DESERT WIND
Lipan Apache Newsletter
Volume 1, Issue 3
08-07
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLICATIONS
I want to thank you for the time you will be taking to read this newsletter.
I find it a true privilege to compile the articles that have been sent to me to
keep you informed about our tribe. I am excited about all that is going on
in our tribe! I have been an active member of the tribe since 1999, yet the
last few months have brought more activity than I have seen in the last
eight years. Yes, I am excited! Our tribe is finally moving in the right direction
and accomplishing and doing good things for the people.
I have been informed that some of you might not want to receive this
newsletter any more. If you do not want to receive this newsletter or any
other tribal news, please forward this letter back to me and I will make sure
to take you off of our mailing list. At the same time if you know any
member that wants to be included in our mailing list, please forward me
their names and e-mail addresses.
Thank you so much for your support. I am here to serve you in any
way I can. If you have any news that you might want to include in
our newsletter, please forward it to me and it will be reviewed by our
publication committee for approval. Thank you and God bless you.
Robert Soto
First Vice Chairman
CHAIRMAN'S CORNER
Greetings and a great welcome to all the N'de.
I am very happy to be able to address all of you with exciting news
of our progress as a People.
Firstly, we are registered as the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas.
This has given us the freedom to pursue our self determination
toward achievement of Recognition from the Federal Government.
I am looking forward to seeing as many people as I can at our
Tribal meeting on the 25th of August. The reason for my excitement
is that at this meeting, we will discuss our Tribal status and
501C3 non-profit standing with the Federal Government. We will
discuss the development of Lipan Apache Indian resource centers.
These centers will be dedicated to enhancing the lives of the Lipan
People as well as helping improve the lives of other Native Americans
living in Central and South Texas.
We as a People will serve the needs of American Indian People
and be a source of information for the non-Indian community.
We will focus on Education, Health and Social Welfare.
We will educate people in our culture and ways. There is so
much to offer that the excitement oozes out and hopefully will
become contagious so that there will be an outpouring of support.
Hopefully after establishing ourselves with these centers
we will be able to network with other Nations and communities
to achieve the self-sufficiency through community, economic
and business development, and show that we our a viable people
who can stand on our own. I believe that taking this course will
accelerate our relations with The Bureau of Indian Affairs, showing
them that we act as a Nation. We are not asking for the Federal
Government to give us our Sovereignty, only for them to recognize
and validate our right by birth as a sovereign People who exist
in a vibrant community - which we do.
Thank you and I hope to see you soon.
Bernard F. Barcena Jr.
General Council Chairman
A WORD FROM GENEALOGY AND ENROLLMENT DEPARTMENT
“Dago Te”
Hello from the Enrollment Department,
The Department of Interior has not sent us the letter of their demands
just yet. The Director of Federal Acknowledgement stated that we
should be receiving the letter in the mail in the next few days. So
until otherwise stated, the enrollment department is still accepting
applications for enrollment until we are informed by the Department
of Interior to close our rolls. The letters of acknowledgement/acceptance
and denial should be going out to all applicants no later than the
beginning of September. This leads me to the next subject: as of
right now, we have had a tremendous response in applicants. In the last
2 ˝ months we have received around 400 applications for enrollment.
It is very exciting to see all of the people wanting to come together to
form a successful community for our people, and our children.
Also to acknowledge are elders, because if it wasn’t for them we
would not be here today.
I want to thank everyone that has sent in donations for the tribe
and specifically the enrollment department. We have accumulated
enough funds to purchase an I.D card maker to send out cards
along with the letters of acknowledgement/acceptance through
the tribe. The enrollment department still needs a few more donations
to purchase the rest of the following items: $200.00 for software,
$425.00 for ink ribbons. One more thing in regards to the I.D cards,
the enrollment department will be asking for small pictures (example:
passport pictures) to scan in the system to post on the I.D cards.
Applicants will see this request when they receive their letters of
acknowledgement/acceptance. Thank you for all of your support
and kind words that we continue to receive on a regular basis.
Sincerely,
The Enrollment Department of the Lipan Apache Tribe
FROM REY SALAZAR
To All My Relations,
This is an official notice to all Lipan here and abroad, the Lipan Apache Gardens is
officially in the ground as of the 30th of June, 2007. Xochicalli Gardens &
Resource Center, along with the Corpus Christi Food Bank and The Corpus
Christi Farmers Market, have partnered up in the Coastal Bend Community
to provide gardening, cooking and small enterprise through sustainable businesses
and workshops right here in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Salazar family encourages
all Lipan within the areas of the Coastal Bend to volunteer and take part in this
effort to fight Diabetes, Obesity and Heart Disease throughout our community.
Contact Rey or Shelly Salazar for information on how we can all help in the
Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas Gardens @ The Corpus Christi Food Bank,
sponsored by Xochicalli Gardens & Resource Center (361) 851-2404.
It is our prayer that our tribe stands strongly behind our fight to battle the
diseases that mostly affect our people. Thank you and May Creator keep you all.
Respect & Honor,
Rey Salazar
Tribal Curator/Horticulturalist
FROM BILL LAREW
CHOICES
The most precious gift every individual possesses is Free Will.
Our Creator gave us the ability to make decisions that affect not only
ourselves, but those around us, those that have preceded us and those
who will come after us. Each of us will make decisions on how
much power we give to those who govern.
Trust is the Act of Faith we exercise when we allow others to dictate an order to heritage and family.
Accountability is the Act of Man where we demand those who have these powers over a Nation to give a true and correct account of trust granted them.
Enforcement is the Act of Law when those who hold the Nation’s trust are called in to account for their activities.
In the course of the last year it has become apparent that those who have held power over the Nation have failed
to account for their activities. Demand was made by the General Council for an account, and none
was forthcoming. It is true that the Federal Acknowledgement process stalled in 1999 and there had been
virtually no correspondence with the BIA. It is true great sums of money had come into the Nation, yet
there has been no accounting. It is true that original genealogy records are being held and will not be
released to the rightful owners.
Powers given by a People to a Government are based on Trust.
When that Trust has been violated, an accounting must be demanded.
The General Council acted on April 27, 2007 and demanded this accounting.
There was no response.
Bernard Barcena, Chairman, asked the General Council to approve using the
Courts to enforce demand if no response was forthcoming. Tradition
does not allow for Courts, but the entire General Council was subject to
the White Man’s laws if they did not act. The penalties for failing to act
could be severe and would become a terrible burden not only for the individual,
but the entire Nation. The General Council approved enforcement.
A Lipan warrior will go to war with a strong heart when he
has the blessings of his Council. Bernard placed the responsibility
of being accountable to his People and to his Council on his back.
He acknowledged that he is the leader and he must take the fight
to the battlefield. The venue was not of his choosing and not where
tradition would approve. Bernard went to the only place where he
could call on those who have stolen power from the People…he
had to go to Court.
The White Man’s court saw the plight of the Lipan. The Court ruled
that the People will choose, they will exercise their God given right of
Free Will, the financial burden placed on the General Council will be
lifted, and that the People will have returned to them the papers that they had entrusted to others.
Bernard won a mighty victory for his People. He did this without fanfare,
without asking for a great audience, and without very much help. He rode
into battle and stood face to face with those who have taken the People’s
trust and rewarded their trust with deceit.
With this great Victory in hand one would think there would be stories of triumph.
I was with Bernard at the moment the gavel fell and gave back to the Lipan
their right to choose. His heart was heavy because all he could see was that
he had become an instrument of White Man’s laws and he had dishonored his
Ancestors. A true warrior understands there is no victory where there is no Honor. I
t is true that a wrong has been made right, but shame has been brought.
The shame is that a People have been harvested by one of their own.
The only point of Grace is that one man would accept the taint of shame
so that his people would have the right to choose. Bernard did these things
to return to the People that which is theirs. Not only does Bernard carry this
knowledge that he did things outside of tradition, but his family carries the
financial burden of attorney fees. He would never ask for help, but I will do so.
Juan Soliz (General Council Treasurer) will accept funds to help defray Bernard’s legal fees.
The donations are tax deductible and can be specified for the Lipan Legal
Defense Fund. Checks can be made to the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas.
Juan Soliz’ phone numbers are 956-693-3885 or 361-586-4171.
Bill Larew
Tribal Administrator
NEWS FROM THE PEOPLE
TRIBAL MEETING
There will be an open invitation General Council meeting for all Lipan Apaches on August 25th, 2007 at 6:00 pm at:
Portabella’s Italian Grill
430 South Padre Island Drive
Corpus Christi, TX 78405
Please come early at 5:00 for social gathering and frybread (additional dinner will not be covered by council).
For those that are traveling and choose to stay overnight, a
corporate discount is available at Comfort Inn & Suites, 3838 Hwy. 77,
Corpus Christi, TX (361) 241-6363.
LIPAN APACHE SINCE BIRTH
I was eight years old when I found out from my grandmother that I am Lipan Apache.
I was sitting in her living room and she was watching an old black and
white television which was showing a John Wayne movie. It was a western and like always,
John Wayne was being the hero in the middle of a battle between a tribe of Indians and the whites.
The funny part was that John Wayne was standing in the middle of a fight between a
few white people and what seemed like thousands of Indians and every time he fired his
gun an Indian would fall but no Indian seemed to be able to kill him. John Wayne must
have been Superman or something. As I sat in that living room eating a snack one
of the neighbors came to borrow something. As he walked in he noticed the movie
and the battle between John Wayne and the Indians and he said, "Those stinking
Indians deserve to die." It was at that time that my little short grandmother stood
up and said, "I am Apache and proud of it." That is what started my journey that
has now taken me through forty-seven years of my life. I wanted to live and breathe Indian.
I wanted to know everything there was about being an Apache Indian. I dreamed of the day
when I could get my own horse and start raiding the villages and taking the horses and
being the hero. I dreamed of living in the desert and surviving as our people did about a
hundred years earlier. I started dancing a simple dance that has taken my American
Indian journey through many roads that have led not only to countless pow wows and
reservations but through the borders of eleven or twelve countries all over the world.
Being Lipan Apache is all I know. I would never trade it for the world. Recently I have
been accused of a lot of things. I was even taken out of our tribal roll by the leadership
of Daniel and his council. But that does not change who I am and who God the Creator created me to be.
I have been accused of a lot of things and some people keep telling me to
answer the accusations. But I have a great faith in God my Creator. I try to live my life
according to the path He has placed before me. My faith tells me that the truth will come
out eventually and that I have nothing to worry about. At the end, it is my God who will
take care of me and reveal the truth. At the end, it is my God who will deal with
those who try to bring harm to me and my family.
As First Vice Chairman, I will continue to do as I have done in the past: support
our Tribal Chairman, support the Council, try to be a servant to my tribe, try to
be a good family man but foremost, keep my eyes on my God, Creator and
Savior who I will have to answer to one day. I am here to serve you.
If you have any questions please give me a call or E-mail me. God bless.
Robert Soto
First Vice Chairman
THE LIPAN APACHE TRIBE WEBSITE
So many wonderful things are happening with the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas!
To communicate these events and have a place where our community can
share news, we are developing a website at www.lipanapache.org.
This site will be maintained by me, Linda Walking Woman.
As a brief introduction to myself, I am a high school math and science
teacher teaching general science and physics this year, but I also
enjoy working with computers. I eagerly look forward to being the
webmaster of www.lipanapache.org.
On our website, we plan to include Lipan Apache historical information
such as treaties and photos, enrollment forms, current news, links,
videos and photos from our members, and our Desert Wind newsletter.
If you have suggestions for website articles, links, resources, or other things, please,
email me using the link on the bottom of each page on the website.
I hope our site will be one we can all be proud of and your suggestions
will always be welcomed.
Linda Walking Woman
Webmaster
18th ANNUAL SOUTH TEXAS (WAY SOUTH) POW WOW ANNOUNCEMENT
We are excited! Our 18th annual pow wow is just around the corner. The South Texas
Indian Dancers Association would like to invite you to the Eighteenth Annual South
Texas (Way South) Pow Wow that we will be hosting in October. It will be at the Lark
Community Center and Library, 2601 Lark Ave, in McAllen, Texas. Our head staff will be:
Head Man Dancer - Jacob Trevizo (Homano), from Vancouver Washington
Head Lady Dancer - Nicole Yellow Old Woman-Curly Rider (Siksika), from the Siksika Indian
Reservation in Alberta, Canada
MC - Gary Kodaseet (Kiowa), from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Arena Director - Rene Rodriguez (Mescalero Apache), from Dallas Texas
Head Gourd Dancer - Frank Padrone (White Mountain Apache) from Johnson City, Texas
Southern Drum - Southern Comfort with Head Singer Frank Kiowa Jim Tongkeamha (Kiowa) from Carriegie
Oklahoma
Northern Drum - Eagle Point with Robert Bass as Head Singer from Austin Texas
We will have a special appearance by Actor Uzziel Martinez, a Yaqui Indian from Los Angeles,
California performing his one-act play called "A Comanche Remembers". We will have about
fourteen vendors and a lot of fun. Saturday afternoon we will have a feed for all dancers,
vendors and pow wow participants. Everyone is welcome to our pow wow. Come and
experience the sounds of the past in the present. For information feel free to contact
Robert Soto (956) 686-6696 or Betty Russell (956) 205-2344.
To help pay for the expenses of the pow wow, we put on a raffle with some
good quality American Indian items. You do not have to be present to win.
We have four items for raffle:
1. Two foot tall Eagle Dancer Kachina Doll
2. A fully beaded Knife Sheath (knife not included)
3. A Beautiful Ladies' Traditional Shawl
4. A limited Edition framed print by Dave Eveningthunder titled "Lady's Fancy Shawl, On Butterfly's Wing."
The price is just $1.00 a ticket. Make all checks to South Texas Indian Dancers Association or S.T.I.D.A. and mail to:
Robert Soto
1913 Camellia Ave.
McAllen, TX 78501
Make sure and let us know how many tickets you want and include your name,
mailing address and phone number so we will know where to send the
prize if you win. Thank you so much for your support.
"PROUD TO BE LIPAN APACHE" T-SHIRT SALE
We have extended the T-shirt order deadline until August 31. The order will be submitted on September 1st.
The T-shirt is on an ash background with a medicine wheel with yellow, red, blue and white,
with three feathers and the words "Proud To Be Lipan Apache." If you would like to order one, the
cost will be as follows: $12.00 for children sizes through adult sizes up to XL with a $2.00 shipping charge,
and for XXL and above it is $14.00 with a $2.00 shipping charge. Make your check out to Robert Soto and
mail it to:
Robert Soto
1913 Camellia
McAllen, TX 78501
Again, we will take orders until August 31st.
DRUM CONTEST
Four weeks ago we, Ruben Soto and I, decided to enter a nationwide contest for
unknown Indian drum groups. We were one of fourteen drum groups that
signed up for the contest. We submitted our three songs like each group
was asked to do. Well, the Huisache Creek Singers have officially moved
to round two in the Indian drum contest. Two have been eliminated and now
there are twelve. We came in second place in round one with 27 percent of the votes.
Round two of ten starts again on Monday. We have already submitted our song for
the second round. We are asking all of our family and friends to help us out and vote.
The second round starts on August 24 and will go through August 31. To vote you
will need to register with Powwows.com. The website is:
http://www.powwows.com/gathering/pow-wow-idol
If you have trouble voting please contact me or write a short note to
Paul the webmaster and inform him you are having trouble voting.
He will answer you right away and tell you what to do. His E-mail is:
pgowder@powwows.com
Like I said, you do have to register to enter the site, but your time and
sacrifice to vote is greatly appreciated. One vote per e-mail is accepted.
I want to thank all of you who voted on our behalf for round one. God bless.
Robert Soto
POW WOW SCHEDULE
Sept. 1-2 - 3rd Annual Intertribal Pow Wow, Bandera TX
Sept. 15 - Gulf Coast Tia Piah Gourd Dance and Pow Wow, Pasadena TX 281-448-8435
Sept. 15 - Annual TIHA Fall Pow Wow, Burnet TX 956-653-3116
Sept. 22-23 - 15th Annual Four Winds Pow Wow, Killeen/Ft Hood TX 254-493-8835
Sept. 22-23 - 8th Annual Permian Basin Intertribal Pow Wow, Odessa TX 432-889-2693
October 13-14 - Tribal American Network’s Pow Wow, Belton TX 254-853-9223
Oct. 19-20 - Moving Waters 10th Annual Pow Wow, Canyon Lake TX 830-964-3613
Oct. 20 - Gulf Coast Tia Piah Gourd Dance and Pow Wow, Pasadena TX 281-448-8435
Oct. 26-27 - 18th Annual South Texas (Way South) Pow Wow, McAllen TX 956-686-6696
Nov. 17 - Houston Methodist Pow Wow, Houston TX 713-557-8756
Nov. 3 - Austin Pow Wow, Austin TX 512-371-0628
Nov. 17 - Gulf Coast Tia Piah Gourd Dance and Pow Wow, Pasadena TX 281-448-8435
Dec. 15 - Gulf Coast Tia Piah Gourd Dance and Christmas Party Pasadena TX 281-448-8435
Lipan Apache Band of Texas, Inc.
General Council
Bernard F. Barcena Jr. - Chairman
Robert Soto - First Vice Chairman/ Department of Publications
Juan Villarreal - Secretary
Juan Soliz - Treasurer
Rey Salazar - Curator/Tribal Horticulturist
Victor Cornejo – Clerk of the Nation
Joanna Soliz - Council Member
Bill Larew - Tribal Administrator
Bobby Gonzalez - Tribal Counselor
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