Council for the Indigenous and Tejano Community (CITC) proclamation

City Council Proclamation

WHEREAS, on January 2, 2021, in response to a community desire to address a multitude of Untold and Undertold Indigenous and Tejano stories, Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra created the Council for the Indigenous and Tejano Community (CITC); and

WHEREAS, the mission of CITC is to preserve the history, traditions, and rich culture of the Indigenous and Tejano community of Hays County through historical markers, oral histories, art, and culture, while working closely with the Indigenous Cultures Institute (ICI); and  

WHEREAS, on February 3, 2022, the Texas Historical Commission awarded CITC one of its highest honors, an Undertold Historical Marker for the untold story of Vaqueros-Ranch Hands and Stock Raisers from Hays County, highlighting the contribution of the Mexican, Indigenous, and African American ranch hands who helped to build the successful ranches in Hays County, specifically in Kyle, Texas; and   

WHEREAS, only one headstone remains in an unfenced cemetery in Kyle from 1895 for Pedro Veracruz; buried beside him not only is his son, Antonio, who died in 1889, but also buried there were the rich vaquero customs dating to the settlement of Texas; and

WHEREAS, Pedro first visited Texas during the Battle of the Alamo in 1836 as a young boy, later he registered his cattle brand with the state of Texas in 1865, he married in Hays County, and raised 14 children; and

WHEREAS, Pedro’s daughter, Teresita, married Antonio Candelaria in Hays County in 1883, she kept journals of births, marriages, and deaths which led to the discovery of Pedro’s last will written in Spanish that gifted his animals with his cattle brand to his children; and

WHEREAS, the VAQUEROS-RANCH HANDS AND STOCK RAISERS contributed much through the pioneering spirit work ethic ingrained by family devotion and loyalty, the following families represent only a fraction of those contributions:

Isabella Gonzalez Cruz (1813 – 1911) in 1854 was deeded by Thomas McKinney 640 acres “about ten miles N. N. W. from the town of San Marcos” and, upon her husband Guillermo Cruz’s death in 1856, received all ranch animals with his cattle brand, making her the only female Mexican landowner recorded in Hays County whose family were stock raisers.

Joseph Santana Cruz (1845-1923) Isabella’s son wed near the Blanco River in 1865 and made several trips to Port Lavaca on cow hunts and trips to Kansas over the Chisolm Trail.

Adam Rector, a black man who was Joseph Cruz’s main ranch hand, “could rope with the best,” said Joseph.

Joe S. Cruz, Jr. (1881-1965) was the foreman of more than 11,000 acres at the Kuykendall 101 Ranch, one of the largest in Kyle.

Reyes Cisneros (1838-1918) lived in Hays County and worked as a vaquero and ranch hand for the surrounding ranches; and

Jose Valdo Castillo, Sr., (1848-1918) and his son Jose Valdo Castillo, Jr. (1898-1991), the younger born in Kyle, worked as vaqueros and ranch hands in that area whenever the elder Castillo wasn’t traveling the circuit with Buffalo Bill.

Leonardo Candelaria, (1884-1950) Pedro Veracruz’s grandson from Kyle, a ranch hand and rodeo cowboy, traveled the circuit with Buffalo Bill (Wm. F. Cody) and his crew in the late 1800s.

WHEREAS, the successes of the Council for the Indigenous and Tejano Community creates newfound pride and reflection on the legacy of those who played an essential role in the development of Kyle’s history;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT PROCLAIMED that I, Robert Rizo, Mayor Pro Tem of the Kyle City Council agree it is time to recognize the long-overlooked contributions made by these families and endorses having the Texas Historical Commission recognize Kyle’s place in Texas history with an Undertold Historical Marker for Vaqueros-Ranch Hands & Stock Raisers.

SIGNED AND ENTERED THIS 22ND DAY OF MARCH, 2022