‘Who ever thought I would be chief?’ Texas’ Alabama-Coushatta tribe elects first female chief

Myra Battise helps newly elected second chief Millie Thompson Williams with her official regalia after a press conference on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. Battise nominated Williams for the leadership role. Williams is the first female elected as a chief in the tribes history.

Now, 60 years later, Williams recalls those memories fondly and realizes they are no longer the things of daydreams. Now, as Williams makes history and power shifts back toward women, she hopes to steer the tribe in a direction that balances economic prosperity with cultural traditions. As the oldest reservation in Texas and one of three federally recognized tribes in the state, the Alabama-Coushatta have long fought for sovereignty and respect from state and federal leaders. For years, politicians have — at best — ignored the tribe, and, at worst, have gone against their best interests.

Although recognized as two separate tribes, the Alabamas and Coushattas have been closely associated and share a similar history of displacement and an ongoing battle for state and federal recognition. After Texas won independence from Mexico in 1836, many tribes were expelled from the state, but the Alabama and Coushattas had maintained amicable relations with their neighbors.

Finally, in 1987, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Restoration Act. With this federal recognition, the Alabama-Coushatta gained the power to self-govern and to uphold their own laws within their reservation. They were no longer subject to certain state laws and became entitled to certain federal benefits, services and protections, including federal protection over their reservation. Last summer, the tribe won a critical U.S.

A few days after the election, Williams sat in the front row of her church, a modest brick building where Williams attends weekly services and teaches adult Sunday school classes in her tribal language.

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