Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
A leader of the San Antonio Native American community is speaking out about the latest controversy at the Alamo over the firing of former Alamo Trust President and CEO Kate Rogers and the removal of an Indigenous People’s Day social media post.
Ramon Vasquez, executive director of the American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions, told The Source on Texas Public Radio that these developments mark “a step backward” in efforts to acknowledge the Indigenous history of the site.
“Kate Rogers was doing her best to navigate the politics,” Vasquez said. “She was beginning to understand the importance of including the histories and stories that have been historically left out.”
The sudden leadership change comes amid internal reports of retaliation against staff who supported the Alamo’s Indigenous recognition post. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has publicly criticized “woke” interpretations of the site’s past. He wants the Alamo focused on the 1836 battle rather than the centuries of Native, Mexican, and Tejano presence that preceded it.
Vasquez and other community members argue that the Alamo’s broader narrative has long been suppressed. “This is a half-billion-dollar project funded by taxpayers,” Vasquez said. “San Antonio and Bexar County have invested millions to ensure the full story was told. To just throw that out the window because some people disagree. That’s an abuse of taxpayer dollars and public trust.”
Plans for a 2027 Indigenous history exhibit at the Alamo are now uncertain. “Before all this happened, it was still on,” Vasquez said. “But after the post came down, we don’t know.”
In addition to his role as an advocate, Vasquez serves on several committees directly connected to the Alamo project, including the Alamo Citizens Advisory Committee, established to provide community input on redevelopment plans.
However, Vasquez and others say that group has not met formally since March 2024 and has not been officially informed about the leadership shake-up or changes in historical programming. “There’s been no transparency,” Vasquez said. “We’re supposed to be part of the advisory process, but we’ve been left in the dark.”
Members of the committee have voiced frustration over the lack of communication and accountability. Some, like George Cisneros who also serves on the advisory committee, confirmed that multiple requests for meetings have gone unanswered. “There are a lot of questions about the committee itself,” Cisneros said. “We haven’t met, and that’s very troubling.”
That breakdown in communication adds to growing uncertainty about the future of exhibits meant to reflect a more inclusive history. Before the recent controversy, plans were underway for a 2027 exhibit dedicated to the Indigenous peoples connected to the Alamo. But Vasquez now says those plans are unclear. “Before October 13, it was still on,” he said. “After the post came down and all this started, we don’t know.”
The Alamo Trust and the Texas General Land Office have not issued detailed public explanations for Rogers’ removal or the status of the exhibits. For Vasquez and many others, that silence reinforces the concern that politics is again shaping how Texas’ most iconic site is remembered.
One key concern for Vasquez is the lack of progress on recognizing the Alamo as a historic cemetery. Church and archival records document more than a thousand burials at the site — many Indigenous and early settlers. “This was the first Catholic cemetery in San Antonio,” Vasquez said. “The state has laws to protect burial sites, but they aren’t being applied here. Are these protections not for ‘dead Indians and Mexicans’?”
Hope Andrade is the newly appointed president and CEO of the Alamo Trust, Inc. She brings a lengthy résumé of public-service, business leadership and civic engagement to the role.
She previously served as Texas’ Secretary of State (2008-2012), has held senior positions including with the Texas Workforce Commissioner and Texas Department of Transportation Commissioner, and is co-founder and partner of GO RIO San Antonio River Cruises.
