The Houma tribe has a peculiar history attached to its people.
It is a cultural group of indigenous people living in Louisiana on the east bank of the Red River.
How have the flowing sands of time affected the history and culture of this tribe?
And what interesting facts can we glean about this tribe?
A quick delve will give us all we need to know.
Houma Tribe History
European Contact (17th – 18th Century)
The earliest documented records were made in 1682; the Houma tribe supposedly dwelt on the eastern banks close to what is now West Feliciana Parish in Mississippi, according to reports that the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, heard while traveling down the Mississippi River.
Even though his journal entries are the first documented accounts of the Houma, the tribe didn’t meet with Westerners until 1686, when Henri de Tonti, an explorer, traversed past the village.
The Houma, who spoke Muskogean, built significant political and commercial ties with the French and Spanish colonists in the eighteenth century.
They were also able to endure as a community and maintain their identity thanks to the Louisiana Purchase and an inflow of settlers, including Americans and immigrants.
When European traders pushed deeper into the continent, the European colonists at the same time moved west; these traders from Europe and the Native American partners carried out savage incursions along the Mississippi River’s eastern coasts.
This thus forced the Native tribes residing in this area to evacuate, these raids were an enabler to the forced movement of the Tunica Indians away from their settlement down to the south where the Houma tribe were domiciled.
Shortly after, more than half of the Houma were murdered by the Tunica Indians, who the Houma had approved to reside in the region in 1706.
After the tragedy, the remaining Houma relocated to the south, which was closer to the French.
The 1720s saw the Houma tribe establish strong commercial and armed ties with the French, as the French were engaged in Louisiana’s economy.
European wars were fought in North America from the 1730s until the French- Indian War(1754-1763).
To resolve the tensions, several Native American bands forged protective ties with Europeans.
Early in the eighteenth century, the Houma started assimilating a few nearby tribes, including the Acolapissa, Bayogoula, and Chitimacha.
19th – 20th Century
The Houma tribe, in the early 19th century, began to move south to what became their present locations(Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes).
Well into the 20th century, the Houma remained largely unconnected.
Oil investors started stealing Indians’ land in the 1930s by taking advantage of their ignorance; because of this, Indian leaders in the area encouraged their people to study English in response, but this was not effected till after World War ll.
Even so, most of Houmas didn’t start going to school until after World War II. In the 1960s, desegregation took place in the local schools.
Over centuries of marriages, Catholicism and French have been deeply ingrained in Houma’s identity.
The Houma Tribes Inc. and the Houma Alliance are two tribal organizations that combined to become the United Houma Nation, Inc. in 1979 with assertions to have descended from the Houma tribe.
The state of Louisiana gave official recognition to the Houma nation in 1977, although they remain unrecognized by the Federal government.
Houma Tribe Culture
The Houma people, like many other Native American tribes, spent decades migrating, leaving an ethnic dispersion of these natives among many Native American communities and a significant occurrence of intermarriage.
Language
The Houma language, which linguists believe to be a dialect of Choctaw, has been lost since the early 1900s
Settlements
Their houses were square; the buildings ranged in size from 15 to more than 30 feet on a side. Inside and out, they had cane matting, and then outside, grass thatch.
The height of the doors was under 4 feet.
No smoke holes were present. In certain towns, there may have been more than 100 cabins arranged in a circle.
Beliefs
Carved wooden figurines adorned the fronts of temples.
The sun and thunder were likely among the gods that the populace most frequently worshipped.
There might have also been terracotta representations of the gods there.
Clothing
Men wore deerskin cloaks, skin leggings, and bearskin blankets during winter.
Women wore mantles made of woven muskrat hide or turkey feathers.
The Houmas wore long hair and not feather headdresses like the Sioux.
They often painted their faces and bodies for special occasions, including during lacrosse games, battles, and festivals.
Some men also had tattoo symbols on their arms and legs.
Transportation
The Houma people traveled inland and primarily moved on foot.
They built dugout canoes from hollowed logs on the water, using them for fishing.
However, they also used dogs as pack animals.
Food
The Houma were farmers cultivating beans, corn, and squash. Wild turkeys, small game, fish, and shrimps provided animal-based protein sources.
The Houma tribe also drank sassafrass tea.
Art and Craft, Weapons, and Tools
Houma were hunter-farmers that employed blowguns, nets, spears, and traps.
Warriors used arrows and bows or war clubs.
The Houmas were excellent craftsmen, making palmetto baskets and woodcarvings.
Activities and Gender Roles
Houma people were hunters and fishermen.
While men managed these activities and engaged in raids and warfare, women farmed, cared for children, and managed the home.
Men governed the people as chiefs, but some women served in leadership roles too.
Both genders participated in communal activities like artwork and music, traditional medicine, and storytelling.
Children were allowed to play but helped around the house and assumed gender roles as they came of age.
Houma Tribe Facts
1. The disease reduced their population drastically due to them not having immunity to the epidemics brought by the Europeans
2. The French were the first to have recorded mention of having come into contact with the Houma tribe
Mobilian Jargon was a simplified form of a trade language used by the Houma tribe to communicate with other Native Americans.
3. The Houma nation today consists of 17,000 tribe members.
4. The nation’s government encompasses a council of elected representatives for every tribal district; however, they also elect a principal chief and vice.
Their current principal chief is Lora Ann Chaisson.
5. The tribal nation has severely suffered negative physical and economic effects due to coastal erosion and the loss of wetlands.
Sadly, scientists speculate the island’s loss by 2030 if no land restoration projects exist.
6. Contemporary Houma people’s surnames have European origins.
Names like Naquin, Fitch, Parfait, Verdin, Billiot, Chaisson, Dardar, Gregoire, Courteau, Solet, Verret, and Creppel are regular.
Conclusion
In the language of the tribe, the word Houma or ouma, which means “red,” alludes to the sun or perhaps to their crawfish-based war anthem, but just like the sun, we hope the Houma tribe culture remains never to go extinct.
Despite years of cultural integration, inter-marriage, relocation, conflicts, and cultural evolution, the Houma tribe has held on to its core cultural beliefs and practices, pointing to the strong sense of community among the Houma tribe members.
