Giving Back

This Land Is (Y)Our Land

PRACTICE AND PRESERVATION WITH THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE COASTAL BEND

BY: MARK GREGORY LOPEZ PHOTOS BY: LILLIAN REITZ

There’s an old Arapaho saying: “Take only what you need and leave the land as you found it.” Taking a cursory glance at the landscape of the Coastal Bend, one might see concrete structures paying homage to figures of the past, buildings that capture the sunlight through fading windows; however, one might not know the history of the land these structures were built on. They wouldn’t necessarily know the sacred markings embedded within the soil, the faded footprints of those who first inhabited these parts. But they’re still here.

Founded in 2016, the Indigenous Peoples of the Coastal Bend came together amid a series of water boils tied to the fossil fuel industry. In 2018, it received its first proclamation honoring the Indigenous Tribes of the Coastal Bend, and in 2019, it received a second proclamation, which designated the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples Day.

“I thought it was pretty cool [when we received the proclamations], coming from a city council that is not very open-minded with some of the things we approach them with,” said Sandra Love Sanchez, a cofounding member of Indigenous Peoples of the Coastal Bend. “ I’d say we were surprised both proclamations were signed. But I was excited; it was awesome!”

The reputation of the organization has been marred with controversy, in that it’s actively engaged in environmental activism, food sovereignty and land rights, among other things. What really brings these people together is a love of the land and a dedication to preserving the culture and history of those who came before us, those who first walked these lands.

Dorthy Peña helps with Indigenous Peoples of the Coastal Bend’s educational outreach and community organization.

Below (left to right): Dorthy Peña, Melissa Zamora and Love Sanchez. Love Sanchez is a co-founder of the organization.

“Everyone’s doing something different,” Sanchez said. “With over 100 members, we all have our skill sets. We have a youth council, which teaches cultural [history and practices] to youth, and then of course, there’s food sovereignty, a bunch of community gardens going on, and I’m so proud of them! I don’t even have a green thumb, but I still take part in that.”

Made up of members of the Karankawa Kadla, Lipan Apache, Mexica, Comanche and Coahuiltecan tribes, Indigenous Peoples of the Coastal Bend also shows that the Native American experience isn’t a monolith. Even within the name “peoples,” it signifies that one organization can be made up of individuals of different backgrounds who have a shared history and want to preserve a future that respects and treats our land and resources with the same honor it gives to us, by providing for us.

And though work for the organization is never finished — as it’s currently working on many projects, including trying to preserve a Karankawa settlement in Ingleside — there is a sentiment that pervades the work and the struggle to keep old ways from dying while integrating the evolving world around us.

“Corpus Christi at large can help by learning about themselves, what they care about, asking questions about this place and their relationship to this special space on the Gulf of Mexico that we have the honor of calling our home,” said Dorothy Peña, who does educational outreach and community organization for Indigenous Peoples of the Coastal Bend. “I ask that we as a community refocus our values and hopefully discover that we care about ourselves, families, friends, community and ultimately each other. That we come together to formulate a plan to protect this place for the next generation and develop a relationship of reciprocity, rather than one of extraction.”

“Indigenous people are still here,” Sanchez added. “Get to know your history. You may find out some hard truths, but you gotta know where we’ve been to fix where we’re going.”

CONTACT:

indigenouspeoplesofthecoastalbend.org | 361.455.0587 IndigenousPeopleCoastalBend@gmail.com