Dear Friends,
On this Indigenous Peoples' Day, we pause to reflect on the profound histories, cultures, and contributions of Indigenous Peoples across our continent and throughout Harris County. Today serves as an important opportunity to acknowledge a painful truth—Indigenous Peoples have suffered one of America's worst genocides through forced displacement and land dispossession by Texas and the United States Government.
Based on Indigenous oral histories and historical and archaeological records, it is estimated there were more than 10 million Indigenous Peoples belonging to over 1,000 distinct nations and civilizations when European settlers arrived on the North American continent. By 1900, fewer than 300,000 remained. Despite broken treaties, genocidal acts, and countless efforts to erase their cultures and sovereignty, Indigenous Peoples have shown remarkable resilience in the face of adversity, preserving a vast array of Traditional Knowledge systems, languages, oral histories, beliefs, and lifeways while shaping multiple societies through countless contributions to healthcare, agriculture, art, science, and democracy, amongst many other achievements.
Here, in what is now called Harris County, we stand on the lands of the Karankawas, Coahuiltecans, Sanas, and Atakapa-Ishaks, whose presence and legacies are woven into the fabric of our society. Today, Harris County is home to the most diverse population of Native peoples in Texas, with more than 70,000 Indigenous residents in the Southeast Texas region.
As we honor the resilience and the immense contributions of Indigenous Peoples, we must also confront the ongoing disparities that continue to affect these communities today. Indigenous people experience disproportionate harm under the criminal justice system. They also have a life expectancy that is a decade below the national average. Indigenous women experience a murder rate ten times higher than all other ethnicities. The ongoing impact of land dispossession makes Indigenous Peoples particularly vulnerable to climate change.
In order to address these disparities, my office is committed to forging stronger ties and taking meaningful action to uplift these communities. Over the next 12 months, we will launch an outreach initiative to better serve Indigenous populations in Harris County and beyond. This effort will include diplomatic roundtables with local Indigenous leaders to ensure their concerns and priorities are front and center in our policymaking. We are also dedicated to fostering economic and cultural opportunities that honor Indigenous traditions and promote equity across our county.
As we continue to learn from our past, let us work together to build a future where Indigenous communities continue to thrive and where their contributions are not only recognized but actively celebrated. This Indigenous Peoples' Day, I encourage you to reflect on how each of us can play a role in creating a more just, inclusive, and equitable Harris County.
Sincerely,
Rodney Ellis