Texas Indian Commission

The Texas Commission for Indian Affairs was created in 1965 by the 59th Legislature, House Bill 1096, Regular Session, to take over all responsibilities for the Alabama-Coushatta Indians. Prior state administration for the Alabama-Coushatta Reservation began in 1930. In that year the state began making appropriations for the reservation and designated the State Board of Control as the supervising agency. In 1950 this responsibility was transferred to the newly-created Texas Board for State Hospitals and Special Schools. The federal government relinquished federal control over the tribe in 1955. In 1965, the Board was abolished and all responsibilities for the Alabama-Coushatta Indians were transferred to the Commission for Indian Affairs. This Commission was composed of three members, appointed by the Governor, with Senate approval, to six-year overlapping terms. A chairman was elected by the members for a two-year term.

The initial responsibilities of the Commission were to develop human and economic resources of the reservation and assist the Tribal Council--the governing body of the Indians--in making the reservation self-sufficient. Specific goals were to improve the health, educational, agricultural, business, and industrial capacities of the reservation. A superintendent was appointed by the Commission to manage and supervise the reservation, subject to policy directives of the Commission.

Throughout the years additional responsibilities were given to the Commission. In 1967 the state recognized the Tigua Indians of El Paso as a Texas Indian tribe. The 60th Legislature passed House Bill 888, Regular Session, transferring all trust responsibilities for them to the Commission. In 1968 the federal government recognized the Tiguas as a Texas tribe and transferred all responsibilities to the state. The Commission assisted this tribe--now the Tigua Reservation--in the same manner as it did the Alabama-Coushatta Reservation. In 1975 the 64th Legislature, through House Bill 393, Regular Session, changed the agency's name to the Texas Indian Commission. An executive director was appointed by the Commission to manage, supervise, and implement Commission policies. This director, in turn, appointed a superintendent at each reservation to work with the Tribal Councils in carrying out programs and policies of the Commission. Executive Directors for the Indian Commission serving during the time periods covered by these records were Walt Broemer, late 1960s-1982, formerly the Superintendent of the Alabama-Coushatta Reservation; and Raymond Apodaca, 1982-1989, former Superintendent of the Tigua Reservation.

Responsibilities for another Indian tribe were added in 1977. Senate Bill 168, 65th Legislature, Regular Session, recognized the Traditional Kickapoo Indians of Texas (Eagle Pass area) as a Texas Indian tribe. The bill mandated the Commission to assist these Indians and state-chartered intertribal Indian organizations in applying for and managing--jointly with the Commission--federal funds and programs and private funds, for improving the health, education, and housing standards of these Indians or increasing their economic capabilities. In 1979 an Attorney General Opinion, MW-49, declared this bill unconstitutional, an action that was especially detrimental to the Kickapoos. The Kickapoo and the state-chartered organizations were not federally recognized at this time, therefore Attorney General Mark White determined the Indian Commission (TIC) could not assist them because the TIC was only empowered to assist federally recognized tribes and organizations. This determination began a move to get federal recognition for the Kickapoos. In 1982, they were recognized as an official sub-group of the Oklahoma Kickapoo Indian Tribe, enabling them to acquire their own reservation, under control of the Bureau of Indian Affairs instead of the state of Texas.

In addition to individual Indian tribes, several intertribal Indian organizations exist in Texas. One organization well-represented in these records is the Texas Intertribal Housing Agency. In 1976-1977 the Indian Commission joined with the Dallas Intertribal Center to form the Texas Intertribal Housing Agency. This agency worked to provide safe and decent housing for non-reservation low-income Indians through HUD (Housing and Urban Development) programs .

Another Indian related organization that the state of Texas and the Indian Commission became involved with was the Governors Interstate Indian Council. This organization was formed in 1949 and provides a venue for states (including Texas) with higher Indian populations to get together and discuss Indian issues and state-tribal relations. This organization met annually, and the state sent delegates to most of these conferences. In the mid 1960s Walt Broemer, the Superintendent of the Alabama-Coushatta Reservation, later TIC Executive Director, was the chair of this organization; in the late 1980s Ray Apodaca, TIC Executive Director, was the President of the Council.

The tribes began a move in the mid 1980s to have the their trust responsibilities transferred back to federal control. The federal government passed a law on August 18, 1987, reassuming responsibility for the Texas Indian tribes. This eventually contributed to the demise of the Indian Commission. The Commission was due for Sunset Review in 1989. Three bills--House Bill 858, House Bill 1252, Senate Bill 481--were introduced in the Legislature to continue the Commission's existence and all three failed. The Texas Indian Commission was abolished September 1, 1989.