Chaouacha
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The Chaouacha (or Chawasha) were an Indigenous people of
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
. They were likely related to the
Chitimacha The Chitimacha ( ; or ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands in Louisiana. They are a federally recognized tribe, the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana. The Chitimacha have an Indian reservation in St. Mary Parish near Charento ...
. The French massacred many of them in retaliation for the Natchez revolt against French colonists in which they had had no part.


History


17th century

When first written about, they lived on the west bank of the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
, just south of
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
. In 1699, they were reported to be allied with the Ouacha (or Washa), the Okelousa, and the
Opelousa The Opelousa (also Appalousa) were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands in Louisiana. They lived near present-day Opelousas, Louisiana, west of the lower Mississippi River, in the 18th century. At various times, they allied with the ...
.


18th century

In December 1729, following an attack by the Natchez on Fort Rosalie the prior month, French colonists feared a widespread Indian rebellion or a combined revolt by Native Americans and enslaved people. The governor of Louisiana, Étienne Perier, ordered a force of 80 enslaved Africans under the command of Louis Tixerant, a Company of the Indies warehouse keeper, to massacre the Chaouacha community, rewarding the men by freeing them from slavery. The French killed at least seven Chaouacha men and kidnapped women and children whom they took to New Orleans. Survivors from the tribe petitioned Perier to release the prisoners, as the tribe was not involved in the Natchez revolt, which he did. The
Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...
, French allies against the Natchez, objected to Perier's attack on the Chaouacha and encouraged other small tribes in the region to relocate away from the French to lands under Choctaw protection. Perier reported to his superiors that he had destroyed the Chaouacha, but evidence suggests the tribe remained distinct until the late 18th-century before assimilating into other tribes.


19th century

An 1802 mention by French colonist Baudry de Lozières describes them as "Tchaouachas: Reduced to 40 warriors. A wandering indolent and lazy nation, settled near the French in 1712. Corn is the only assistance one can expect of them."


References

{{authority control Chitimacha Ethnic cleansing in North America Extinct Native American tribes History of New France Massacres of Native Americans Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Native American tribes in Louisiana