Robert Soto of McAllen is seen in traditional Lipan Apache apparel together with a child holding his finger at a 2021 Pow Wow in the Rio Grande Valley. (Courtesy Photo)
The first time Robert Soto heard the word “Apache” he was 8 years old. It was a word often said by his grandmother who taught him the roots and importance of his culture.
“My grandmother was very proud to be an Apache and she made it known to everybody that she wasn’t Mexican or Mexican American — she was a Lipan Apache,” Soto said Thursday, adding that his grandmother’s pride for her heritage inspired him to continue researching the history of his native community.
From that moment on, Soto embarked on a search of identity — a search that led him to revelations about the Lipan Apache way of life, and the history of a tribe he is passionate about keeping alive.
The McAllen resident said he was even willing to go to jail over his beliefs, referencing the time federal agents attended a Pow Wow 16 years ago claiming he was in possession of eagle feathers. At the threat of arrest and years of incarceration for possessing eagle feathers, a violation of federal law, Soto said he argued these feathers are used in religious practices and went on to sue the government for religious discrimination.
After 10 and a half years he won his case and can now legally obtain the feathers for his people.
His story and impassioned efforts to tell the history of Native American life and customs in the Rio Grande Valley was one of several told at the City of Alamo Museum on Saturday for a historical symposium dedicated to South Texas history.
Soto served as one of 12 speakers ranging from Rolando Avila, a history professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; Henry Gonzalez and Martin Salinas, author of “Indians of the Rio Grande Delta,” along with UTRGV anthropology lecturer and Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools Program Director Roseann Bacha-Garza, and others.
Given 45 minutes to speak, their topics ranged from the Karankawa people to the Mexican-American War.
For the 70-year-old Soto, the symposium gave him another opportunity to share the history of the Lipan Apache tribe.
According to Soto, there are 10 Apache tribes, most of which signed a peace treaty in the 1870s; however, the Lipan Apache leader at the time refused to sign and were left out of history books.
It is this reason that he has made it his mission to inform people about the native tribes of South Texas, and now Soto seeks to make the Valley the headquarters for the Lipan Apache due to many of the tribe members living in Mexico.
“I live for two things in my life, besides family, which is to promote my Christianity but also to promote my Lipan Apache culture and our tribe,” Soto, who serves as vice chairman of the Lipan Apache Tribe, said.
During the lectures, he also talks about some of the struggles the Lipan Apache endured, including his fight to use eagle feathers in religious practices.
He explained that in order for native tribes to obtain eagle feathers legally they have to be acknowledged by the federal government. Although the Lipan Apache tribe is acknowledged in Texas it is not recognized by the U.S. government.
That’s why on March 11, 2006, undercover federal agents attended Soto’s Pow Wow and threatened to arrest him and place him in prison for 15 years and a $250,000 fine for the illegal possession of 50 eagle feathers, he said.
However, because the feathers are used for religious practice Soto sued the U.S. government for religious discrimination and won in 2015.
Now that the tribe can legally buy eagle feathers, Soto uses this story to teach his children and grandchildren the struggles they’ve overcome to continue their traditions.
“I’m here to make it aware that we’re alive, we’re still here, we’re still active,” Soto said, adding that many native people play vital roles in their communities.
