By Rory Dulock | Staff Writer
In the midst of Native American Heritage Month, Baylor is holding many events that honor the history of natives in the Waco area. One Baylor faculty member is involved year-round to ensure their history is preserved.
James “Derek” Ross is on faculty at Baylor as an Indigenous Scholar in Residence and is a member of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, which includes the Waco, Tawakoni and Keechi tribes. He is from Anadarko, Okla., where the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes are located today.
Ross is trying to spread awareness about his tribe’s history through building connections to the city. Last week, members of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes visited Waco. Ross said the visit was a follow up from last year’s as an ongoing effort to strengthen relationships with the city.
Among the tribal members who visited was Rachel Crawford, CEO of Quivera Enterprises, the holding company for the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. Crawford said the trip is part of an effort to diversify the ways the tribe brings in funds. The funds the tribe receives help to support its community and ensure it has the resources to carry on their traditions and culture.
“[We want] to create self-sufficiency and to be able to really help set up our next generations for success,” Crawford said. “I’ve had the honor of not only serving on the economic board, but now coming over to help build this new effort of establishing this footprint in business to continue to grow those opportunities.”
The trip allowed tribal members to reconnect with their tribal roots while looking for ways to use that to support what they’re doing on economically, Crawford said.
“I’m excited also that having had these connections we had some of our tribal leadership join us, the stakeholders, the owners of our business to come in and … really just be a part of what we do [and] hear about our mission,” Crawford said.
On Nov. 12, Waco Mayor Jim Holmes met with Ross as well as Wichita and Affiliated Tribes President Amber Silverhorn Wolfe to talk about the possibility of a history center for the tribe in Waco since their roots are tied to the city — the tribe was forcibly removed in August 1859.
“One of our greatest strengths is our resilience,” Ross said. “It’s a miracle that our tribe has not only survived but is thriving.”
According to Ross, the tribe had another meeting with Baylor’s Mayborn Museum to discuss plans to build a traditional Wichita and Waco grass house. Construction would begin early 2025.
“About two years ago, we created a Wichita Indian grass house village. It’s a miniature village for the Mayborn, which is there now, and then we now have a contract to build a full-scale grass house,” Ross said.
Baylor made a land acknowledgment in November 2022 after the Indigenous Peoples’ Advocacy Committee pushed for recognition of the tribes and their history. At the time, Baylor and West Virginia were the only schools in the Big 12 not to have any land acknowledgement.
“In recognition that these native nations are the original stewards of Baylor’s campus locations, the university strives to build sustainable relationships with sovereign native nations and indigenous communities through education offerings, partnerships and community service,” the statement reads.
Ross said the land acknowledgement statement from the university is “wonderful” and is a start to get the community engaged with the tribes’ history.
“I am hoping that I can be a catalyst for this [statement], especially the idea of partnerships,” Ross said. “I want to be involved in the Waco community by engaging and educating people about our language, culture, heritage, our history and our future.”
