More than 200 Native American groups were populating what is now central and southern Texas and northeastern Mexico when the Spanish conquistadores first arrived. The majority of research about these groups — collectively named Coahuiltecans — is scarce and little is known about their culture and history.

The Indigenous Cultures Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the research and preservation of the culture including arts, traditions, ceremonies, and languages of this population. We present historical and cultural information on the identity and ancestral legacy of these original Americans — Native Americans who have millions of descendants still living in Texas and the U.S.

Programs include research projects, articles and publications, a library and archives, classes and lectures, a Performances Program, and a Speakers Bureau.

A large segment of the population in the U.S. who currently identify themselves as Mexican American, Latino, or Hispanic, may be descendants of the Coahuiltecans. Some families can trace back several generations of continual residency in certain areas in Texas or along the Rio Grande delta where specific Coahuiltecan bands originally lived.