"Bridging" Tejano identity and Indigenous ancestry using archaeological collections

Archaeology is vital in understanding the history and culture of Indigenous peoples in South Texas, but there is a lack of collaboration between archaeologists and Coahuiltecan tribes of south Texas. The Coahuiltecan have faced challenges in safeguarding and conserving their cultural legacy, including archaeological sites. This results in Tejano descendants with Indigenous ancestral connections, unaware of archaeological evidence of their ancestral heritage due to lack of an accurate post-contact historical documentation in Texas. The research examined and sought to establish a connection between Tejano identity and Indigenous ancestry through archaeological collections from four Texas repositories. The repositories indicated that there might be artifacts in the collections that could be associated with Coahuiltecan Indigenous peoples. However, no such artifacts were found in the collection. Structured interviews were conducted with representatives of three Coahuiltecan tribes residing in south Texas: 1) the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation; 2) the Carrizo Come Crudo Tribe of Texas; and 3) the Miakan Garza Band. The interviews focused on unattributed diagnostic lithics from four archaeological sites. Analysis of the interviews utilizing inductive coding identified three themes that partitioned the interview data for fuller examination: artifacts, repositories, and Tejanos. The results suggest that as the Coahuiltecan tribes engage with repositories in collaborative archaeological efforts like community-based archaeology unidentified and unattributed artifacts archaeological collections have particular importance. Archaeological collections hold promise for giving tangible evidence for Tejanos to use in connecting their identities with Indigenous ancestries