About 750 years ago, an Elder died. I don’t know what killed her. In fact, I know very little about her life. But she must have been loved. Because she was laid to rest in a sacred place: an arroyo at the foot of the Chinati Mountains of Far West Texas.
The Elder’s family probably believed that she’d be safe within the land. And for a very long time, she was.
Then, in 2020, I received a call from my mother, who shared a curious story. Xoxi Nayapiltzin, a supporter and member of the Indigenous community in South Texas, had recently visited Chaa Ranch as a guest of the owner, Pilar Pedersen. Well, that day, upon entering an arroyo, Xoxi noticed a broken metate (a stone bowl used for grinding corn) on the ground. Indigenous women were—are—often laid to rest with their metate.
