New Orleans, Louisiana is originally the home of the Chitimacha people.

The Tribe’s lands once encompassed the entire Atchafalaya Basin, lands westward toward Lafayette, Louisiana, southward to the Gulf of Mexico and eastward to the New Orleans area. Today, the Chitimacha maintains a reservation adjacent to the town of Charenton.

The Chitimacha people, who speak Sitimaxa, were organized through a class system as well as clans and consumed maize, potatoes, and wild game. River cane basketry, taught by ___ deity, is a traditional Chitimacha specialty. Today, the Chitimacha are organized through an adopted constitution and governed by five Tribal Council members.

Between Texas and Florida, the Chitimacha were considered the most powerful tribe, by European and non-european colonists. In 1706, the Chitimacha retaliated aganist a European slave owner, and the Europeans rallied neighboring tribes to begin the Twelve Year War, which ultimately ended in New Orleans with a peace treaty. In the twelve years of conflict, many Chitimacha were forced into slavery and were the most enslaved of any population in Louisiana during that time period.

In the 1800s, the United States granted the Chitimacha protection of 5440 acres of land through the Louisiana Purchase, although sold off much of this. The Chitimacha sued the United States government and were granted a mere 1093 acres, but realized a mere 470 acres after extracting taxes.

In the 1900s, the Chitimacha were subjected to boarding school education at the cost of assimilation and loss of cultural identity. Many Tribal members were sent to school in Pennsylvania where their hair was cut, they weren’t allowed to speak their native tongue, and work many hours of the day.