Judge Hanen Orders Condemnation and Possession of Tamez Family Lands

“I am captive in my own land,” Eloisa Tamez tells audience at Western Social Sciences Association scholarly community, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 16, 2009.

Press Release: Eloisa Tamez’ Land condemned for Border Wall
April 16, 2009

Albuquerque, New Mexico–A federal judge in Brownsville, TX issued an order today granting the federal government’s request to condemn the ancestral land of the Tamez Family, who are Lipan Apaches. Although this land has been in the Tamez family prior to the Spanish colonization, and also designated to them through Spanish Crown law (1767, as of today, it is in the possession of the United States Department of Homeland Security.

The landowner, Eloisa Tamez, heard about Judge Hanen’s order while participating in the Western Social Sciences Association Conference in Albuquerque, where she was participating in a Three part panel: “Indigenous People’s and the U.S.-Mexico Border: Militarization, Resistance, and Rights.” She is with a group of colleagues from several bi-national Indigenous Border communities and experts on militarization and the impact of the border wall.

The Tamez family reports that this is an urgent situation which needs international attention and wide press coverage.

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(Submitted by Michelle Cook)