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Project Purpose, Benefit, Explanation: Most historians and archeologists agree that San Marcos has been inhabited for over ten thousand years, and in that time many different cultures have resided in or near the famous springs. Today it is fairly easy to find information on the Spanish missionaries who were here in the Eighteenth century mapping out the area and setting up colonies. It is even easier to find information on the Anglo founders of San Marcos in the 1840's. Burleson, Merriman, Lindsey, Moon, and Pitt are well-Irnown names to most current-day residents of San Marcos. But most people in San Marcos have no idea who Hashuk:ana was, or even lrnow him by the name given him by the white man, Chief Placido. Placido was chief of the Tonk:awa tribe living in the area when Burleson and Merriman first came to San Marcos. He quickJy allied his tribe with the new settlers and became a personal friend of not only Burleson, but also other great Texas heroes lik:e Sam Houston, Jack: C. Hays, and Stephen F. Austin. Placido and his tribe of Tonk:awa, serving as allies and scouts, fought side by side with the "Texians" against the marauding Comanche Indians who raided the frontier settlements from the Canadian River to the Gulf Coast. Life was hard for the early settlers of San Marcos, but it would have been much more difficult without the friendship and help of Chief Placido and the Tonk:awa. Yet few lrnow and none are taught the role of this tribe and their leader in the final settling of this region. Nowhere in the City of San Marcos or Hays County is there a street name or historical mark:er to remind us of these earliest settlers of the Balcones region. One of the great characteristics of San Marcos is the way in which the community honors its historical heritage; yet the Tonk:awa and their great leader seem to have been forgotten. Through the efforts of the Class of 2007, Leadership San Marcos now has an opportunity to correct this omission by dedicating a monument to honor Placido, and, by extension, his people, the Tonk:awa of Central Texas. Further, the proposed monument will provide an opportunity to showcase Mr. Eric Slocombe, a talented sculptor who has made San Marcos his home for the past two decades. By locating the monument on a public space subject to heavy community use, many will be exposed, some for the first time, to the historical presence of these Native Americans and their pivotal leader, who made their home near present day San Marcos, and whose loyalty and friendship were crucial to the establishment of our home town.