Texas Supreme Court to hear Native American groups’ case on Brackenridge Park tree removals

Advocates for saving trees at Brackenridge Park for the sake of religious freedom could get another shot for a rehearing of their case depending on what the Texas Supreme Court decides.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs from the Native American Church will make oral arguments in the new case to the Texas Supreme Court early next month to determine if their pleading can get a rehearing based on a 2021 state law. The City of San Antonio is arguing for the tree removal to proceed as part of a 2017 bond project for improvements to the park.

The case was considered closed last fall when U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ordered the city to give access through a locked gate to a closed-off area in the park considered sacred to a local Native American group for religious ceremonies several times a year.

However, the order, didn’t include an injunction against the tree removal or efforts by the city to chase off the park’s bird population. Plaintiffs argue that the cypress trees on the site and the birds, which include cormorants, are an essential part of the ceremony on the sacred bend in the river.

City officials say the trees need to be removed to keep the roots from damaging a retaining wall and that the bird removal is an important safety issue because of the large amounts of avian feces left where small children could put the poop in their mouths.

The judges sitting on the state’s highest court will hear the arguments Dec. 4 to determine whether the case will get a get a rehearing or if the city can proceed with the tree removal, according to the San Antonio Report.

While the original federal case contended that the city’s planned actions were a direct violation of constitutional religious freedom, the new cause for a rehearing relies on a state law put in place as a reaction to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on large gatherings.

The 2021 state constitutional amendment by referendum prohibits rules or laws that would limit religious gatherings. Native American Church members Gary Perez and Matilde Torres will make their case to the Texas Supreme Court that the closed off-area and the tree and bird removal violate the amendment. 

The city responded in a brief that the amendment interpretation shouldn’t mean it applies to all circumstances, according to the San Antonio Report. In the responding brief, the city argues that “a truly absolute bar on ‘any’ limitation whatsoever would imply a right of unprecedented scope, unrecognizable to history and tradition, with absurd unintended consequences”

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This article appears in Nov 13-26, 2024.