La Veillée

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana: A People of Peoples

This week, we visit one of Louisiana's four federally recognized Native American Tribes: the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, based near Marksville in Avoyelles Parish. Drawing on archival and present day interviews in French, we learn about the Tribe's diverse origins linked to several Indigenous Nations, its relationship with French and Spanish colonial powers, and its fight for federal recognition and land sovereignty. We also explore the Tribe's central place in Louisiana's cultural fabric and specifically the interrelationship between Louisiana French and Tunica, one of the Tribe's indigenous languages.