The Texas Cherokee tribe left Eagle Pass the next morning by tourist bus provided by the Mexican Cherokee tribe for the City of Zaragosa in Mexico. Cherokees from six other states which included Missouri, Arkansas, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Washington, and Colorado also attended the Annual Cherokee Heritage Day.

The group gathered at the Zaragosa roping arena where the representatives from Texas and the other states greeted their friends from Mexico. This was the gathering place for the parade which would make its way to the downtown plaza.

Various ceremonies were performed around the town plaza where thousands of people were lined up to greet each other.

The Mexican Cherokee Tribe has established a reservation which celebrates and is a memorial at the tomb of Chief Sequoyah. Historical artifacts are on display at the town plaza, and this display grows from year to year.

The Mexican Cherokee Tribe as host to the Texas and other Cherokees prepares an authentic Mexican dinner at the large ranch of the Epi Rodriquez family. An opera singer performed in the native Cherokee language followed by a dance around the camp fires.

The Mayor of Zaragosa was presented with a Pendleton blanket by the Missouri Cherokees. They also gave the Mayor a tomahawk made of brass and a red ribbon shirt with blue ribbons and a red shawl with blue trim and yellow flowers to the Mayor’s wife. The Texas Cherokees presented the Mayor with an onyx and stone necklace and his wife with a lapis and concha shell necklace and a beaded healing stick.

One of the youngsters attending the event was accidently burned with hot liquid and was soothed with the mineral and healing water from the nearby spring water well. After being placed in the water for a little while, the boy’s burns were not felt at all and he went on about his playful activities.

The Mexican Tribe donated $200 to the local Onega Cherokee library that is being established at the hardware store. The donation will be used to purchase new books and videos for our local library.

A discussion about the establishment of a coalition of all Native American tribes was discussed this past Saturday at the Northern Towns District monthly meeting. This is a follow-up of the same discussion held earlier at the State Tribe Council meeting. Native Americans in the State of Texas are exploring the establishment of an organization with annual membership dues of $25, which members will in turn be issued a card which identifies the cardholder as a Native American of Texas. This coalition is being formed to provide a more powerful lobbying group for all Native Americans that remain in Texas.

Historical documentation indicates that there were no Indians in the state of Texas; they were all liquidated during the removal during the 1830's. The true historical nature of the tribe is that it was active but not in an open manner – as our present day Chief D.L. Hicks along with several other Cherokee leaders, reactivated the tribe during the early 1990's. As time goes by more descendants of the tribe are coming together to preserve a culture that was supposedly dissolved.