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WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congressman Brian Babin (TX-36) issued the following statement after learning of the passing of Chief Mikko Colabe III Clem Fain Sylestine of the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Tribe.

“I was deeply saddened to hear about the recent passing of a great leader, Mikko Colabe III Clem Fain Sylestine, Chief of the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Tribe of Texas,” said Babin. “The son of a Chief himself, and a direct descendant of the first Chief Colabe who served the tribe in the early 19^th century, Chief Colabe III was a dedicated public servant who gave much of his ninety-one years to the betterment of the Alabama-Coushatta and educating the children of Texas, serving as a teacher throughout the state from the early 1950s to 1988. He took up the mantle of leadership for the tribe a few years later in 1995, where he served as Second Chief. In 2014, he was elected Principal Chief, a position he retained until his death.

“The loss of such an upstanding individual will be sorely felt, and all East Texas mourns his passing.”

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