Bridge to the Ancestors: Walk Run with Carrizo/Comecrudo Youths in Texas Borderlands

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March 23, 2023

CONTACT: Antoinette Reyes, antoinette.reyes@sierraclub.org

This weekend the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas (Esto’k Gna) is holding a youth-led, week-long run and walk from the Permian Basin to the Rio Grande Valley to bring awareness to the harmful, exploitative and unjust impacts of extractive industries on their sacred lands.

The event, titled Bridge to the Ancestors, will start with an opening ceremony on March 24th at Monahans Sandhills State Park in Monahans, Texas. Over the next 10 days, tribal members will visit eight communities, culminating in a celebration on April 2 in Port Isabel, Texas.

The #BridgetotheAncestors2023 will follow a path through the Tribe’s lands– honoring sacred sites, bringing awareness to the destruction of those lands from extractive industries, reaching out to affected communities, and sharing Tribal history and stories with youth from our Elders. 

The walk/run will mirror (in reverse) the movements of the Tribe’s ancestors, as they escaped Spanish occupation of their homeland in the 1700s. It will highlight sacred sites currently being lost to extractive industries and show the adverse impacts of fossil fuels and petrochemicals on tribal and non-tribal communities.

Each day will also bring awareness to an issue facing the Indigenous community: 

March 25: Missing and murdered Indigenous women

March 26: Missing and murdered Indigenous people

March 27-28: Land back 

March 29-30: No racist mascots

March 31: Indian Child Welfare Act

April 1: Missing children of the mission boarding schools 

After visiting the eight stops, there will be a closing ceremony on April 2 at the Port Isabel Community Center, in Port Isabel, Texas. The Tribe is inviting partners, allies and members of the public to join the Bridge to the Ancestors run/walk. You can follow the walk at BridgetotheAncestors.org or on social media FB/IG/TikTok @Estok_gna_somisek@Estok_gna_somisek will be sharing live updates every day of the walk as well as using the following hashtags:

#BridgeToTheAncestors2023

#BridgeToTheAncestors

#CarrizoComecrudoTribeOfTexas

#SaveOurSacredSites

#RightsOfOriginalPeoples

#WeAreTheLand

#SaveGarciaPasture

Below you can find contact information for Tribal members, who can speak on the record about this event, and the unjust impacts caused by the industry on tribal land. As always, don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything!  

Thanks, 

Antoinette Reyes

EXPERTS: 

Juan Mancias, Tribal Chairman of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas (Esto’k Gna), onebigjuan@gmail.com  

Christa Mancias, co-Organizer of the Bridge to the Ancestors Walk/Run, chrissysontirim26@gmail.com 

Deanna Santiago, co-Organizer of the Bridge to the Ancestors Walk/Run, ladonadivina@gmail.com 

Bridge to the Ancestors Walk/Run Location Schedule: The specific schedule and locations along the entire route are not being shared with the public due to security reasons, but journalists can talk to tribal members to learn more about the communities being visited each day. 

March 24: Opening ceremony: Monahans, Texas

April 2: World Monument Watch Day and closing ceremony Port Isabel, Texas