Texas HR 564: Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign.

Bill Text

89(R) HR 564 - Enrolled version - Bill Text

  

  

  
 H.R. No. 564

  

  

   

 R E S O L U T I O N

   

        WHEREAS, Members of the United Warrior Band of the Seminole 

  

 Nation/John Horse Band, Chief Thomi Lee Perryman, and descendants 

  

 take great pride in their rich history; and

  

        WHEREAS, In the early 18th century, Spanish Florida welcomed 

  

 both African Americans escaping slavery and Seminoles moving away 

  

 from encroaching colonialism in Alabama and Georgia; the two 

  

 imperiled groups intermingled, and people with Seminole cultural 

  

 traditions and African forebears eventually became known as Black 

  

 Seminoles; after the United States purchased Florida in 1819, 

  

 President Andrew Jackson waged the Second Seminole War to drive out 

  

 the Seminoles and Black Seminoles; and

  

        WHEREAS, Black Seminole hero John Horse, a famed warrior and 

  

 diplomat, resettled his people in Indian Territory in the 1840s; 

  

 life there proved precarious, with the threat of re-enslavement by 

  

 the Creeks as well as by Whites; in 1848, the acting U.S. attorney 

  

 general ruled that the Black Seminoles were property that could be 

  

 reclaimed; John Horse and his ally, Seminole Chief Coacoochee, led 

  

 their followers across the Red River into the frontier, and they 

  

 camped near Waco, Fredericksburg, and Fort Duncan in Texas before 

  

 finding greater safety in Mexico; in the ensuing years, many of the 

  

 Black Seminoles aided the Mexican Army's defense of the border, and 

  

 they were rewarded with a land grant; John Horse reportedly 

  

 attained the rank of colonel; and

  

        WHEREAS, After the Civil War, the U.S. Army began recruiting 

  

 experienced Black Seminole warriors from Mexico to help battle 

  

 raids along the border; the Seminole Negro Indian Scout Detachment 

  

 was established in 1870, and the scouts were instrumental in 

  

 quelling hostilities on the Texas frontier; they engaged in 26 

  

 campaigns, and several received the Medal of Honor for their valor; 

  

 many went on to serve alongside the Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Duncan 

  

 and Fort Clark; while John Horse did not join the scouts, he served 

  

 as an advisor and as an interpreter during negotiations with Indian 

  

 tribes; he died in Mexico City in 1882, during a mission to settle a 

  

 dispute over Black Seminole land; and

  

        WHEREAS, John Horse and the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts 

  

 played pivotal roles in the early history of the Lone Star State, 

  

 and it is indeed fitting to recognize the United Warrior Band of the 

  

 Seminole Nation/John Horse Band for celebrating and preserving a 

  

 remarkable legacy of courage, resilience, and independence; now, 

  

 therefore, be it

  

        RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas 

  

 Legislature hereby honor the United Warrior Band of the Seminole 

  

 Nation/John Horse Band and extend to the members and Chief Thomi 

  

 Perryman sincere and best wishes for the future; and, be it further

  

        RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 

  

 prepared for the organization as an expression of high regard by the 

   

 Texas House of Representatives.

  

   

 Morales of Maverick

   

   

 ______________________________

   

 Speaker of the House     

  

   

        I certify that H.R. No. 564 was adopted by the House on March 

   

 31, 2025, by a non-record vote.

   

   

 ______________________________

   

 Chief Clerk of the House