The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 105, July 2001 - April, 2002 Page: 35
741 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Rediscovery of the Tiguas
eligible for federal appropriations for health services, education, and
highway improvement."3 But perhaps most significantly, the federal
trust relationship insured protection of Tigua land indefinitely. With
the Tigua and Alabama-Coushatta reservations firmly under federal
control, the Texas Legislature agreed to disassemble the Texas Indian
Commission in early 1989.74
On a national level reactions to the Tigua victory were practically
nonexistent, as the case went largely unnoticed outside of El Paso.
Local reactions were mixed. A 1985 El Paso Times editorial stated that
the Tiguas deserved recognition, as they had "come too far to with-
draw support." The Tiguas had made significant progress in several
areas, such as tourism and education, and many agreed that "with assis-
tance, the tribe might one day be able to reach the goal it wants: self-
sufficiency."75 Jay Ambrose, on behalf of the El Paso Herald-Post, submit-
ted a letter to the Tigua tribal council expressing full support of
Diamond's and the Tiguas' efforts.76 Though the Tiguas initially
appeared to have community-wide support, immediately following
their victory dissident voices emerged. Author Randy Lee Eickoff in
Exiled: The Tigua Indians of Ysleta del Sur quoted one El Paso resident,
'You can't tell me those people are Indians. Those people down there
were broke and about to lose their homes, until someone decided,
'Hey! Let's pretend to be Indians and take advantage of the govern-
ment that won't know any better!"'77 One could argue that the Tiguas
owe their success to the fact that many of the legal issues surrounding
formal acknowledgment were still unresolved when they first under-
took the recognition process. The concept was still relatively foreign to
lawmakers throughout the first half of the twentieth century. In a
sense, then, Diamond simply caught the federal government off guard.
It ultimately proved to be enough that Diamond and the Tiguas' bid
had widespread political support and that the continuous existence of
the Tiguas as a "tribe" could be easily documented. Few groups peti-
tioning for formal acknowledgment in the wake of the Tigua victory
would be so lucky.
Recently Diamond was preparing to deliver a lecture at an Indian law
conference on what he called "the three legs of Indian law," an
approach to formal acknowledgment that he purportedly "learned the
hard way." Diamond laid out the so-called "three legs": familiarity with
7' El Paso Herald-Post, Aug. 20, 1987.
74 El Paso Herald-Post, May 31, 1989.
7' El Paso Times, May 9, 1985.
7' Heanng Before the Select Commzttee on Indzan Affairs, 42
77 Eickoff, Exzled, 107.2001
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 105, July 2001 - April, 2002, periodical, 2002; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101222/m1/43/: accessed May 11, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.