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📰 The quick summary: Indigenous groups in Texas are fighting to preserve a rediscovered ancient settlement site at Donnel Point on Corpus Christi Bay, one of the last undisturbed tracts along 70 miles of industrialized shoreline.
📈 One key stat: Hundreds of Indigenous cultural sites were once documented around Corpus Christi Bay, but virtually all have been destroyed as cities, refineries, and petrochemical plants spread along the waterfront.
💬 One key quote: “Even if the stories were taken or burned or scattered, the land still remembers,” said Love Sanchez, a Karankawa descendent in Corpus Christi.

1️⃣ The big picture: A campaign to preserve an ancient Indigenous settlement site has emerged in South Texas after its rediscovery between industrial complexes on Corpus Christi Bay. The site at Donnel Point represents one of the last undeveloped tracts along a heavily industrialized shoreline and provides rare physical evidence of the region’s Indigenous heritage. Local geologist Patrick Nye spotted the site last summer, and history professor Peter Moore confirmed it matched archaeological records from the 1930s, though it was previously thought destroyed by dredging in the 1950s. For descendants of the Karankawa and Carrizo/Comecrudo peoples, this rare undisturbed site offers a tangible connection to ancestors whose histories have been largely erased or misrepresented.

2️⃣ Why is this good news: This rediscovered site challenges the false historical narrative that Indigenous peoples of Texas went extinct, providing physical evidence that the coastline supported thriving populations for thousands of years. It offers descendants like Love Sanchez a precious connection to ancestral lands, validating oral histories that contradict official accounts of extinction. The preservation campaign brings attention to how Indigenous bloodlines survived despite historical erasure, with many families maintaining their heritage quietly for generations. Archaeological sites like Donnel Point provide an authentic record created by the people themselves rather than colonial writers, offering a counterpoint to the dominant narrative taught in Texas schools that only sparse bands of people lived in the region before American settlers arrived.

3️⃣ What’s next: Indigenous groups and environmental lawyers have asked the US Army Corps of Engineers to revoke an unused permit that would authorize construction of an oil terminal at the site. The case will likely need to be flagged by the Texas Historical Commission for preservation consideration. Sanchez dreams of making Donnel Point a place where people can visit to connect with their ancestors’ presence and envision thousands of years of Indigenous history.

Read the full story here: Inside Climate News – Indigenous Groups Fight to Save Rediscovered Settlement Site on an Industrial Waterfront in Texas