SISCA’s 2026 Juneteenth Includes Historic Treaty Signing with Lipan Apache
by Windy Goodloe
On Saturday, June 20, the Seminole Indian Scouts Cemetery Association (SISCA) will be celebrating our annual Juneteenth celebration. This year, like every year, will be special, and it will also be historic.
Just like every year, there will be a parade. The parade is such a great way to kick off the day. It gives the participants a chance to show off their clean cars (which we know is a huge achievement that must be celebrated in our dusty little town) and spread a bit of joy and fun to the observers. And the observers get to watch a tradition that has been taking place for more than 40 years. This year, our parade marshal is Ms. Jo Ann Harris from San Antonio.
Following the parade, we will gather at the Carver School (506 S. Beaumont), where our annual program will take place. During our Juneteenth program, our goal is to educate attendees about the history of Juneteenth. It was on June 19, 1865, that enslaved Africans in Texas learned that they were free. This news came two years after the rest of enslaved Africans in the United States learned about their freedom following Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. We, as Black Seminoles who were already living freely in Mexico when Major General Gordon Granger announced General Order No 3 in Galveston, celebrate in solidarity with our Black brothers and sisters who were freed following the announcement. Our ancestors fought tirelessly and to the death, at times, for their freedom, so we’ve always known how important it was to acknowledge others’ freedom.
This year, we plan to focus on telling the story of Opal Lee, who is known as the grandmother of Juneteenth. It was through her tireless efforts to bring attention to Juneteenth that it finally became a national holiday in 2021. It’s incredible that this will be the fifth year since it became a federal holiday.
We will also be having an Afro-Seminole Creole lesson during our program, taught by Gabriel Sanchez. Since we began revitalizing our language in 2021, we realized that one way to keep interest in ASC and to introduce others to it is to make sure that we incorporate an ASC lesson into our celebrations.
After our program, we will have our BBQ plate sale. And this year we will have brisket, sausage, rice, beans, and potato salad.
Following the plate sale, we will head to Fort Clark, to the Seminole Camp, where we will be reading and signing The Treaty of Kódeeslí’í. This sacred and historic ceremony is meant to publicly acknowledge the relationship between the Black Seminoles and the Lipan Apache. It is meant to show that our two groups can come together and decide how we want our relationship to go. There is no need for a governmental entity to dictate how we interact with each other; instead we have decided that our honor and respect for each other is something that we cherish, and we want to formally acknowledge that.
Every Juneteenth is special. Every chance that we get to celebrate our freedom is a beautiful day.
