Robert Soto - Texas Indian Commission

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Some of you prayed for me last week as I traveled to El Paso Texas to attend a Senate Hearing. I went as a witness and supporter of the reinstating the Texas Indian Commission which was abolished in 1989.

My tribal chairman started the ball rolling and we attended the first of three meeting schedule for the year 2002. I got to speak before the hearings and would like to share with you what I said to the committee of senators that day. The meeting was on January 30th.

I feel that the first of three meetings, at least the part I heard, went very well. It was before a panel of three State Senators and their right hand people. That made a panel of 6 government officials.

I think what made this meeting successful was the first senator who spoke before anyone shared a word. He started with his genealogy by saying, "My name is Ken Armbrister, son of...., who was son of.... who was son of who was Chief Russ." Chief Russ was the Chief of the Cherokees at the times the Trail of Tears occurred. He said, "I am a card caring Indian, even though I probably lost all my Indian blood when I first cut myself shaving as a Teen?" He was 100% in favor of reopening the Texas Indian Commission. He drilled the three experts who were sent by the state to be the main speakers. I felt sorry for at least two of them who were not Native and I feel were not prepared for the questions the senators asked. The third speaker was a Native American who obviously did his homework.

Our tribal chairman was the first of about 30 witness who were there to speak for or against the Texas Indian Commission. He asked me to go with him to the speakers table. As he approached the speakers table he surprised everybody by saying, "It is our tradition and I also feel it is also important that we start with a word of prayer. I have asked Robert Soto, one of our council members and our pastor to started us with a word of prayer." To that all three senator's agreed and none of the more then 200 Native American disagreed. After Daniel our tribal chairman, who was the one who opened up the investigation to re instate the Texas Indian Commission which was abolished in 1989, finished his thoughts, the Chairman of the Senator's committee turned to me and said, "Mr. Soto, do you have anything to added to what has already been said? To that I answered, "Yes." He stated, "You may proceed and just for the records, state your name." I would like to write what I said that morning.

" I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak and share our concerns. I am Robert Soto of the Lipan Apache Band of Texas. I am a member of the Tribal Council. I am a spiritual leader in our community and serve as Pastor to McAllen Grace Brethren Church and the Native American New Life Center. I am one of the founders of the South Texas Indian Dancers started in 1970 by my Family to keep and preserve what little was left our culture and language and dances. I originally came not as a speaker, but as a listener and to report back to our people of the things I would hear and see. But in the past few days, I have received countless of phone calls and E-mails asking me to speak in our behalf."

"As a little boy, I was always aware of who I was as an Indian. These was not by written history, as expressed by the 1,000s of history books given to us by the public school system who did a terrible job representing us as Indian people, but through our oral traditions and ceremonies that had been part of generations past and will continue into the future. This reminds me of the time I was asked to be a guest speaker and performer at a University. Before I spoke, a lady who claimed to be an expert in Indians of Texas said that we were few in numbers and totally insignificant in the history of Texas. Then she proceed to share all the bad things we did as Native Americans.

When my turn came to dance and speak I said to her, "That is not bad for being such as small insignificant tribe of people who manage to hold the whole state of Texas Hostage for years." I have not come to you with words expressed by Abraham Lincoln as he addressed the people at Gettysburg. Which, by the way, was a speech I was forced to memorize but had little cultural relevance to me. He said, "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the purpose that all men are created equal." In our culture, their is not four score and seven years ago. In our culture we are taught that we were always here. That we were place here by God our Creator to take care of this land. From the creation of the world we were placed here and we are still here as traditional people. In the one hand teaching our traditions to our children and on the other hand teaching them to live and survived in our modern complex world with it's computers and modern technology."

"I have come here today not asking for a hand out but for help. Help for the over 200,000 people in Texas who claim to be Native Americans or who claim to have Native American Blood of different degrees. To help in the education of our children. To help for the physical welfare of our families. To help in organizing ourselves as a people.


For help as I deal with the countless of Indian people who count on me in areas of Healthcare, education, jobs. Whether I like it or not, I have been thrust as Native American Leader in our community. It never fails that Indian people called me and say, "I am so and so of such a tribe. I just moved into your area and I need help finding a job." I try to help all that call me, but my resources are limited."

"I do not come here demanding justice for whatever harms has been done to our people in our past. But I come here asking you, our governmental leaders of our great state and country to listen to those among our people, regardless of tribe, who seek what is best and just for our people. To those who seek and struggle everyday of their lives to keep our people together and our culture alive. We ask you to carefully consider the reinstatement of the Texas Indian Commission so that we can have a voice in the midst of our great State and Country."

"While we might be few in numbers in comparison to the vast population in our state and Country, nevertheless, we are still here and need your help. I thank you for your time. My God our Creator bless you as you seek for wisdom to reinstate the Texas Indian Commission."

Any way, to that all Native people that attended applauded and the Senator's committee thank me. Continue to pray for us and the next few months. Pray for the committee of three senators who will write a report on their findings and the need or not of a Texas Indian Commission.

Once again I want to thank you for you prayers. God continues to do an awesome thing among our people.

In Christ

Robert Soto (Lipan Apache)