Eloisa Garcia Tamez
Eloisa Garcia Tamez (born March 2, 1935) is a Lipan Apache civil rights leader, lecturer, professional nurse, professor and retired officer of the United States Army's Nursing Corps. She is a prominent opponent and litigant against the Texas-Mexico border wall. Early life Born in Cameron County, Texas to Jose Cavazos Garcia (of Lipan Apache, Comanche, and Hispanic descent) and Lydia Esparza Garcia (Nahua, Basque, and Hispanic), Eloisa Garcia Tamez was raised in a traditional Indigenous community with her sibling, grandparents, cousins, and extended family. Her birth community is located within the historical land-base of the Lipan Apache. Education Following schooling in La Encantada and San Benito High School, she received a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Incarnate Word College in 1968. She received a Master of Science in nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio School of Nursing in 1973 and a Ph.D. in Health Education from the University of Texas at Austin in 1985. Early activism In the summer of 1952, she led her community members in a local struggle against the discriminatory effects of the controversial consolidation of Landrum District #3 with the San Benito Independent School District, which would have favored