Part 2 of our series on Native American Tribes of the Southeast will focus on the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, first of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribes in the Southeastern Nine States. The Chitimacha
Tribe of Louisiana was federally recognized in 1916 by an Executive Order
signed by President Woodrow Wilson. This followed a 200-plus year battle to
physically survive, save their culture and reclaim a small portion of their
homeland.
In the 17th
century when the Chitimacha had their first contact with European explorers and
other non-indigenous people, the Chitimacha were known as the most powerful
tribe with 29 population centers between what is now Florida and Texas.
In 1706, as
a response French aggression including slave raids, a group of Chitimacha
killed a priest and slave owner along with several missionaries who were
members of the French party. The ensuing war lasted 12 years and took the lives
of the majority of Chitimacha. In addition many Chitimacha were taken into
slavery by the French and other tribes. The war ended when a treaty was signed
by a French leader and Chitimacha Chief in New Orleans.
As a result
of the war Chitimacha population centers to the east were pushed to the west
and south. They retreated across the Atchafalaya Basin to Chitimacha population
centers located along Grand Lake and Bayou Teche, across what is now south
Louisiana and where the tribe remains today.
Following
the peace treaty the French and later the Spanish and United States governments
officially recognized the integrity of the Chitimacha Tribe and its right to
land ownership. But in 1846 the Chitimacha were forced to sue the Federal
government to confirm their title to their lands. Their land claim amounted to
1,093.43 acres, a loss of 80 percent of the land from the 1826 claims. This was
further whittled away through a sale by “Chieftess” Eugina Soulier Rouge and
judgements against the Tribe for taxes owed to the State of Louisiana and by
1903 the remaining land by the Tribe was down to 470 acres and then finally
down to 261.54 acres. Finally, in 1916
this land was placed in trust for the beneficial use of the Chitimacha Tribe
through the intervention of Sara Mclhenny, a member of the family who owns the
Tobasco Company and a friend of the Tribe. In 1916 the Chitimacha Tribe of
Louisiana was federally recognized by the United States government and the 261.54
acres of land created their reservation.
During the
last several decades the Tribe has excelled. In 1970 the Tribal Members voted
give up the traditional government by chief system and adopt a constitutional
form of government. In 1978 they built a beautiful new Tribal school, early
learning center and Chitimacha Language Center. In 1993 this sovereign nation
established and built Cypress Bayou, the first land-based casino in Louisiana.
They continue to develop their reservation land and enterprises. The casino had
doubled in size and they have built the Cypress Bayou Hotel and an event center
as part of the casino and hotel complex.
They are
most proud of their great measure and success in re-establishing the lost
Chitimacha language in their struggle to survive. This is a story of a dynamic
re-establishment of a people and their culture. By 1932 Cajun French had nearly
replaced the language and only two people spoke Chitimacha fluently. A Yale
University linguist Morris Swadesh worked with the two elders to preserve the
language on wax cylinders and they created an unprecedented two hundred hours
of recordings.
The Tribe
began the monumental task of reawakening the language that no tribal member
could speak. From muddled, scratching
wax cylinder recordings, Granberry devised learning materials for children and
adults and distributed the materials to every Chitimacha household from
Louisiana to Germany. They also instituted language classes to bring the
ancient words to Tribe members of all ages.
The Chitimacha
tribal cultural director sums it up like this: “It’s not our fault the language
was lost. When people are being shot in
their yards or being drug behind horses and hung, you lose what you have to, to
survive.”
Ralph
Darden, former Chairman of the Chitimacha Tribe, 1989-1998 said, “To still walk
this same land our ancestors walked. To
again be able to care and provide for our people and those around us. To rekindle the pride in being
Chitimacha. That is the greatest gift we
can give our children.”
Nations Within, the Four Sovereign
Tribes of Louisiana, Louisiana State University Press, 2003
The Southeastern Indians by Charles
Hudson; Tribes of the Southern Woodlands, Time-Life Books
