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November is Native American Heritage Month, and a Texas Indigenous nonprofit is asking Dallas City Council for $10 million to build a community center that would highlight Indigenous history and culture year‑round. Heritage month highlights new proposal Diana Parton, a member of the Intertribal Community Council of Texas, said the nonprofit is asking for funding to help build the Native American Community Center. "This is not just an investment in our community. It's an investment in the City of Dallas," Parton said. "We would be serving Indians all over Texas, but the impact just here in DFW would be tremendous." Growing Native population in Texas U.S. Census data shows almost 50,000 Native Americans live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including more than 220,000 across Texas. Veronica Arredondo, a proud member of the Choctaw Nation and co-founder of the Intertribal Community Council of Texas, also spoke before the Dallas City Council this week. She said the center would include a powwow arena, theater, nonprofit workspace, youth engagement area, restaurant, transitional housing, and a stickball field. "We're hoping that we can bring our community together, especially during times of need, so that they have a safe space and a connection," Arredondo said. Support services and cultural connection The community center would also offer social support for Indigenous people. "We want to address things like homelessness, food insecurity, job development, small business development, all of those things in a culturally relevant way," Parton said. The proposed location is on Marvin D. Love Freeway, about a 10-minute drive from Dallas City Hall. "Our goal is to be able to provide eventually free transportation from the City of Dallas to our museum and community center so that we can help not just with traffic but also so that we can build that awareness for those that need that access," Arredondo said. Preserving history for future generations "It does feel like we're kind of in a rut where we're kind of constantly being erased," Parton said. The museum would help visitors learn more about the history and removal of Native Americans in North Texas. "The center would include a garden and a museum that could host our American Indian Relocation Act of 1956, in addition to a missing and murdered Indigenous persons area," Arredondo said. "What we're really striving for is an impactful set of programs that will still be around for our great grandkids," Parton said. Targeted opening before World Cup The goal is to have the center up and running in the summer of 2026, just in time for the FIFA World Cup.
