Karankawa and Friends Celebrate Rediscovery of Indigenous Village and Seek Official Protection from the State of Texas

Karankawa and Friends Celebrate Rediscovery of Indigenous Village and Seek Official Protection from the State of Texas

A local scientist and historian alerted the state to artifacts they found at the site along the Corpus Christi Gulf Coast

Contacts

Dustin Renaud, [email protected]

A local scientist has rediscovered what may be part of a lost Karankawa native settlement known historically as Donnel Point. The site is owned by the Port of Corpus Christi, and local indigenous groups along with their allies are hoping to protect this site's history and spiritual significance for future generations. The Texas Historical Commission is now investigating the site.

"If this is, in fact, one of the historic settlements marked by shell middens at Donnel Point there could be more important Karankawa artifacts that could hold key information into tribal life along the Gulf Coast," says Patrick A. Nye, co-president of Coastal Watch Association. "We're eager to hear back from the Texas Historical Commission on what they find on their trip."

Historically, there have been four separate shell middens identified as Indigenous settlements on Donnel Point that were first identified in the 1930's. The sites were all thought to have been destroyed by the dredging of the La Quinta Channel, but this new discovery of artifacts could prove that there are still significant historical sites intact.

Karankawa descendants are also excited to learn more about the site.

"They once claimed that the Karankawa people were extinct-that we no longer existed, but I am living proof that we are here all along the Texas Gulf Coast," says Love Sanchez, Founder of Indigenous Peoples of the Coastal Bend (Karankawa Tribe of Texas). "They also claimed that these four sites of Karankawa settlements no longer existed because they had been dredged and disappeared by industrial development. This new information gives me hope that there is something here to preserve from my ancestors' lives and culture. And that is something to celebrate!"

"We are very hopeful that our Karankawa ancestors' settlement may be rightfully preserved," says Cari Villarreal Varner who is the Five Rivers Council Member & Rematriation Point of Contact of the Karankawa Tribe of Texas. "It would go a long way to address the past attempted erasure of our tribe and would present us the opportunity to heal with the land and its natural inhabitants. We very much look forward to learning more about any potential next steps."

Background

Another nearby site, McGloin's Bluff had been deemed eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006 which could have protected the site from development. The Port of Corpus Christi hired an archaeological firm to recover the artifacts on the site-more than 39,000 Karankawa artifacts were recovered, a mere fraction of what was on the site. Even with the knowledge of what was on the site, the port authority still decided to sell that land to Occidental Petroleum.
Nearly 20 years later, the Texas Historic Commission is investigating the possibility of listing another Karankawa settlement at Donnel Point as a historical property or Texas archeological site with an official designation as a State Antiquities Landmark.

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