The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas held its annual Badger Run in the early hours of Saturday, October 25, 2025, to start their Fall Dak Éé Sí Pow-Wow in Alton, Texas, with a celebration of endurance, balance, and cultural tradition. Guided by the motto “Teach your children to run,” this event underscored the Tribe’s cultural focus on long-distance running as a spiritual, health, and communal practice—a vibrant living tradition.
This year’s Badger Runners were Robby Soto (Leader-North/White Badger), Marceline Lozano (South/Blue Badger), and Tribe elder Linda Walking Woman, who stepped forward to serve as the East/Black Badger after Texas storms Friday night led to the flight cancellations which disrupted the trip of the original designated East Badger runner. Kimberley Valdez served as the official starter for the run, initiating the run before sunrise.
The event is ceremonial rather than competitive and can cover distances ranging from 4 to 20 miles, depending on the chosen route. This year, the run was 5 miles, starting in Mission and ending in Alton. Each runner has responsibilities associated with the four directions and carries a baton that, at the end of the run, combines into an eagle feather staff. The North (White) Badger leads the way, setting the pace after the official starter signals the beginning of the run.
According to the Tribe's teachings, the Badger Run is rooted in the Lipan Apache creation story and oral tradition. In the beginning, people lived underground, and various Animal people, including Badger, volunteered to test whether the surface world was safe to inhabit. Only Badger returned to report that the earth was ready for life. The Badger Run commemorates this sacred journey, celebrating Badger’s trustworthiness, endurance, courage, and reliability as a messenger. It also honors the Lipan tradition of long-distance running.
The Run also features symbolic elements that pay tribute to the eagle, which the Lipan people regard as the Chief of all birds. The Eagle, at the beginning of time, entrusted the Lipan people with using their feathers in all Lipan ceremonies. Because of the Tribe's reverence for the eagle, the run also commemorates the Federal court's win against the U.S. Department of the Interior, which allowed several hundred Tribe members to use eagle feathers in their Native American ceremonies.
In Badger Run, the Tribe actively cultivates cultural lessons in tradition, perseverance, responsibility, and discipline, and encourages its people to uphold the enduring tradition of running, just as their ancestors did. Through careful training, preparation, and community involvement, the runners and their wider community embody the belief: “Be a Badger — Run your own race.”
For more information on the Badger Run, visit the Tribe’s official website at www.lipanapache.org.
