One of the most fascinating stories of Native American history begins with an unfamiliar tribe of the people named the Tekesta's.  The meaning of the name is broken down as follows: Te: "to be" or "to be constituted as a people" Ke: "Earth" or "land" Sta: "Good" (as in term Taino).  So it is interpreted as " We the People of the Good Earth."  Our line and Florida Memorial College, located in Miami, are a new entity in the Upsilon World, therefore unfamiliar to most brothers.  The Tekesta may not be known today, however in their time they were a strong and  respected tribe.  Out time is coming and we to will be a strong and respected chapter for this organization.

    The earliest evidence found in Dade and Broward Counties places the Tekesta Indians in South Florida region as early as 1450 BCE, but it is believed they may have migrated from California some 10,000 years ago.  Similar to the Tekesta, our line migrated to Miami from other lands.  We migrated to Florida Memorial College from different areas: One from Honduras, another from New York, and the last from the Dominican Republic.  The Tekesta Indians lived in what is now Dade and Broward Counties, southeast Florida.  They had a capital located in Miami also known as Tekesta.  The Tekesta Indians were of the Taino tribe that settled into Bimini (the Taino name for Florida).  They settled in what is known today as El Portal ,a one-mile square area between the City of Miami and the Village of Miami Shores, which is about 10 minutes away from Florida Memorial College's campus.

    Admiral Pedro Menendez de Avilles established the most familiar settlement in Florida, St. Augustine, in 1565 further up to the coast.  St. Augustine was also the first site of Florida Memorial College in 1879 prior to moving to the Miami area.  From this point, the European intruder's impact upon the people of the southeast Florida coast intensified.

    Florida offered relatively little for the Spanish compared to the riches of the Caribbean, therefore in 1567 Admiral Pedro Menedez de Avilles decided to expand his power southward to eventually head to Cuba.  On his way to Cuba the Admiral arrived in El Portal.  Here he negotiated with the Tekesta requesting that three Tekesta captains accompany him to Cuba to serve as ambassadors of good faith.  Like those three Tekesta captains we represent Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity Incorporated in a very positive way.  We hope to bring the organization to the next level in our region, we work hard to support the growth of this organization's influence in the Florida region.

    The Tekesta Indians fought the white man longer than any other tribe in the U.S. history with great success and perseverance.  Their personal appearance is similar to ours and most of the Europeans were intimidated when they first saw the Tekesta Tribe soldiers.  These men were very tall and muscular, well they tall and muscular, well over six feet, nearly se en feet tall.  Lambda Sigma Upsilon was created to foster a form of revolution, like the Tekesta we too will be strong warriors.  Our battle is different than that of the Tekesta, our's is to demonstrate to others, and ourselves that our people posses perseverance and we are as entitled as anyone to succeed in education and life in general.

    Though they were strong warriors the Tekesta were also very modest people.  Similarly we will be strong proud Upsilon men, however maintain our humility and integrity.  Marinating a strong commitment to the beliefs of the Founding Fathers, we will create a chapter where people will feel welcome and look forward to working with us toward common goals on campus and the community at large.

    The selection of the Tekesta name for our chapter is primarily due to the many common challenges we face in terms of society and life.  We hope to approach these challenges with the same pride and strength that the Tekesta approached them with.  Life will present many challenges we hope to still stand tall and stand strong.  Similar to the Tekesta, we are willing to fight any battles that come our way in making Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity Incorporated as well as Florida Memorial College known in our community.

    We want the two to be coincided with each other, to achieve what our Founding Fathers based this organization on:  Academic Excellence, Cultural Awareness and Diversity, to be positive Role Models in the community as well as Brotherhood.  Since our college is a Historically Black Institution, brining a Latino organization to this school is a major accomplishment.  We feel the Latino population needs a foundation to help grown within the school as well as themselves.  We want to bring our words and the words of the organization into the local schools to help promote furthering their education.  We want to help the Latino community know that Florida Memorial College is not just for the African American population, that we are also a part of the education system.  Though this organization we feel we will have the platform to succeed in the challenge we have chosen to undertake.