Aiding the invisible

By: Augusta Liddic Staff Writer

Posted: 6/19/09

This is a story of numbers and the quest of one Native American tribe.

The Piro-Manso-Tiwa Indian Tribe, Pueblo of San Juan de Guadalupe of Las Cruses, N.M., has been seeking federal recognition from the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs for almost 40 years, but with the help of Lee Ann Allen, a UNT anthropology student, the American Indian tribe is one step closer to receiving recognition.

One of the requirements of Bureau of Indian Affairs requires is for the tribe to have complete records. In order to accomplish this, Allen lived with the tribe's cacique Edward Roybal Sr. and his wife, and spent eight to nine hours a day, sometimes six days a week, organizing the tribal archives.

"The main thing we needed to look at was to add the last 20 years worth of information to the archives," Allen said. "I focused on getting together that information in a relevant way, so it would address the criteria that is required."

Allen began her research with the tribe last summer after being accepted into the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, which is funded by UNT's Department of Education to prepare undergraduates for doctoral studies.

Through the McNair program, Allen was matched with faculty mentor Diane Ballinger, a retired NT anthropology professor, who helped Allen find a research project with the Piro-Manso-Tiwa Indian Tribe.

Ballinger said she saw the opportunity as a good learning experience for Allen as well.

"It has been a great pleasure to work with Lee Ann," she said. "She has been dedicated. Having a good student is one of the best things a professor can have. It makes teaching a real pleasure."

According to the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, a federally recognized tribe is an "American Indian or Alaska Native tribal entity that is recognized as having a government-to-government relationship with the United States, with the responsibilities, powers, limitations and obligations attached to that designation, and is eligible for funding and services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs."

Allen's work helped bring the tribe, which has about 300 members, to the top of the list for consideration by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Once they attain recognition, they will be able to receive certain benefits that are allocated for American Indians as well as monetary benefits that will help the tribe fund educational programs, healthcare programs and help develop a language program that will preserve and educate subsequent generations about the tribe's native language.

Allen said there is also an element of prestige in being recognized.

"Essentially being unrecognized is being invisible," Allen said.

This summer Allen plans to return to Las Cruses to research community continuity and identity issues the tribe has faced.

"The thing that was impressed upon me the most was the endurance of a people who have been subject to centuries of repression," Allen said. "They have been able to maintain a vibrant culture and community in the face of diaspora."

Allen plans to continue her work with American Indian tribes while working on her degree.

"I couldn't have planned a better project," Allen said. "I have all these wonderful people in my life now. The tribe members are very gracious people. They have been really welcoming and really open to having me work with them."