'An amazing man': Indigenous activist, educator Larry Running Turtle Salazar dies at 68
Larry Running Turtle Salazar, a local Indigenous activist and educator, died early Sunday.
He was 68.
Salazar suffered from chronic pain, according to Michael Broken Horn Gomez. After several knee surgeries, a snowball effect of complications is what took him away, Gomez said.
"He treated me like the son he always wanted," Gomez, who is in a relationship with Salazar's daughter, Yvette Salazar, said. "He was an amazing man."
In the mid-1990s, the Texas Department of Transportation began work on upgrading Ennis Joslin Road. During the construction, workers found evidence of Native American use, including burials. In 1996, an archeologist was hired to conduct test excavations in this new section, and eventually TxDOT and the Texas Historical Commission determined portions of the area had been used as burial grounds sometime between 1000 B.C. and 1000 A.D.
Salazar did not receive notice about the remains until nearly a decade later. Angered by the disturbance of the burial grounds, Salazar made requests to stop the disturbance and to rename the road in honor of the Native Americans.
Both were refused.
The park now houses a medicine wheel where Salazar would host a blessing of sacred grounds along with a community march, a tradition he started in January 2005, according to a past Caller-Times article.
Vonnie Lynn, Salazar's niece, said she was with her uncle when he died.
"There were so many family members there," Lynn said. "He gave everyone their final blessings and told us he loved us all. The energy was so palpable in the room because there was so much love. He told us to be kind to one another, to love ourselves and to walk in beauty."
Lynn said Salazar was always there to give her guidance, empathy and love. She said she will continue to spread his kindness and hopes the community remembers her uncle for his passion, love and commitment to Native American culture.
Salazar was present during the annual mile-and-a-half walk along Ennis Joslin Road to the Ishka Sacred Site, a Native burial ground. He also initiated a prayer before the journey and helped with ceremonies afterward.
In 2023, Salazar told the Caller-Times he was diagnosed with kidney cancer, but felt best when he was at site.
'There are times recently when I am hurting so much and I am not feeling well, but when I am out there, I feel like I am reverberating with the spirit people,' Salazar told the Caller-Times. 'It puts me in a different mood. It kind of keeps me going.'
Gomez said information regarding services for Salazar will be shared at facebook.com/MichaelBrokenHorn.
More: Corpus Christi City Council approves agreement with non-profit for Indigenous art at park
More: Reclaiming heritage, some in the Coastal Bend fight to preserve Karankawa land, history
John Oliva covers entertainment and community news in South Texas. Contact him at john.oliva@caller.com or Bluesky @johnpoliva.bsky.social.
Consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to the Caller-Times.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Indigenous activist, educator Larry Running Turtle Salazar dies at 68
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