The Sandia Lipan Apache Indigenous Marker Tree

Southern Live Oak, Quercus virginiana

This Southern Live Oak stands as a silent guardian and enduring symbol of the resilience of the Lipan Apache. Featured image compliments of Marco Govea.

The Story

The Sandia Lipan Apache Indigenous Marker Tree in Nueces County is the first such tree to be formally recognized by the Texas Historic Tree Coalition on behalf of the Lipan Apache people. It was honored and officially recognized November 8, 2025, and dedicated in memory of ^[3] Domingo Castro Carrillo (March 5, 1939-November 7, 2023), a respected Lipan Apache elder who devoted his life to sharing Native American cultural traditions and participating in Lipan Apache and other Native American events and ceremonies.

^[1] The Lipan Apache Band is a sovereign Native American nation in Texas with a present-day population of approximately 4,500 people. The Lipan Apache have lived in Texas since at least the 1600s. ^[2] Their ancestors are known to have shaped living trees as markers identifying culturally significant sites, trails, water sources, burial grounds, and ceremonial spaces. These marker trees remain enduring symbols of their ecological knowledge, history, and resilience.

^[2] This Southern Live Oak holds sacred significance for the Lipan Apache as a living link to their ancestors and a testament to their enduring relationship with the land. It is an essential part of their cultural heritage.

^[2] Its location near the Historic Fort Lipantitlán is further evidence of the tree’s connection to the Lipan Apache. The fort stands on their ancestral homelands, where their communities once lived, traded, and hunted and it remains a place of deep cultural and historical meaning.

Descendants of the Lipan Apache are the owners, stewards, and caretakers of this marker tree ensuring it will continue to be protected, honored, and celebrated for generations to come.  

Resources

^[1] The Lipan Apache Band, December 10, 2025, Our Sacred History: Who We Are, Official Website of the Lipan Apache Band, https://www.lipanapache.org/LAT/aboutus.html.

^[2] The Lipan Apache Band of Texas, Richard Gonzalez, Chairman of the Lipan Apache Band of Texas, Lipan Apache Band of Texas Tribal Office, May 12, 2025, Proclamation In support of the Designation of the Sandia Tree as an Indigenous Marker Tree Issued by the Lipan Apache Band of Texas, (See Proclamation below).

^[3] Domingo Castro Carrillo, In Loving Memory of Domingo Castro Carrillo, YouTube, December 4, 2023, https://youtu.be/Zu7L66ZIWK0?si=PkPcs0mx5G_RiAGF.