The Nation - News from Nov. 22, 1985

A migratory band of Indians called the Texas Kickapoos gained U.S. citizenship in Eagle Pass, Tex., in a ceremony that a witness said marked the end of the “Dark Ages” for the poverty-stricken tribe. Tribal council spokesman Paul Garza accepted citizenship cards from the Immigration and Naturalization Service for the 143 members of his tribe who became citizens, making them eligible for welfare benefits. Others’ citizenship applications are pending. Most of the 536 Texas Kickapoos are migrant farm workers who drift annually form Mexico to the northern United States. They have made Eagle Pass their home base, dwelling in a small cluster of primitive hand-built round huts underneath the international bridge to Mexico. They were granted Mexican citizenship years ago.