The American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions is celebrating its 30th anniversary on Sunday. The nonprofit was originally founded in the 1990s as a way to bring home American Indian human remains.
The Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation are descendents of the indigenous people who lived in South Texas and Northeast Mexico. Their ancestors built San Antonio’s Spanish colonial missions. In the 1960s, archaeologists excavated their human remains after the Archdiocese of San Antonio gave them permission, and 92 ancestral remains were excavated.
Ramón Vásquez is the executive director of the American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions. He says that the organization’s advocacy resulted in a years-long battle.
“So by 1999, we had already won our struggle with the church, with the National Park Service, and the state of Texas. They returned the human remains to us, and then the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation then reentered the remains back where they were taken from,” said Vásquez.
Since then, the AITSCM has been committed to preserving their indigenous heritage, educating the community, and providing an American Indian-owned urban center. They have five locations, including a campus located at their headquarters.
The campus currently houses the only American Indian-owned gallery in San Antonio. Vásquez said that according to research, indigenous people living off the reservation benefit from having a space to congregate.
“We know cities that don’t have an urban center for them to call home do worse than cities that do have centers,” said Vásquez.
According to the AITSCM, 3 percent of the population in Bexar County are of Native American descent.
“In 2020 in Bexar County, the American Indian population grew by 115%. We also know that 78% of American Indians live off of reservations. They live in cities,” he said.
AITSCM has recently partnered with an American Indian clinic in Dallas to bring more resources to San Antonio.
“What I don't want this to be, I don't want it to end up that we have to go outside of San Antonio to provide services for San Antonio residents,” said Vásquez.
The AITSCM is calling on Bexar County and the City of San Antonio to provide more support and resources to the organization and to the American Indian community of San Antonio.
