Coushatta

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For the town in Louisiana, see Coushatta, Louisiana. For the Better Call Saul episode, see Coushatta (Better Call Saul).
Coushatta
Total population
Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana
910 enrolled members

Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas

1,000 enrolled

Muscogee peoples

The Coushatta (

Muskogean-speaking Native American people now living primarily in the U.S. states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas
.

When first encountered by Europeans, they lived in the territory of present-day

Creek Confederacy. Their languages are closely related and mutually intelligible.[citation needed
]

Under pressure from

Muscogee (Creek) peoples
.

Today, Coushatta people are enrolled in three

federally recognized tribes
:

Language

The

Apalachee-Alabama-Koasati branch of the Muskogean languages. An estimated 200 people spoke the language in 2000, most of whom lived in Louisiana. The language is written in the Latin script.[1]

History

The Coushatta were traditionally agriculturalists, growing a variety of

Chiska, Yuchi
, Tasquiqui, and Tali.

Under pressure from new European settlers in the 17th-18th centuries the Coushatta migrated west into present-day Alabama. Along the way they established their town at Nickajack (Ani-Kusati-yi, or Koasati-place, in Cherokee) in the current Marion County, Tennessee. Later they founded a major settlement at the north end of Long Island, which is bisected by the present-day Tennessee-Alabama stateline.

By the time of the

Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town in Wetumka, Oklahoma

Some of the Coushatta tribe split from the Creek Confederacy and went to South Louisiana. Their descendants today make up the federally recognized Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana.

Notable chiefs among the Coushatta-Alabama were Long King and Colita (Koasati) (1838–1852), who succeeded him. They led their people to settle in present-day

Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas
and have a reservation near Livingston.

Ethnobotany

A decoction of the leaves of Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium ssp. obtusifolium is used for fevers. The Coushatta use it to bathe those who are feverish.[4]

20th century to present

In the twentieth century, the Coushatta people in Louisiana began cultivating rice and

crawfish on tribally owned farms on the reservation, where most of the current population resides. An estimated 200 people of the tribe still speak the Coushatta language, which is in the Muskogean
family. In the early 21st century, fewer young people are learning it and the tribe is working on language preservation.

Since the late 20th century and the rise in Indian

lobbyist Jack Abramoff to assist in establishing a gaming casino on their reservation. They were victims of his manipulations
, as he charged them high fees but did not work on their behalf to gain federal or state approval of such development. He was ultimately prosecuted for his actions.

Since then, the tribe has established

Litigation
is underway.

F. A. Little, Jr., of Alexandria, Louisiana, a retired United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, serves as chief judge for the tribe.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Koasati", Ethnologue. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  2. Hudson, Charles M.
    (1997). Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun. University of Georgia Press.
  3. ^ "Alabama-Coushatta Indians", Texas Handbook Online
  4. ^ Taylor, Linda Averill. (1940) Plants Used As Curatives by Certain Southeastern Tribes. Cambridge, MA. Botanical Museum of Harvard University (p. 61)
  5. ^ Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana Archived 2007-07-10 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 25 Apr 2010
  6. ^ "F. A. Little, Jr. (Ret.)". Federal Arbitration. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Koasati.
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