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Proud Member of the Fatherhood Campaign
   

American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions
is a Making Connections Neighborhood Partner and proud member of the San Antonio Fatherhood Campaign.

The American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions
(AIT-SCM) is a nonprofit organization established by the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation, descendants of the aboriginal people who populated South Texas and Northeast Mexico. The organization works for the preservation and protection of the culture and traditions of the Native American tribes and other indigenous people who resided in the Spanish colonial missions.


AIT-SCM provides a wide array of programs that address the social needs and cultural aspirations of the diverse indigenous communities in San Antonio, Texas.

 

6th Annual Father’s Day Fiesta
Plaza Guadalupe
Saturday, June 14th, 10am – 3pm
Free event! Games, Food, Fun!
For more information contact (210) 227-3463

Folklife Festival
June 13th,14th,15th
Come out and support AIT! We will be selling frybread
Performances during the event!
For more info contact 210-458-2300

Missions Heritage 5K Run/Walk
Mission San Jose
Sunday, September 14, 7:30 am
Click here for flyer (MS Word)


AIT-SCM Holds First Annual Men's Retreat


Participants at the recent men's retreat pose for a group photo.

About 25 participants from the American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions attended the first annual Men’s Retreat on November 16-18 of last year. The three day event allowed attendees, ranging in age from 13 to 55, an opportunity to reflect on their lives and their community in a rural setting south of San Antonio.

Fishing, hiking, music, and storytelling filled the retreat, which was modeled on an event held for the last twenty years in Jolon, California. AIT-SCM members Vicente Escobedo, Michael Cardenas, and John Vacca recently traveled to Jolon to research ways to implement such a gathering in south-central Texas. While the Jolon retreat is usually held at a mission, the AIT retreat was a camp setting, with few amenities. Members slept primarily in tents.

“The retreat gave us a sense of self-satisfaction by allowing us to reflect on our lives’ trials and the things we’ve been through,” said Escobedo, a youth organizer of the retreat.

The high point of the retreat was the construction of a sweat lodge and corresponding sweat ceremony. Youth participants hiked nearly two miles to find and ceremonially cut branches from a willow tree which was used to form the supports for the lodge.

AIT plans to make the retreat an annual event, and the organization has already been holding regular youth retreats for the past few years.



The men's retreat provided opportunities to make new friendships and renew old ones.


Music was an important part of the November men's retreat. Drums, guitars, and even a trumpet accompanied the participants.


National Urban Indian Family Coalition Summit
AIT-SCM is one of the leaders in an historic effort to organize Native Americans who live in urban settings. At the February 2 - 4, 2005 NUIFC Summit, AIT-SCM provided a voice for Texas Mission Indians and other indigenous people who live in San Antonio, Texas. For an article about this summit, CLICK HERE.


Check out our CALENDAR to see what classes and workshops are scheduled for the next few months. Also, look ahead to events and activities sponsored by AIT-SCM.

 


AIT-SCM would like your help in acquiring items that we need to run our nonprofit. Your donations of the following, would be greatly appreciated - and tax deductible:

  • An RV or mobile trailer that we can use to set up a Fry Bread Concession Stand for powwows and other revenue possibilities
  • Six matching desks
  • Six office desk chairs
  • Twelve office guest chairs
  • Medium-sized break room table and six chairs
  • Industrial gas burner for outdoor cooking
  • Technological equipment for remote linking of computers and printers

If you would like to donate any of these items, or have other donations, please contact us at: CLICK HERE


 

AIT-SCM encourages dialogue with other Native American communities and support service organizations. Below are such organizations and links to their websites.

White Bison
National Urban Indian Family Coalition
Native American Public Telecommunication
The Pueblo of Santa Ana
Land Heritage Institute Foundation
The National Latino Fatherhood and Family Institute
Making Connections San Antonio
Southwest Key Program, Inc.
Juvenile Outreach and Vocational/Educational Network (JOVEN)
AVANCE-San Antonio
National Latino Fatherhood and Family Institute
San Antonio National Compadres Network (SANCN)
M.A.T.C.H./P.A.T.C.H
Project WORTH
United San Antonio Powwow



Click HERE if you would like to volunteer for AIT-SCM events.


Click HERE to contact us or to register for workshops, seminars, classes & other activities.

 

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