Lipan Apache Tribe wins recognition in Texas
The Texas Legislature on March 18 passed bills to extend state recognition to the Lipan Apache Tribe.

The Lipan Apache historically resided in Texas and northern Mexico. But they never gained formal recognition by the state until now.

"I cannot describe the emotion because it was like everything that the ancestors are is alive in us," Chairman Bernard Barcena told News 8 Austin.

Lipan Apache ancestors signed treaties with the Republic of Texas and the United States in the 1800s but the tribe lacks federal recognition.

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State recognizes survivors of Indian tribe long thought extinct (News 8 Austin 3/22)