By Haggerty                                            H.C.R. No. 4
         76R7676 JLZ-D                           
                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, The history of Texas is the story of courageous men
 1-2     and women of indomitable spirit overcoming tremendous hardship to
 1-3     achieve their goals;  many historic figures are well-known and
 1-4     their exploits sometimes legendary, but history often is made also
 1-5     by others whose achievements do not receive the recognition they
 1-6     deserve; and
 1-7           WHEREAS, Among those individuals whose contributions often
 1-8     are overlooked in the histories of the American Southwest are the
 1-9     Spanish explorers and colonists who braved adversity and danger to
1-10     open the frontier for subsequent generations of Texas settlers; and
1-11           WHEREAS, Although Native Americans had roamed the region long
1-12     before the first Europeans arrived, and Spanish adventurers such as
1-13     Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and Francisco Vazquez de Coronado had
1-14     led expeditions across Texas in the early 1500s, it was not until
1-15     1598 that the permanent settlement of Texas began when a colonizing
1-16     expedition under the command of Don Juan de Onate took possession
1-17     of the upper Rio Grande area in the name of the Spanish crown; and
1-18           WHEREAS, After an arduous four-month trek across the vast
1-19     Chihuahuan desert of northern Mexico, a weary company of more than
1-20     400 men, women, and children led by this Spanish nobleman arrived
1-21     on the banks of the Rio Grande near the site of present-day El
1-22     Paso; and
1-23           WHEREAS, Having survived a grueling journey across
1-24     inhospitable terrain, they paused to give thanks for their safe
 2-1     passage, and on April 30, 1598, 23 years before the Pilgrims landed
 2-2     at Plymouth Rock, Don Juan de Onate's band held the first
 2-3     Thanksgiving feast in what is now the United States, offering a
 2-4     thanksgiving mass and staging a play to celebrate the occasion; and
 2-5           WHEREAS, Although their achievement in making this remarkable
 2-6     journey across miles of nearly barren desert and their historic
 2-7     first Thanksgiving are worthy of note, these original settlers also
 2-8     made lasting contributions to the subsequent development not only
 2-9     of Texas but of the entire Southwest, opening new routes through
2-10     the territory and introducing the livestock that became the
2-11     mainstays of economic life in the American West; and
2-12           WHEREAS, Justifiably proud of our heritage and Texas' unique
2-13     role in our nation's history, Texans have always paid tribute to
2-14     those men and women who have gone before us, and it is fitting that
2-15     we honor and restore to their rightful place those whose enduring
2-16     legacy has been overlooked; now, therefore, be it
2-17           RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas
2-18     hereby acknowledge the importance of the Spanish settlement of the
2-19     Southwest and recognize Don Juan de Onate and his historic
2-20     contributions to the region's development; and, be it further
2-21           RESOLVED, That the legislature hereby urge historians to
2-22     place greater emphasis on the prominent part played by Spain in
2-23     American history and on Juan de Onate's achievements, and that the
2-24     State Board of Education and the Texas Education Agency request
2-25     such recognition in history textbooks submitted for state adoption;
2-26     and, be it further
2-27           RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward official copies
 3-1     of this resolution to the chair of the State Board of Education and
 3-2     to the commissioner of education of the Texas Education Agency.