Documenting Indigenous Ties to the Texas Panhandle

Abstract

This article summarizes the results of a multi-year ethnographic research study commissioned by the National Park Service (NPS). The goal of the project was to gain a better understanding of Native American connections to Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument and Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, jointly administered units of the (US) national park system located in the Texas Panhandle. This paper presents, albeit in abbreviated form, the findings contained in the project technical report. Researchers identified eight federally acknowledged American Indian tribes with ties to the park units. In addition, the study documented ethnographic resources present within the project area and reconstructed traditional patterns of resource use. During the project, Indigenous community members shared both concerns, as well as recommendations, regarding the interpretation of their tribes’ histories. The report concludes by proposing ways in which the NPS might collaborate with the traditionally associated tribes in the development of interpretive and educational programming that acknowledges Indigenous people’s historic ties to the parklands, as well as the continued vitality of their cultures.