Dr. Mario Gara led invocation on State House floor Tuesday

AUSTIN — Dr. Mario Garza of San Marcos led the invocation on the Texas House Floor on Tuesday. Garza delivered the invocation in the Coahuilatecan language. 

He serves as the board of elder’s chair for the Indigenous Cultures Institute and Cultural Preservation officer of the Miakan/Garza Band of Coahuilatecan people, a group indigenous to South Central Texas. Each morning, a member from the Texas House of Representatives selects a district resident as Chaplain of the Day who leads the House in an invocation following the call to order.

 “I was so honored to host Dr. Mario Garza today to lead our members in the invocation,” Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood, said. “It’s vital for our indigenous communities to be visible in our Texas Capitol, and I am grateful for his time, his presence and his blessing on our chamber.”

Garza served two tours in Vietnam, earned his PhD from Michigan State University in Social Science, and has spent nearly three decades protecting the land and grave sites of indigenous peoples.