SAN ANTONIO - The Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation has filed a lawsuit against the City of San Antonio, the Texas General Land Office, and two other organizations claiming that sacred remains at The Alamo are not being adequately protected as a renovation project is taking place at the historic mission.
- Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation filed lawsuit
- State and local agencies involved
- Claims sacred remains not adeutely protected
Ramon Vasquez is a tribal member and said the group was originally involved in the process when the $450 million project was proposed in 2014. However, that teamwork mentality has faded over the past two years.
"Mayor Julian Castro reached out to me and said, 'Look, I want you to be on this committee.’ I thought, 'We're at the table and we get to participate in developing the story,’" said Vasquez.
Vasquez said the problem stems from the groups not following city, state, and federal regulations when it comes to burial sites, and the lawsuit was necessary to protect the history of Native Americans that were put to rest at The Alamo.
HELPFUL LINK | Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation Website
"My questions to them have been, 'How do you know you can build your ramp right there? How do you know you can plant 100 trees right there? How do you know you can move the cenotaph over there, if you haven't done a historic cemetery delineation investigation,'" said Vasquez.
The group does not want the project to die, but they would like the grounds at The Alamo to be treated like other, similar sites.
"It's being done someplace else in San Antonio as we speak, but it's not being done a block and a half north, and the only answer that I've gotten is, 'The only reason, Ramon, is because it's The Alamo,’" said Vasquez.
Both the GLO and Texas Historical Commission said they could not comment on pending litigation, and efforts to contact the city were unsuccessful. The Alamo Trust Inc. was also named in the lawsuit.