Austin, TX

From the Statesman archives: Newcomers did not control Indigenous Texas for centuries

Published

11 months ago

January 19, 2025

From the Statesman archives: Newcomers did not control Indigenous Texas for centuries

In this “From the Archives” series — subtitled in jest “20,000 Years of Austin History in 20 Minutes” — we’ve introduced the concept for the series, and devoted one column to the arrival of humans in the Austin area.

This, the third column, looks at the arrival of Europeans and Africans 500 years ago.

As previously noted, Spaniard Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and an Arabic-speaking African named Esteban de Dorantes (Estevanico) were among 80 men shipwrecked on the Texas Gulf Coast. They were among the four survivors of those parties who spent the next years exploring the interior.

Cabeza de Vaca wrote about this initial incursion in his fascinating report, published as “La Relacion.” For their part, the Spanish claimed what is now Texas until Mexican independence in 1821.

Claiming, however, is not controlling.

When you look at a traditional map of North America during the 1600s, for instance, you see wide stretches of the northern and central regions as held by France.

Meanwhile, the English laid claim to much of the Eastern Seaboard; and the Dutch West India Company on the region around New Amsterdam, later renamed New York City, as well as land from Maryland to Connecticut and the Hudson Valley (at least from 1614 to 1664).

The Spanish planted their flags in Florida, Texas and the Southwest, especially the relatively populated area around Santa Fe, N.M.

By 1732, the Russian Empire had joined the imperial scramble, laying claim to the Pacific Coast territories of North America.

Yet as historian Pekka Hämäläinen argues in his magnificent book, “Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America,” the Europeans generally controlled only slivers of land around forts and settlements. Yes, they operated ports, mines, farms and trading posts, but it took hundreds of years to wrest the North America from the Native Americans.

Texas is a particular case in point.

While maps might have indicated that New Spain included much of what is now Texas, the Spanish, in fact, rarely controlled territory beyond a few scattered presidios, missions and villages. The exceptions might be found in the brushy South Texans land around San Antonio and La Bahía, where Tejanos operated productive ranches.

Similar things could be said about the French, who for a long while considered the entire Mississippi River watershed, which includes the Red River and Texas its tributaries, theirs. This claim sometimes included disputed territory as far south as Matagorda Bay.

These insubstantial claims did not improve much after the European powers departed. During the early 19th century, neither the Mexican central government, nor the American immigrants, who began arriving in numbers during the 1820s, controlled more than a few patches on the map.

It was not until the Red River War (1874-1875) that the United States — and its still relatively new state of Texas — controlled all of the state’s territory. That was after more than 50 years of almost constant conflict with Native Americans, who were either removed or nearly exterminated in the process.

What about Austin, you say? In 1730, the Spanish temporarily transplanted three East Texas missions to somewhere along the Colorado River in the Austin area. Those were moved to better fortified positions in San Antonio a few months later. Archeologists have unearthed no physical evidence of those incompletely documented missions.

Which means the Spanish presence in Texas, which lasted intermittently from the 1520s to the 1820s, made little direct impact on the area around Austin.

It was Indigenous land.

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Austin, TX

Texas camps add flood sirens after Camp Mystic tragedy

Published

11 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Texas camps add flood sirens after Camp Mystic tragedy

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Austin, TX

3,000 Waymos recalled after several close calls with Austin ISD students

Published

23 hours ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

3,000 Waymos recalled after several close calls with Austin ISD students

TEXAS — The self-driving taxi known as Waymo is taking a break in Austin.

Since the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, Austin Independent School District (AISD) has recorded at least 20 stop-arm violations committed by the autonomous vehicles.

Cameras installed on school buses through the district’s Stop-Arm Camera Program show Waymo vehicles passing buses when they brake and have their stop arm extended. In some instances, the self-driving vehicles come close to hitting students getting off the bus.

“There’s not a similar pattern,” said Travis Pickford, assistant chief of the Austin ISD Police Department. “There’s not consistency there, other than the Waymo’s are consistently passing our buses.”

Pickford said despite Waymo operating in Austin for years, the district only found out about the stop-arm violations this year when they switched to a new vendor for the Stop-Arm Camera Program.

AISD and Waymo have gone back and forth on this issue, with AISD notifying the company of the violations and the district’s demands for a software update. Waymo replied in November, saying its vehicles have been updated.

Nonetheless, there were more violations cited by AISD, totaling at least 20 violations as of Nov. 20. And the issue, according to Pickford, is not exclusive to AISD.

“Eanes, Pflugerville, Leander, Round Rock, Del Valle, just to name those five,” he said. “I can only assume that if we’re seeing violations on our buses, it’s entirely possible that violations are occurring in those districts as well.”

“It’s our position and our belief that they need to stop operating while our school buses are out on the roadway,” Pickford said.

Because of the violations, Waymo voluntarily recalled more than 3,000 vehicles in its fleet.

Mauricio Peña, Waymo’s chief safety officer, said:

“While we are incredibly proud of our strong safety record showing Waymo experiences twelve times fewer injury crashes involving pedestrians than human drivers, holding the highest safety standards means recognizing when our behavior should be better.

“As a result, we have made the decision to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA related to appropriately slowing and stopping in these scenarios. We will continue analyzing our vehicles’ performance and making necessary fixes as part of our commitment to continuous improvement.”

The recall report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) also cites the stop arm violations are cause for the recall, stating:

“Prior to the affected Waymo ADS [automated driving system] receiving the remedy described in this report, in certain circumstances, Waymo vehicles that were stopped or stopping for a school bus with its red lights flashing and/or the stop arm extended would proceed again before the school bus had deactivated its flashing lights and/or retracted its stop arm.”

As Waymo plans to expand operations into San Antonio and Dallas, Pickford urged the company to ensure all vehicles are following the law before putting more students in the state in harm’s way.

“[People need to] be a voice and be a part of whatever safety working group is coming together to discuss Waymo or any autonomous vehicle operation in their area,” Pickford said.

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Austin, TX

Flu cases are rising in Texas. Watch out for these symptoms

Published

1 day ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Flu cases are rising in Texas. Watch out for these symptoms

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Health officials urge Texans to take precaution as flu cases ramp up across the state.

Recent data from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) show an uptick in flu-related hospitalizations this season. Weekly emergency department visits have also increased by over 4,000 this month, reaching a high of 9,993 in mid-December.

Austin-based physician assistant Jordan Jones with Baylor Scott & White Urgent Care said she is seeing a large rise of the influenza A virus in the Texas area.

“We’re seeing quite a few patients that are coming in who either have known exposures or positive home tests, which are really great things to have on hand in this season,” Jones noted.

Compared to the rest of the country, Jones said Texas is seeing a moderate level of influenza, however public health officials expect cases to intensify through Christmas and New Years.

“We’re probably going to see a nice rise after the holidays, but we really can’t prepare for exactly when the actual peak will be,” Jones said.

It’s not just flu cases that are expected to spike after the holidays. Jones said Texans should be prepared for cases of other respiratory illnesses like RSV and Covid-19 to climb.

“We really want you to be careful if you are spending time with your family,” Jones said. “If you’re having any symptoms, let other people know so that they can choose: do we want to still plan the holidays together or not?”

What should you look out for?

When it comes to signs and symptoms of the most common flu strain right now, influenza A, Jones described it as feeling like “you got hit by a freight train.”

“That’s what I always tell patients is that all of a sudden you’re down for the count,” she explained.

Common symptoms include:

Fever
Body aches
Sore throat
Runny nose
Congestion

As for prevention, Jones recommends getting the flu shot, handwashing, and carrying antibacterial hand sanitizer if you plan to travel.

“It’s hard for your immune system to fight a virus if you are exposed to something. Allowing yourself rest and stress reduction is also going to help you stay healthy,” Jones said.

Jones recommends seeing a health professional within the first 48 hours of experiencing symptoms to be prescribed Tamiflu, an antiviral medication to treat influenza A.

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