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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, For the past eight years, the Community Historical |
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| 6 | 7 | | Archaeology Project with Schools program of The University of Texas |
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| 7 | 8 | | Rio Grande Valley has worked to raise awareness of the region's rich |
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| 8 | 9 | | cultural and natural history; and |
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| 9 | 10 | | WHEREAS, Established in 2009, CHAPS brings scholars from |
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| 10 | 11 | | UTRGV into partnership with area schools and other community |
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| 11 | 12 | | institutions in order to create archaeologically and historically |
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| 12 | 13 | | literate citizens; these experts work with area schools to train |
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| 13 | 14 | | students from kindergarten through high school in the stewardship |
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| 14 | 15 | | of historical sites and vital natural resources while preparing |
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| 15 | 16 | | them for continuing studies in science, technology, engineering, |
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| 16 | 17 | | and mathematics; and |
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| 17 | 18 | | WHEREAS, Contributors to CHAPS include faculty from the |
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| 18 | 19 | | university's anthropology, history, geology, communication, |
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| 19 | 20 | | education, and biology departments, faculty and students from the |
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| 20 | 21 | | Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship and The |
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| 21 | 22 | | Studio, and staff from the Border Studies Archive and the Special |
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| 22 | 23 | | Collections Library; and |
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| 23 | 24 | | WHEREAS, The project has also forged relationships with such |
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| 24 | 25 | | local and county institutions as the Brownsville Historical |
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| 25 | 26 | | Association, the Cameron County Historical Commission, the Hidalgo |
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| 26 | 27 | | County Historical Commission, the Roma Historical Commission, the |
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| 27 | 28 | | King Ranch Museum, the Museum of South Texas History, the Peñitas |
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| 28 | 29 | | Historical Society, the Port Isabel Museum, the Starr County |
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| 29 | 30 | | Historical Museum, the Webb County Heritage Foundation, and the |
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| 30 | 31 | | Zapata County Museum of History, as well as such state entities as |
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| 31 | 32 | | Texas Tropical Trails and the Texas Historical Commission and such |
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| 32 | 33 | | federal agencies as the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and |
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| 33 | 34 | | Wildlife Service, and the International Boundary and Water |
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| 34 | 35 | | Commission; this outstanding program has benefited from the |
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| 35 | 36 | | leadership of its director, Dr. Russell K. Skowronek, and from the |
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| 36 | 37 | | expertise and hard work of Roseann Bacha-Garza, Christopher Miller, |
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| 37 | 38 | | Juan L. Gonzalez, Kenneth R. Summy, Nick Taylor, Rolando Avila, |
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| 38 | 39 | | Bobbie Lovett, John Milford, and Margaret Dorsey; and |
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| 39 | 40 | | WHEREAS, The program's successful efforts have included |
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| 40 | 41 | | student-led research into the Valley's prehistoric peoples and |
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| 41 | 42 | | early pioneers, a project to interview World War II veterans, and |
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| 42 | 43 | | the creation of lesson plans on the history of the Rio Grande |
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| 43 | 44 | | Valley; one of the most recent initiatives has been the development |
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| 44 | 45 | | of the Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail, which includes highway and |
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| 45 | 46 | | street signs marking Civil War sites across six counties, from |
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| 46 | 47 | | Laredo to Brownsville; the project has also created a bilingual |
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| 47 | 48 | | map, guide, and brochure, as well as a website and a series of |
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| 48 | 49 | | podcasts, that identify the sites and explain their significance; |
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| 49 | 50 | | and |
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| 50 | 51 | | WHEREAS, In 2016, CHAPS received two awards from the Texas |
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| 51 | 52 | | Historical Commission: an Award of Merit for preserving the |
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| 52 | 53 | | cultural and historical resources of Texas and the Chairman's Award |
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| 53 | 54 | | for Community Education for the Rio Grande Valley Civil War |
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| 54 | 55 | | Project; in 2017, the program earned the prestigious Daniel G. |
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| 55 | 56 | | Roberts Award for Excellence in Public Historical Archaeology from |
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| 56 | 57 | | the Society for Historical Archaeology; and |
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| 57 | 58 | | WHEREAS, CHAPS has proven to be a dynamic and innovative |
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| 58 | 59 | | educational endeavor, one that is enlightening and inspiring |
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| 59 | 60 | | countless young people throughout the Rio Grande Valley; now, |
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| 60 | 61 | | therefore, be it |
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| 61 | 62 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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| 62 | 63 | | Legislature hereby commend the Community Historical Archaeology |
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| 63 | 64 | | Project with Schools for its visionary approach to education and |
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| 64 | 65 | | extend sincere best wishes to all those associated with the program |
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| 65 | 66 | | for continued success in their important work; and, be it further |
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| 66 | 67 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 67 | 68 | | prepared for CHAPS as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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| 68 | 69 | | House of Representatives. |
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