Sisters aim to reclaim Native American heritage by opening store on Fort Worth's White Settlement Road
Two Indigenous sisters opened up their own thrift shop in Fort Worth this year, located on a road with a traumatic history for local Native Americans.
Dancing Iglesias makes sure customers feel welcome at her new business, Flipstone Vintage and Thrift, which is tucked off a busy road. Many of the people shopping for the eco-friendly finds may not be aware of an unusual fact.
"We knew that it was ironic that we were a Native-owned business on White Settlement Road," Iglesias said.
Iglesias is a member of the Lakota tribe.
"My mom didn't have those opportunities. I think for her life, she was just surviving. She was in boarding school, and her life was extremely traumatic," Iglesias said.
Iglesias is taking advantage of the opportunities her mother didn't have and co-owners the business with her sister, Lily Mekeel. The two were born and raised in Tarrant County.
"I think it gets people thinking and questioning more about the history of White Settlement because they're like, 'That sounds weird,'" Mekeel said.
Tarrant County College history instructor Adam Guerrero said the history of White Settlement began more than 180 years ago.
"They are referring to White individuals who are settling amongst Natives at the time," Guerrero said.
General Edward Tarrant, whom Tarrant County is named after, commanded the Texas militia to attack Native Americans living in seven Indigenous villages beginning in 1841, Guerrero said.
"This is an extermination," Guerrero said. "There's violence that's enacted against them later as they further push west, so Indigenous populations here, they only had the option of they could stay in assimilate or those who resisted or didn't want to go into reservations, well, then they would face the military."
"Since then, I don't think that we have truly felt 100% welcome to be here or feel like we could exist fully and be able to actually just claim being Indigenous out loud," Iglesias said.
Iglesias said she didn't feel completely comfortable publicly acknowledging her Native heritage until this year.
The meaning behind the shop is much more than a rack of clothes. The sisters hope the store can bring Indigenous history in Tarrant County back into focus.
"I think it makes us more visible and I hope that it continues to do that," Mekeel said. "I honestly in the future would love to see more native businesses open up in Fort Worth and even on this street."
"I think being on this street has made a really big statement that it's possible you can take those steps and you're allowed to do, even if it feels scary or feels wrong, like opening an Indigenous business on White Settlement Road," Iglesias said.
The sisters' dream of starting their business on a road with a painful history can help them and Tarrant County's Indigenous people heal from the past while forging a new path for the future.
"It is American history. It's Texas history. It's DFW history," Guerrero said.
This is CBS News Texas reporter Dawn White's first story for Native American Heritage Month.