The Coushatta ( cku, Koasati, Kowassaati or Kowassa:ti) are a
Muskogean
Muskogean (also Muskhogean, Muskogee) is a Native American language family spoken in different areas of the Southeastern United States. Though the debate concerning their interrelationships is ongoing, the Muskogean languages are generally div ...
-speaking Native American people now living primarily in the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
states of
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
.
When first encountered by Europeans, they lived in the territory of present-day
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. They were historically closely allied and intermarried with the Alabama people, also members of the
Creek Confederacy
The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsAnglo-American colonial settlement after 1763 and the French defeat in the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...
, they began to move west into
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, Louisiana and Texas, which were then under Spanish rule. They became settled in these areas by the early 19th century. Some of the Coushatta and
Alabama people
The Alabama or Alibamu ( akz, Albaamaha) are a Southeastern culture people of Native Americans, originally from Alabama. They were members of the Muscogee Creek Confederacy, a loose trade and military organization of autonomous towns; their home ...
were removed west to
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...
(now Oklahoma) in the 1830s under Indian Removal, together with other
Muscogee (Creek) people
The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern Woodlandsfederally recognized tribes
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...
Wetumka, Oklahoma
Wetumka is a city in northern Hughes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,282 at the 2010 census, a decline of 11.7 percent from the figure of 1,451 recorded in 2000. First settled by the Muscogee Creek after removal in the 1830s ...
*
Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana
The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana ( Coushatta: ''Kowassaatiha'') is one of three federally recognized tribes of Koasati people. They are located in Allen and Jefferson Davis Parishes, Louisiana. The tribe hosts an annual pow wow during the seco ...
Koasati language
Koasati (also Coushatta) is a Native American language of Muskogean origin. The language is spoken by the Coushatta people, most of whom live in Allen Parish north of the town of Elton, Louisiana, though a smaller number share a reservation nea ...
Muskogean languages
Muskogean (also Muskhogean, Muskogee) is a Native American language family spoken in different areas of the Southeastern United States. Though the debate concerning their interrelationships is ongoing, the Muskogean languages are generally div ...
. An estimated 200 people spoke the language in 2000, most of whom lived in Louisiana. The language is written in the
Latin script
The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern I ...
.
History
The Coushatta were traditionally agriculturalists, growing a variety of
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...
, beans, and squash, and supplementing their diet by hunting game and fish. They are known for their skill at basketry. Nearly all the Spanish expeditions (including the 1539-1543 Hernando de Soto Expedition) into the interior of Spanish Florida recorded encountering the original town of the tribe. It was believed to be located in the Tennessee River Valley. (Click
here
Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to:
Software
* Here Technologies, a mapping company
* Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here
Television
* Here TV (form ...
for a list of towns encountered by the Hernando de Soto Expedition.) The Spanish referred to the people as ''Coste'', with their nearby neighbors being the ''
Chiaha
Chiaha was a Native American chiefdom located in the lower French Broad River valley in modern East Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. They lived in raised structures within boundaries of several stable villages. These overlooked the ...
Yuchi
The Yuchi people, also spelled Euchee and Uchee, are a Native American tribe based in Oklahoma.
In the 16th century, Yuchi people lived in the eastern Tennessee River valley in Tennessee. In the late 17th century, they moved south to Alabama, G ...
'', ''Tasquiqui'', and ''Tali''.
Under pressure from new European settlers in the 17th-18th centuries, the Coushatta made treaties and ceded land, and they migrated west into present-day
Nickajack
The area known as "Nickajack" generally refers to the rugged Appalachian foothills in eastern Tennessee and northeastern Alabama. "Nickajack" is a corruption of the Cherokee word (Ani-Kusati-yi) which translates to Coosa Town, but more likely r ...
(''Ani-Kusati-yi'', or Koasati-place, in
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
) 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
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
, the Coushatta had moved many miles down the
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...
where their town is recorded as ''Coosada''. In the 18th century, some of the Coushatta (''Koasati'') joined the emerging Creek Confederacy, where they became known as part of the "Upper Creek". They were closely related to the
Indians and often intermarried with them. Coushatta and Alabama who stayed in Alabama were part of the 1830s forcible removal to
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...
west of the Mississippi River. Today their descendants form the federally recognized Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town in
Wetumka, Oklahoma
Wetumka is a city in northern Hughes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,282 at the 2010 census, a decline of 11.7 percent from the figure of 1,451 recorded in 2000. First settled by the Muscogee Creek after removal in the 1830s ...
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
The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana ( Coushatta: ''Kowassaatiha'') is one of three federally recognized tribes of Koasati people. They are located in Allen and Jefferson Davis Parishes, Louisiana. The tribe hosts an annual pow wow during the seco ...
.
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
Polk County, Texas
Polk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 50,123. Its county seat is Livingston. The county is named after James K. Polk.
The Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation of the federally ...
in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Colita's Village was developed prior to the European-American settlement of
Livingston, Texas
Livingston is a town in and the county seat of Polk County, Texas. With a population of 5,640 at the 2020 census, it is the largest city in Polk County. It is located about 46 miles south of Lufkin and was originally settled in 1835 as S ...
."Alabama-Coushatta Indians" ''Texas Handbook Online'' Descendants of these peoples form the federally recognized Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas and have a reservation near Livingston.
Wetumka, Oklahoma
Wetumka is a city in northern Hughes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,282 at the 2010 census, a decline of 11.7 percent from the figure of 1,451 recorded in 2000. First settled by the Muscogee Creek after removal in the 1830s ...
achieved federal recognition in 1939, following passage of the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936. Its people were descendants of a community that had moved as a group from their town in Alabama to
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...
in the 1830s. They settled together and maintained their town identity. In addition, its people have
dual citizenship
Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on ...
in the federally recognized
Muscogee Creek Nation
The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...
, representing descendants of the broader Creek Confederacy. It has an enrolled population of 380.
*In 1972, the
Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana
The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana ( Coushatta: ''Kowassaatiha'') is one of three federally recognized tribes of Koasati people. They are located in Allen and Jefferson Davis Parishes, Louisiana. The tribe hosts an annual pow wow during the seco ...
achieved state recognition as a tribe. A year later it gained
federal recognition
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...
. The tribe has acquired of reservation near its traditional homeland of the 18th and 19th centuries. This land is held in trust on the tribe's behalf by the
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...
.
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
Muskogean (also Muskhogean, Muskogee) is a Native American language family spoken in different areas of the Southeastern United States. Though the debate concerning their interrelationships is ongoing, the Muskogean languages are generally div ...
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 self-determination, many Native American tribes have developed a new source of revenues by establishing gaming casinos on their reservations, which are sovereign territory. States, which had begun their own gaming operations and regulated private ones, and the federal government have passed legislation to control Indian gaming, which must conform to what exists by state law. While such revenues are not taxable by the states, tribes often negotiate agreements with the states to share some portion of income, in recognition of their reliance on state infrastructure and other assets. In the 1990s, the Coushatta of Louisiana hired the
lobbyist
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
Jack Abramoff
Jack Allan Abramoff (; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted felon. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction ...
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
gaming
Gaming may refer to:
Games and sports
The act of playing games, as in:
* Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming"
* Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles
* Playin ...
on its reservation. It also has tax-free sales of certain items to raise revenues. The initiatives have raised significant revenues, but the state filed suit to stop the specific class of gaming. Litigation is underway.
F. A. Little, Jr., of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
Livingston, Texas
Livingston is a town in and the county seat of Polk County, Texas. With a population of 5,640 at the 2020 census, it is the largest city in Polk County. It is located about 46 miles south of Lufkin and was originally settled in 1835 as S ...
, its homeland since settling in this area in the early 19th century. It has 1,100 enrolled members.