. ^ "SENATE JOURNAL, EIGHTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE - REGULAR SESSION". Senate Journal Online. 2009.
  24. ^ "86(R) SCR 61 - Enrolled version - Bill Text". capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  25. ^ "86(R) HCR 171 - Enrolled version - Bill Text". capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  26. ^ Brewer, Graham Lee; Ahtone, Tristan (July 17, 2022). "In Texas, a group claiming to be Cherokee faces questions about authenticity". NBC News. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  27. ^ "TxLege Terms: Concurrent/Joint/Simple Resolutions". Legislative Reference Library of Texas. April 25, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  28. ^ "Indian Issues: Federal Funding for Non-Federally Recognized Tribes" (PDF). Highlights. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Accountability Office. April 2012. p. 8. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  29. ^ "State Recognition of American Indian Tribes". The University of Arizona Native Nations Institute. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  30. ^ "List of Petitioners by State" (PDF). Department of Interior Indian Affairs. November 12, 2013. p. 47. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 19, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  31. ^ "Petitions Resolved". Indian Affairs. US Department of the Interior. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  32. ^ "Texas Senate Bill 274". TX SB274, 2021–2022, 87th Legislature. LegiScan. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  33. ^ "Texas SB231 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature". LegiScan. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  34. ^ "SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 438". Texas State Senate. 2014.
  35. ^ a b Smith, Adair Martin (April 2018). "Native American Use of Eagle Feathers Under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act". University of Cincinnati Law Review. 84 (2): 575.
  36. ^ a b "McAllen Grace Brethren Church v. Salazar". Casetext. August 20, 2014. p. 23.
  37. ^ AIA, Stephen (Chick) Rabourn (March 7, 2023). "Interpreting the Past". Texas Architect Magazine. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  38. ^ Karas, Sam (October 11, 2023). "Lipan Apache Cemetery project to be completed with Mellon Foundation grant". Big Bend Sentinel. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  39. ^ Bubenik, Travis (October 9, 2023). "Big Bend group awarded a grant for Lipan Apache cemetery project and "land reclamation" study". Marfa Public Radio. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  40. ^ Karas, Sam (March 27, 2024). "Community gathers for official opening ceremony at Cementerio del Barrio de los Lipanes". The Big Bend Sentinel. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  41. ^ "Big Bend group awarded grant for Lipan Apache cemetery project and "land reclamation" study". Marfa Public Radio, radio for a wide range. October 9, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  42. ^ "El Cementerio Del Barrio de los Lipanes | MASS Design Group". massdesigngroup.org. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  43. ^ Karas, Sam (March 23, 2024). "Opening ceremony for Lipan Apache Cemetery in Presidio to be held Saturday". The Big Bend Sentinel. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  44. ^ "53rd Annual Pow Wow event planned". Winter Texas Times. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  45. ^ Estus, Joaqlin. "NCAI heads into midyear conference short its CEO". ICT. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  46. ^ "National Congress of American Indians Swears in Newly Elected 2023-2025 Executive Committee". Native News Online. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  47. ^ "Apache Alliance meeting today in San Carlos AZ".
  48. ^ "We had a great Apache Alliance today at the Apache Gold Casino".
  49. ^ Solomon, Dan (December 13, 2021). "Darcie Little Badger's Engrossing New Novel Blends Lipan Apache Folklore and Oceanography". Texas Monthly. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  50. ^ Maffly, Brian (August 20, 2019). "Feds make it easier for Native Americans to collect eagle feathers, but Utes fear change could go too far". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  51. ^ "State Committees and Commissions on Indian Affairs". National Conference of State Legislators. June 9, 2021.
  52. ^ "Implementing Advanced Site Characterization Tools" (PDF). Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council. December 2019. p. 168. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
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