An Indigenous tribe in Texas is getting its sacred burial ground back

The decision by local officials in Presidio, Texas, to transfer back the cemetery is the latest instance of land being repatriated to Indigenous tribes -- a small victory in a movement that has been building across the nation.

To the outside observer, the patch of land might easily be overlooked as part of the desert landscape. Many of the area's Indigenous residents, however, know it as the Cementerio del Barrio de los Lipanes -- the sacred site where their ancestors are buried.

For years, the Lipan Apache cemetery in Presidio, Texas, sat mostly vacant and unchanged, said Oscar Rodriguez, tribal administrator for the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas. But in the 1970s, development started to encroach on the cemetery, with newer generations largely unaware of the site's significance.