Native Americans are calling on a construction moratorium on the $450 million Alamo renovation project after an archaeological team last week revealed that it had unearthed human remains at the site.
Ramon Vasquez, executive director of American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions and member of the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation, told Texas Public Radio work needs to stop so the situation can be assessed.
“I did an open records request,” Vasquez said, speaking at a rally Monday across from the historic site. “These remains were found in August. And they’ve continued to find them since then. You’re in a cemetery. My goodness, why be surprised that you found human remains?”
Last month, the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation filed a suit in federal court arguing that the Texas General Land Office, the Alamo Trust and city of San Antonio are ignoring federal law that requires descendants of people interred at burial sites to be consulted before development.
Before defenders battled Mexican troops as part of Texas’ fight for independence, the Alamo served as a Catholic mission. Hundreds of indigenous people are believed to have been buried at the site.
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This article appears in Oct 9-22, 2019.
