Our Ancestral Stewardship
The People of La Junta have maintained a continuous presence in this region for over 12,000 years, with permanent residency for at least 6,500 years. La Junta is one of the oldest continuously cultivated regions in North America, rooted at the confluence of the RĂo Conchos and RĂo Grande, known as La Junta de los RĂos. Our communities—including Jumano, Julime, Chisos, Concho, Lipan Apache, and many others—continue to care for these lands through restoration, ceremony, and community stewardship so future generations can remain in right relationship with this place.
As descendants of these communities, we carry responsibilities passed down through our families: to care for the places where our ancestors rest, protect the waters that sustain us, maintain our religious practices, and share the knowledge that strengthens our community. These relationships guide the work of People of La Junta for Preservation.
"Our responsibility to the land reaches far beyond those documents."
Our relationship with these lands predates the colonial systems that divided them into parcels and assigned ownership through deeds and titles. Today, we work within those imposed systems to secure lasting protection for ancestral places. We purchase land, inherit it, receive it through gifts and donations, and accept stewardship entrusted to us by families and elders. Deeds and titles provide a means of protecting these places within the legal structures that govern them today.
Each place entrusted to our care carries relationships, memories, and obligations. Stewardship means honoring the intentions of those who entrust land to us, protecting the cultural knowledge connected to it, and remaining accountable to our community and future generations.
This responsibility takes many forms—protecting burial grounds, bringing ancestors home, restoring native plants, caring for ancestral waters, and creating spaces where community knowledge can be practiced and shared. Growing food, gathering for ceremony, working with clay, and weaving connect generations through responsibilities learned by doing.
That responsibility also calls us to defend these places when they are threatened. Across La Junta and the Greater Big Bend, we advocate for Indigenous rights and the protection of sacred lands, waters, and religious freedom. Our community must have a voice in decisions that affect our homelands and our ability to continue living, gathering, and praying here.
We carry this work forward so future generations can know these places firsthand, learn from their elders, and continue the relationships that have sustained our people for thousands of years.
Our Impact
Land Reclamation
Securing and restoring ancestral lands so they remain places of ceremony, burial, and everyday life for future generations.
Community Knowledge
Reviving and sharing Indigenous practices—like weaving, ceremony, and language—that keep our histories and responsibilities alive.
Sovereign Advocacy
Organizing in the courts, on the land, and in community to defend sacred places, waters, and religious freedom across La Junta and the Greater Big Bend.
Recent Press Releases
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October 1, 2026
Federal Court Denies Emergency Relief; People of La Junta Will Continue Fight to Protect Indigenous Religious Freedom and the Greater Big Bend
August 28, 2026
PLJP Legal Action Helps Secure Continued Pause on Big Bend Border Construction
June 1, 2024