United Houma Nation

United Houma Nation, Inc.
Named afterHouma people
Formation1977 (state-recognized tribe), 1979 (nonprofit)
Type501(c)(3) organization[1]
Tax ID no.EIN 72-0742264[1]
Legal statusactive
HeadquartersHouma, Louisiana[1]
Location
  • United States
Members19,000+
Official language
English
Chief
Lora Ann Chaisson[1]
Revenue$2,646,989[1] (2023)
Expenses$1,319,938[1] (2023)
Staff17[1] (2023)
Websiteunitedhoumanation.org

The United Houma Nation, Inc. is a state-recognized tribe and non-profit organization in Louisiana. It is one of the largest state-recognized tribes in the United States, with over 19,000 members. It is not a federally recognized American Indian tribe.

History

Ancestors of the United Houma Nation (UHN) began moving to Terrebonne Parish in the 1780s, they coalesced into a distinct community on Bayou Terrebonne between 1810 and 1830. These ancestors were ethnically French, Acadian, German, African and Native American.[2] Since the 20th century, the ancestors of the UHN have generally been reported as a “mixed blood” Indigenous community in literature.[3] Researchers noted they identified as Houma people, but assumed descent from several tribes, including the Choctaw, Biloxi, Chitimacha, Acolapissa and Chawasha.[4][5][6]

19th century

Early ancestors of the UHN began settling along Bayou Terrebonne between 1790 and 1820. The three founding families of the group are identified as the Courteau, Billiot, and Verdin families. The Courteaus were of Native American origin, the Verdins were of mixed German/French and Native American descent, and the Billiots were of African American and German Origin.[2]

In 1808, Rosalie Courteau Married Jacques Billiot.[7] The marriage has been described as central to the formation of the group.[8] By 1820, Alexander Verdin was living with his Native American wife, Marie Gregoire, on Bayou Terrebonne.[9] Rosalie Courteau's father was Houma Courteau, an indigenous man. In two deeds from the 1820s, he was identified respectively as “Touh/Tough-la-bay alias Courteau of the Beloxy Nation” and “Loup La Bay called Courteau Indian of the Beloxy Nation". Courteau has also been Identified as Lacalobe, Joseph Abbe, and Shulushumon.[10] John Swanton recorded the name Shulushomon from Houma Courteau's granddaughter Felicite Billiot. The BIA and historian Daniel Usner suggested that "Shulushomon" may have been a title meaning Red Shoes, rather than a personal name.[11]

Rosalie Courteau's mother, Marianne Courteau, is speculated to have had Indigenous ancestry. Informants told Swanton that Marianne's name at the time of her Baptism was “Nuyu'n”, however no direct evidence confirming Native American ancestry has been identified.[12]

Community expansion

Marie Gregoire was described as a “femme sauvage” (Native American woman) in Alexander Verdin's 1829 will.[13] By 1820, the Verdin, Courteau, and Billiot families were living adjacent to one another along Bayou Terrebonne.[14] From the 1820s onward, the three founding families married non-Indigenous families, including the Naquins, Chaissons, and Solets. Due to high birth rates, and out-marriage, the group continued to expand. Between 1825 and 1870, UHN ancestors moved throughout the lower bayous, founding new communities connected to their original settlement on Bayou Terrebonne.[15]

According to UHN oral tradition, Rosalie Courteau emerged as chief of the group between 1830 and the 1880s.[16] In the 1860 Federal census, most of the group's ancestral population were enumerated as “Indian".[17] In 1868, a letter written by Father Denéce, first pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Montegut, described Native Americans living on the Bayous:[18]

“I went to visit all those families who cannot come to church. These visits took me two weeks . . . to see who are in the islands neighbouring Bayou Terrebonne. The people there are not able to come to church. I go there from time to time for baptisms and communions. These are practically all decent, well-disposed Indians. I have already given communion to a good many of them. When i arrive among these people they gather [from] all the islands to attend mass i say in the house that is most suitable. The day of departure [having] come, they take great pleasure in taking me to the embarkation. They are people who have been reared among the whites on Bayou Terrebonne and one can easily see [it] by their polite ways.”

In 1892, reporter Catherine Cole of the New Orleans Daily Picayune travelled through Terrebonne Parish. Cole stated that the Houma people had previously settled in the area of the same name, but by 1892 were living in palmetto huts along the Bayous. She was informed that 336 “Indians” lived in the parish.[19]

20th century

In 1907, John Swanton visited the group.[20][21] Swanton documented that the tribe were descended from three families: the “Couteaux”, “Billiout”, and “Verdine" families. He concluded that, although the group identified as Houma, they were descended from several tribes, including the Bayogoula, and Acolapissa.[5]

In 1917, ethnologist David Bushnell identified a major UHN settlement, Pointe-au-Chien, as Chitimacha.[22] Bushnell's Chitimacha informant was Abel Billiot.[23] The BIA disputed Bushnell's identification, stating that Billiot had no documentable Chitimacha ancestry. His wife, Pauline Creppel, was Rosalie Courteau's great-granddaughter.[22] Bushnell noted that several families claimed Chitimacha descent, while acknowledging Houma ancestry.[24]

Loss of land and educational barriers

In 1916, H.L. Billiot appealed to the 20th Judicial District Court after his children were denied admission to an all-white school. Proceedings in H.L. Billiot v. Terrebonne Parish School Board began in April 1917. Billiot argued that he did not meet the definition used for the word “colored” in Louisiana, as he was of White and Native American ancestry.[25] Billiot was an ancestor of the UHN.[26]

Initially, the case focused on Billiot's ancestry, but later centred on the ancestry of Billiot's wife, Celesie Fredrick. Attorneys representing the School Board focused on Celesie's grandfather, Etienne ("King") Billiot Jr. They argued that the mother of Etienne Billiot Sr, Marianne Erice, was a woman of African ancestry from San Domingo. However, witnesses maintained that she was of Spanish descent.[27]

Elderly people who had known Etienne ("King") Billiot personally were called to testify regarding his racial background, although they described him as a person of color, they avoided identifying him as African American. One witness, Taylor Beattie, provided the following testimony regarding Billiot:[28]

"He was not black, but he was a dark colored man . . . King Billiot had in those days the reputation of claiming to be and recognized as being the King or Chief of the Houmas Tribe of Indians that settled in this portion of the State. The Houmas Tribe of Indians are a portion or sub-tribe of the Choctaws and lived on the river and in Lafourche before the Americans settled in the Country. As to whether he was the Chief of them, I know nothing."

The BIA later stated that Billiot was the son of non Indigenous parents and therefore could not be a chief, although his wife Celesie Verret was of documented Indigenous ancestry.[29] After concluding that both H.L. Billiot and his wife were of mixed ancestry, and that his wife may have had African ancestry, the court ruled in favour of the School Board. An appeal by Billiot brought the case to the Louisiana Supreme Court, which dismissed the appeal on grounds that it lacked jurisdiction over the case.[30]

During the 1930s, the group lost much of their land to speculators and oil and gas companies. Land claims were often challenged due to missing civil marriage records, which many families lacked due to distance from population centers.[31] Under Louisiana law at the time, children born outside of legally recognised marriages could be denied inheritance rights.[32]

During the 1940s, The Terrebonne Parish School Board agreed to construct a school specifically for the group, The Dulac Indian School, on the condition that it be operated by the Methodist church. Construction was completed in 1953. The school only provided education up to eighth grade.[33] In 1954, the School Board planned to integrate Native American children into white schools. The plan collapsed after white parents threatened to withdraw their children if Native American children were admitted. A high school serving the group was established in 1961.[34]

In 1963, following lawsuits filed by 19 parents on behalf of their children, a court ruling granted children from the community admission to white schools.[35] In 1965, Another lawsuit was filed seeking admission for African American students to white schools, and in 1966 members of the group, together with African-Americans and European Americans formed a single integrated school body.[36]

Recognition process

Early efforts by the Houma to obtain federal recognition, particularly in relation to education, included their mention in a 1931 report on Native Americans in Louisiana by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The report concluded Native populations in Louisiana were too geographically dispersed to receive federal educational services.[37] The report by BIA Special Commissioner Roy Nash followed an inquiry from Louisiana congressman Numa F. Montet, who had written to the BIA to ask what measures would be required for the Houma to come under federal jurisdiction based on their Indigenous identity.[38]

In 1938, the Indian Service sent anthropologist Ruth Underhill to investigate Indigenous communities in Louisiana. In October of that year, she visited Houma enclaves in the state. After conducting her study, Underhill recommended that federal aid be provided to the Houma; however the department of interior declined to do so, citing financial constraints.[39] Underhill's investigation had been undertaken at the urging of anthropologist Frank Speck.[40]

State recognition

In 1972, the Houma Tribe was formed,[41] electing its first chairman, Frank Naquin. The organization primarily served Houma communities in the eastern portion of Terrebonne, Lafourche, and Jefferson Parishes. In 1974, members in western areas, dissatisfied with the Houma Tribe, split to form the Houma Alliance, whose primary objective was to address the economic conditions affecting Western Houma communities.[42] The Houma obtained state recognition in 1977.[43] In 1979, the two organisations merged to form the United Houma Nation, with the aim of strengthening their pursuit of federal recognition. Kirby Verret was the United Houma Nation's first chairman.[44][45]

Federal recognition petition

The United Houma Nation petitioned for federal recognition with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in 1979.[46] The UHN submitted its petition in 1985. At that time, the Houma had 8715 enrolled members. Increased interest following the petition, along with a registration drive by the UHN, led to membership growth to approximately 17,000.[47]

In 1994, the BIA published a preliminary finding that the United Houma Nation did not meet three of the seven criteria for recognition as an Indian tribe. They found no evidence that the United Houma Nation descended from any historical Indian tribe, that their ancestors did not constitute a distinct social community before 1830, and that their ancestors exercised no political influence over a community before 1830.[48] The ancestors of the United Houma Nation were "primarily French, Acadian, German, and African" people who settled near Bayou Terrebonne around the 1790s.[48] Three Native American ancestors were identified; however, their tribes affiliation could not be determined, and each moved to the settlement independently of each other.[48]

Organizational splits

In January 1995, two groups separated from the UHN, taking nearly 2,000 members with them: the Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees (BCCM) and the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe (PACIT).[49] In 2004, the Pointe-au-Chien Tribe gained state recognition alongside the Bayou Lafourche, Grand Caillou/Dulac, and Isle de Jean Charles Bands that constitute the BCCM.[50] In 2008, both PACIT and the BCCM were issued negative proposed findings to their federal recognition petitions.[51]

Present day

In 2013, the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs offered revised criteria for federal recognition.[52][53] The United Houma Nation has an active petition for federal acknowledgment under 2015 criteria. The BIA is waiting for the United Houma Nation to submit further documentation.[54]

Cultural heritage

Language

In 1907, John Swanton collected a list of 80 words from an elderly woman whom he identified as being Houma,[55] later identified as Felicite (Billiot) Galley by the BIA.[56][57] Swanton described the words as nearly identical to Choctaw.[55]

The BIA later consulted Emanuel Drechsel, a scholar specializing in Mobilian Jargon, who stated that the documented words appeared to be either Mobilian Jargon or a incomplete form of Choctaw. Dreschel concluded that the UHN had likely spoken a different Indigenous language natively while using either Mobilian Jargon or Choctaw as a second language.[18]

Based on this interpretation the BIA concluded that the word list represented Mobilian Jargon.[56][18] Several scholars, however, have disputed this interpretation and instead identified the language as a distinct language known as Houma.[58][59][18][60]

A song in the language was recorded in 1924 from Felicite Zilda (Billiot) Chaisson.[57] In the early 1970s, Mennonite Missionary Greg Bowman recorded another song in the language from Elvira Molinere Billiot. In 2015, elders in the UHN could still recall words from the language, mainly relating to the environment, including “nita” (bear), “šankoló” (cypress), “santé” (snake), “okélawaféna” (water), and “sakčé” (crawfish).[61]

Houma French

The dialect of French spoken by members of the UHN is considered to have a distinct accent in Louisiana and is known as Houma French.[62] The ancestral language of the UHN has influenced the phonology and morpho-syntax of this dialect,[63] its vowel and consonant patterns have been described as resembling western Muskogean languages more closely than other varieties of French spoken in Louisiana.[64]

Material culture

Thatched house under construction in Point Au Chien in 1907.

David Bushnell described the group's traditional houses as having palmetto-thatched roofs, with walls made of branches, saplings, clay and Spanish moss. According to Bushnell, houses could be constructed within a day, with communal labour used during construction. A particularly large house served as a meeting place for men in the village.[65]

Bushnell also reported that the group had formerly practiced tattooing on the hands, cheeks, and neck. The tattoos were described as red and black in colour, with the pigments coming from the giant ragweed and from burned yellow pine. He further noted that the group made pottery vessels from clay, spoons from cow horns, and pirogues were made out of cypress.[66]

He learned that bows and arrows were primarily used by elderly people, while blowguns remained in use.[67] Janel M. Curry-Roper noted that blowguns continued to be used by this group well into the 20th century. Two distinct variants of blowgun were documented among the group. One was the southeastern blowgun, made from marsh elder and widely used among Native American tribes in Southeastern USA. The second variant, made from a split cypress stick, was identified as unique to this group within the USA.[68] The style of blowgun dart used by the group is similar to those used by the Choctaw and Muscogee People.[69]

Frank Speck documented that the group had traditional healers known as “Traiteurs”, these healers provided herbal remedies and memorized prayers during treatment, they reportedly chanted while attending to a patient[70]. He noted that, among more than 70 plants used by the group for herbal remedies, only four were of European origin.[71]

Curry-Roper documented the use of three materials in the group's basket-making traditions: cane, cypress, and palmetto. The techniques employed included wicker, coiled, twilled and checkered basketry.[72]

Organization

The United Houma Nation incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Houma, Louisiana, in 1979.[1] Their funders include the Ananda Fund, Common Counsel Foundation, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, NEO Philanthropy, and Institute of Indian Development.[1]

Administration

The United Houma Nation Inc. established a governing body that includes a council consisting of elected representatives for each tribal district and elect a principal chief as well as a vice principal chief.

They are based in Houma, Louisiana, and their principal chief is Lora Ann Chaisson.[73]

Population

The United Houma Nation, Inc. has the largest membership of any state-recognized tribe in Louisiana and has more members than any of the four federally recognized tribes in Louisiana.[74] It is one of the largest state-recognized tribes in the United States, with over 19,000 members

Activities

The organization holds an annual powwow in Louisiana.[75]

In 2024, the United Houma Nation received a $56 million federal grant for projects aimed at addressing climate change.[76]

Notable members

  • Mariah Hernandez-Fitch, film director, writer, activist
  • N. Bruce Duthu, Dean of Vermont School of Law
  • R.J. Molinere, TV personality, Swamp People

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "United Houma Nation". Cause IQ. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  2. 1 2 BIA 1994, pp. 17–18.
  3. ↑ BIA 1994, p. 13.
  4. ↑ Speck, Frank G. (1941). "A List of Plant Curatives Obtained from the Houma Indians of Louisiana". Primitive Man. 14 (4): 49 – via JSTOR.
  5. 1 2 Swanton, John R (1911). Indian Tribes of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Adjacent Coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Washington. p. 292.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ↑ BIA 1994, pp. 146–147.
  7. ↑ BIA 1994, p. 164.
  8. ↑ BIA 1994, p. 259.
  9. ↑ BIA 1994, p. 254.
  10. ↑ BIA 1994, pp. 85–87.
  11. ↑ BIA 1994, p. 145.
  12. ↑ BIA 1994, pp. 91–92.
  13. ↑ BIA 1994, pp. 94–95.
  14. ↑ BIA 1994, p. 236.
  15. ↑ BIA 1994, pp. 237–238.
  16. ↑ Miller 2004, p. 173.
  17. ↑ BIA 1994, p. 127.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Campisi, Jack; Sterna, William A. (2004). "Another View on "Ethnogenesis of the New Houma Indians"". Ethnohistory. 51 (4): 783–787 – via Project MUSE.
  19. ↑ D'Oney 2020, p. 73.
  20. ↑ BIA 1994, p. 21.
  21. ↑ Swanton, John R. (1911). Indian tribes of the lower Mississippi Valley and Adjacent Coast of the Gulf of Mexico. p. 291.
  22. 1 2 BIA 1994, p. 115.
  23. ↑ BIA 1994, p. 185.
  24. ↑ Bushnell Jr, David I. (May 19, 1917). "The Chitimacha of Bayou La Fourche, Louisiana". Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. 7 (10): 302 – via JSTOR.
  25. ↑ D'Oney 2020, pp. 82–83.
  26. ↑ BIA 1994, pp. 192–193.
  27. ↑ D'Oney 2020, pp. 83–84.
  28. ↑ D'Oney 2020, pp. 84–86.
  29. ↑ BIA 1994, p. 266.
  30. ↑ D'Oney 2020, pp. 86–87.
  31. ↑ D'Oney 2020, pp. 89–91.
  32. ↑ D'Oney 2020, p. 93.
  33. ↑ D'Oney 2020, p. 101.
  34. ↑ D'Oney 2020, pp. 102–103.
  35. ↑ D'Oney 2020, pp. 103–104.
  36. ↑ D'Oney 2020, p. 106.
  37. ↑ Miller 2004, pp. 181–182.
  38. ↑ D'Oney 2020, pp. 94–95.
  39. ↑ Miller 2004, pp. 182–184.
  40. ↑ D'Oney 2020, p. 96.
  41. ↑ United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Indian Affairs (1990). Houma Recognition Act: Hearing Before the Select Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred First Congress, Second Session on S. 2423 ... August 7, 1990, Washington, DC. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 38.
  42. ↑ Miller 2004, p. 189.
  43. ↑ Ellis, Elizabeth (April 5, 2013). "Houma Nation". 64 Parishes. Archived from the original on October 24, 2019.
  44. ↑ Miller 2004, p. 192.
  45. ↑ D'Oney 2020, pp. 111–112.
  46. ↑ Lavis, Rick (2 August 1979). "Receipt of Petition for Federal Acknowledgment of Existence as an Indian Tribe" (PDF). Federal Register. 44 (190). Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  47. ↑ Miller 2004, p. 193.
  48. 1 2 3 Deer, Ada E. (December 22, 1994). "Proposed Finding Against Federal Acknowledgment of the United Houma Nation, Inc" (PDF). Federal Register. 59 (245): 66118. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  49. ↑ D'Oney 2020, p. 128.
  50. ↑ Precht, Jay (December 22, 2010). "Native Americans in Twentieth-Century Louisiana". 64 Parishes. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019.
  51. ↑ Toensing, Gale Courey (January 24, 2014). "Federal Recognition Process: a Culture of Neglect". ICT. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023.
  52. ↑ Jordan Blum, "La. tribes look to change in federal recognition rules", The Advocate, 1 September 2013
  53. ↑ Dan Frosch, "Tribes Seek Speedier Federal Recognition Proposed Changes May Benefit Native Groups Denied Health, Other Benefits", Wall Street Journal, 10 July 2014, accessed 19 October 2014
  54. ↑ "Petition #056: United Houma Nation, Inc., LA". Indian Affairs. U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  55. 1 2 Swanton, John R. (1911). Indian tribes of the lower Mississippi Valley and Adjacent Coast of the Gulf of Mexico. p. 28.
  56. 1 2 BIA 1994, p. 183.
  57. 1 2 BIA 1994, p. 304.
  58. ↑ Brown, Cecil H.; Hardy, Heather K. (2000). "What is Houma". International Journal of American Linguistics. 66 (4): 546 – via JSTOR.
  59. ↑ Faraclas, Nicholas (2012). Agency in the Emergency of Creole Languages. John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 187–188.
  60. ↑ Miller 2004, p. 178.
  61. ↑ Guarino, Mark (January 3, 2015). "Young Members of Louisiana's Houma Nation try to Reclaim Tribe's Lost Language". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015.
  62. ↑ Faraclas, Nicholas (2012). Agency in the Emergency of Creole Languages. John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 185–186.
  63. ↑ Faraclas, Nicholas (2012). Agency in the Emergency of Creole Languages. John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 194–195.
  64. ↑ Faraclas, Nicholas (2012). Agency in the Emergency of Creole Languages. John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 197–200.
  65. ↑ Bushnell Jr, David I. (May 19, 1917). "The Chitimacha of Bayou La Fourche, Louisiana". Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. 7 (10): 302–303 – via JSTOR.
  66. ↑ Bushnell Jr, David I. (May 19, 1917). "The Chitimacha of Bayou La Fourche, Louisiana". Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. 7 (10): 304–306 – via JSTOR.
  67. ↑ Bushnell Jr, David I. (May 19, 1917). "The Chitimacha of Bayou La Fourche, Louisiana". Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. 7 (10): 306–307 – via JSTOR.
  68. ↑ Curry-Roper, Janel M. (1982). "Houma Blowguns and Baskets in the Mississippi River Delta". Journal of Cultural Geography. 2 (2): 15 – via Taylor & Francis Online.
  69. ↑ Jett, Stephan C. (March 1991). "Further Information on the Geography of the Blowgun and Its Implications for Early Transoceanic Contacts". Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 81 (1): 95 – via Wiley Library Online.
  70. ↑ Speck, Frank G. (1941). "A List of Plant Curatives Obtained from the Houma Indians of Louisiana". Primitive Man. 14 (4): 52 – via JSTOR.
  71. ↑ Speck, Frank G. (1941). "A List of Plant Curatives Obtained from the Houma Indians of Louisiana". Primitive Man. 14 (4): 67 – via JSTOR.
  72. ↑ Curry-Roper, Janel M. (1982). "Houma Blowguns and Baskets in the Mississippi River Delta". Journal of Cultural Geography. 2 (2): 15–17 – via Taylor & Francis Online.
  73. ↑ "Tribal Directory: Southeast Region". National Congress of American Indians. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  74. ↑ "The United Houma Nation: The Culture of Louisiana". WGNO. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
  75. ↑ "After 5 years United Houma Nation returns with Powwow". WWL-TV. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
  76. ↑ Hunt, Dianna (July 26, 2024). "United Houma Nation gets $56M in Federal Funding for Climate Project". ICT. Archived from the original on July 27, 2024.

Bibliography

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