Land Acknowledgement

Tourism Cares Meaningful Travel Roadshow, Galveston (2025)

We acknowledge that Galveston Island and the surrounding Gulf Coast are the ancestral homelands of the Karankawa peoples, whose territory extended from Galveston Bay to Corpus Christi Bay. The Karankawa consisted of five principal clans, the Carancahuas, Cocos, Copanes, Cujanes, and Guapites, who lived in close relationship with the bays, barrier islands, and coastal plains for thousands of years.

As expert fishers, hunters, and navigators, the Karankawa sustained thriving communities that adapted to the rhythms of the land and sea. For generations, they protected and stewarded this coastline, maintaining semi-permanent settlements and trade networks that stretched across the Gulf.

Following European contact, the Karankawa resisted colonization and defended their sovereignty for centuries, ultimately facing forced displacement, disease, and violence. Myths of “extinction” were widely spread to justify their erasure, yet the Karankawa people remain. Today, the Karankawa Tribe of Texas (Karankawa Kadla) actively revives language, protects sacred and archaeological sites, and educates others about their ongoing presence and care for the Texas coast.

We honor the Karankawa as original caretakers of this land and waters, and we commit to listening, learning, and supporting Indigenous-led stewardship and cultural preservation efforts.