Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Mikko Colabe, III, or Clem Fain Sylestine, as he was also known, the principal chief of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, who passed away on May 21, 2019, at the age of 91 years. Chief Colabe, III, was born on November 4, 1927, on the Alabama- Coushatta Indian Reservation and is of the Granddaddy Long Legs Clan. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Austin College in Sherman, Texas, in 1952. Chief Colabe, III, was a teacher and coach at Southmayd High School, Holland High School, Shepherd High School, Woodville ISD, and Goodrich ISD. Although he retired in 1988, Chief Colabe, III, touched so many lives throughout his time in education. In addition to the passion that he had for educating children, Chief Colabe, III, was a distinguished Tribal leader for most of his adult life. He served as an elected Tribal Council member and then served as its chairman for many years. He assumed his chieftainship role in 1995 as the second chief and was elected as the principal chief in 2014. In serving as the principal chief, he followed in the footsteps of his father, Bronson Cooper Sylestine, who served as the chief from 1936 to 1969. Chief Colabe, III, was a direct descendant of Chief Colabe, who served as the second chief to Principal Chief Antone in the early 1800s. He was also an elder in the Indian Village Presbyterian Church on the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation.…”