Nancy Minor
Tribal Historian
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Greetings to the hleh-pai ndé- The Lipan (or Light Gray) People!
My name is Nancy McGown Minor and the Council has deeply honored me with a request to
be the Historian of the Lipan Tribe of Texas. I graduated from Trinity University (San Antonio)
and have a Master’s degree from Texas State University (San Marcos); I’ve spent the last
five years studying the history and culture of the Lipans of Texas and northern Mexico.
My published work is Chevato, which records the oral history of a Lipan shaman (1852-1931)
from Zaragosa, Coahuila who brought the peyote ceremony to the Comanches and Kiowas
and helped found the Native American Church. I have also completed an ethno-history of
Lipan culture and am working on a comprehensive tribal history. I am not a Lipan descendant
nor am I a voting member of Council (as is proper), but I do have tremendous respect and
admiration for the Lipan people. You have a proud and glorious heritage, you survived and
persevered in the face of tremendous obstacles, and these traits will stand you in good stead
as the tribe works toward federal recognition.
I do, however, have a request. Do you have any family stories from the turn of the
century or personal recollections about the following? If so, please email me at damj1@gvtc.com:
* Having to hide the family’s Apache identity for fear of
discrimination or prosecution?
* Speaking the Lipan language?
* Family knowledge of the whereabouts of other Texas
Lipan families?
* A continued practice of ancient religious rituals such
as the peyote ceremony or herbal healing?
I leave you with a vision for the future. When the Lipans first entered Texas about 1600,
they claimed the land around the future city of San Antonio as their homeland, calling it
“Many Houses.” The ritual they used to establish possession of the land was to uproot
some grass, gather some stones and draw water from a spring, pouring it over the stones.
I look forward to the day when the Lipans can re-establish their homeland in Texas.
It can happen again if we all work together!
Nancy Minor
Tribal Historian of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas
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