Good morning,
Today (September 6, 2025) I am following up on the error I made on Sunday, August 31. In that post, I said that "Texas does not extend state recognition to anyone." I was wrong, and as soon as I realized I had made that mistake, I did a strike-thru of the sentence and added this note:
Today (September 6, 2025) I am following up on the error I made on Sunday, August 31. In that post, I said that "
Note from Debbie at 7:31 PM Pacific Time, September 1, 2015. Below, I said that the State of Texas has not recognized any tribes, but I stand corrected. I'm reading about legislation, effective September 1, 2025, that says "The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas is designated and recognized by this state as a Native American Indian Tribe exercising substantial governmental powers and duties." I apologize for the error.
As best as I can, I am reconstructing how I ended up writing that sentence in my post, titled Debbie--Have you seen THE ECHO PEOPLE, published by Lee and Low?.
I had learned of a new children's book by an author, SD Youngblood, who was unfamiliar to me. He was claiming to be from a tribe that was also unfamiliar to me and a few years prior he had claimed a different tribe. A shift in claims, over time, is seen as a red flag by people who study and write about claims to Native identity.
I had learned of a new children's book by an author, SD Youngblood, who was unfamiliar to me. He was claiming to be from a tribe that was also unfamiliar to me and a few years prior he had claimed a different tribe. A shift in claims, over time, is seen as a red flag by people who study and write about claims to Native identity.
Both tribes Youngblood claimed said they are Cherokee. That was another red flag for me because there are many groups that claim to be Cherokee tribes. Both of the tribes Youngblood claimed are located in Texas. So, I searched the State of Texas website using the names of the two claimed tribes and got "No search results found" for each one. Then I searched the website for "state recognized tribes." Some state websites have lists of federally and state recognized tribes, but I didn't find a list on the Texas site. In the past, I have used a list created by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) as a resource. I was unable to find their list this time. The last one I saw was from 2020. On that list, it did not list any state recognized tribes in Texas. I was very deep in research on those two groups. Not finding anything led me to write that sentence.
When I learned that Dr. Darcie Little Badger objected to it, I was in one of those "wait, what?" moments. Over the years we have recommended the work of Darcie Little Badger and most recently, I included her book on a page of Native writers whose books have been banned. She is an enrolled member of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas. It was a no-brainer that she would object. I would, too, if I was in her shoes. So I made a correction as soon as possible, apologized, and will be more vigilant about such matters in the future.
--Debbie
When I learned that Dr. Darcie Little Badger objected to it, I was in one of those "wait, what?" moments. Over the years we have recommended the work of Darcie Little Badger and most recently, I included her book on a page of Native writers whose books have been banned. She is an enrolled member of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas. It was a no-brainer that she would object. I would, too, if I was in her shoes. So I made a correction as soon as possible, apologized, and will be more vigilant about such matters in the future.
--Debbie
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