Tribal Government
By hannah orgeron, staff writer Within the United Houma Nation, a system of government has been created. This system is not only important to keep the peace between the people, but it acts as representation for the citizens when they cannot fight by themselves. This system includes the chief, who is currently August “Cocoa” Creppel. “A government body within the tribe is very necessary,” he says. “You know we have almost 19,000 people spread out between six different parishes, and you have to have a good government representing each area and district so it’s very important to have a council of 11 people representing these areas. We come together to do what is best for the tribe.” Under the chief, the council then elects a vice principal chief, currently Donny Verdin. “Anyone can run for a position on the council,” he says. “In order to be a chief, you have to have experience being on the council though. We hold elections every four years and people run for the positions they desire. Both the chief and the council are elected to office every four years, but the chief can only do two terms. However, the council has no limit once elected.” According to the constitution of The United Houma Nation, within the government system there are different roles that make it most effective. Such as principal chief, vice principal chief, secretary, treasurer, parliamentarian, sergeant-at-arms, and the duties of committees or appointed officers. The positions of vice principal chief, secretary, treasurer, and parliamentarian are filled by citizens the tribal council nominates from within. However, the sergeant-at-arms and any other committee member are picked from out of the council and are not allowed to vote at Tribal Council meetings. Anyone can be on the Tribal Council as long as they are 25 years of age, reside in the district they are running for, have a high school equivalent diploma and do not have a criminal record. However, in order to run for chief one must be 35 years of age and have prior experience on the Tribal Council along with following all of the rules for being elected to tribal council. Tribal Council and chief positions are determined by majority vote. Creppel says he feels he is lifting his people up from the bottom, instead of being on top because he is chief. “I was told, you’re the chief, you’re on top, but I feel as I’m not on the top I’m on the bottom lifting my people up, not on the bottom holding them down,” he says. “I feel that it is my position to lift my people up whenever I can and to represent my elders to get them the representation for leading the way and also for our children who are our future.” PODCAST Chief Cocoa Creppel discusses the United Houma Nation government. Garde Voir Ci · Season 4, Episode 6 – Governing with Chief Cocoa Creppel The Lost Bayou · Season 4, Episode 11 – The Tribal Council with Jason Trosclair
Kasha Lacoban Clay
Houma, LOuisiana United Houma Nation Favorite Traditions “I would say community in general. There’s many assets of our community so I have and it all kind of links together at some point or another, but I have elders that I speak with, and even communicate with, and it’s on different levels. But sometimes I’ll be speaking with fishermen and sometimes I’ll be talking with youth within educational areas of interest and sometimes I’ll be working with artisans, bead workers, basket weavers, so just the type of place I am even a dancer. “So, I think overall, my favorite part is just the community and the wide range of different talents that people have and different lifestyles that we have within our tribe.” Being UHN “I hold my culture very close to my heart. It is something that I can tie back to my ancestry, where my people are from and learn from the struggles they’ve had throughout generations as well as see our growth in the future and the present. “So, it is not always the prettiest, you know, stories, but by owning up and knowing that’s my heritage, I can teach my kids and move forward from not the prettiest memories.” South Louisiana “I am really connected with the water, just the livelihood of living along the water is huge for me. “My dad has always been a fisherman of some sorts, he’s always been the provider of our home shrimping as well as hunting. He would be a seasonal worker. He would work on the shrimp boats during the shrimping season and he would be away from home hunting during hunting season. “Even when I was like a baby, he would work for skinning alligators at some point, and he also did oystering and he worked offshore shrimping as well, so I’ve always been really connected with our land here, but especially our water systems and that way of life.” Protecting UHN Land “I think that our biggest fear to protect and to continue the traditions is just that, to continue traditions and to show the younger generations the importance of our land and our water here. I know as time passes different occupations become more scarce. Like our people are not just normally fishermen anymore because it is not sustainable for their living anymore. “But at the same time, I think it is important to keep our heritage of being, living off of the land living off of the water, just being connected because I don’t want to lose that part of culture. “Losing that part of culture is also going to lose a lot of work towards sustaining the land and sustaining the water, because there is so many opportunities especially today for our youth and even those coming up right now into college to be able to work in coastal restoration, but I don’t feel like there is as much of a connection culturally that can really push the importance of it as it would have been back in the day.” Listen
The Challenge of Getting an Education
By hannah orgeron, staff writer Getting an education was challenging and complicated for the members of the United Houma Nation. “We weren’t treated right when I was growing up,” says Jeanette Billiot, a citizen of the United Houma Nation. “We were treated like outcasts.” Instead of being allowed to attend the parish’s main schools, the tribe was forced to open their own. Many of the schools were segregated and built from small houses. What is now known as the Montegut Community Center was an elementary school located in Montegut, Louisiana. The high school, known as Daigleville High School in Houma, didn’t open until later. Billiot, who attended the Montegut Community Center, says she started in first grade, but when she went to begin seventh grade, there was no teacher available. So she just did sixth grade again because she was not old enough to stop attending school. The Daigleville School served as a Native American-only high school for the students of Terrebonne Parish. According to the United Houma Nation’s website, segregation ended in schools in 1964 because of a successful lawsuit against the school board. Helen Duplantis, another tribal member who attended segregated schools, says there was some good. “One good thing was that we were able to speak the French language,” she says. “Other people couldn’t speak French at other schools. It was our primary language and we learned English from teachers.” To provide schooling during a time of segregation, the leaders in the Methodist church created a school for the Indigenous children of the area in an old dance hall, according to the “The Mission Story of the Dulac Community Center.” The first class was held in the building that is now the Dulac Community Center, on Oct. 1, 1932. The school soon became a place of community. It allowed clubs and groups to participate in things that were unique to their interest as well as a place to go when they needed support or friendship. In the end, Billiot says they forged their own educational path. “We do it our way and we do what we can.” PODCAST SERIES: a look at education within the United Houma Nation. Garde Voir Ci · Season 4, Episode 2 – Education with Charlie Duthu Garde Voir Ci · Season 4, Episode 3 – Education with Evelyn Jarrell Garde Voir Ci · Season 4, Episode 5 – The H.L. Bourgeois Legacy with Charlie Duthu an education Timeline 1840 First white school in Terrebonne Parish 1917 H.L. Billiot from Dularge filed suit against Terrebonne Parish School Board Lost – Appealed 1918 Supreme Court of Louisiana- Favored Terrebonne Parish School Board April 29, 1918 1922 Houma Methodist Church began educating Native Americans in Dulac 1930 Terrebonne Parish School Board opens adult illiterate schools and the first Indian School in Dulac 1932 Opened Methodist Mission School Mrs. George Deforest and Miss Wilhelmina 1936 Methodist Mission School expands to other bayou communities Mary Beth Littlejohn 1938 Terrebonne Parish Records show 262 Native Americans in school 1952 Indian school built on lower Pointe Aux Chene Children traveled by boat 1959 Indian students attend Daigleville School 1962 First Indian high school graduates 1967 School integration in pictures The outside of the Montegut Community Center. This is where Mrs. Jeanette Billiot attended school in the 1960s when it was an elementary school. She said it was only a few houses away from hers and that she would walk to school every day. This is where she attended 1st to 8th grade A class photo of the older class that attended the Golden Meadow Settlement School in 1951. Many of these people have yet to be identified in this picture. This picture is on display at the South Lafourche Public Library in Galliano. A class photo of the younger class that attended the Golden Meadow Settlement School in 1951. Just like the older class, many of these students have yet to be identified. This is on display at the South Lafourche Public Library in Galliano. Carl and Mildred Brunson (right) with the youth group that they established when they converted the Dulac Mission Center into a Community Center. They assisted in establishing more clubs unique to the interests of the students. They created a more diversified program for the community. The Mission Story of the Dulac Community Center PDF found from the Archives Bill Turner teaching a class at the Dulac Community Center. Bill and Relta Turner Started at the Dulac Mission Center in 1951 right out of college. Mrs. Relta Turner taught Kindergarten and first grade, and Bill taught 4th,5th,6th, and sometimes 7th grade. – The Mission Story of the Dulac Community Center PDF Younger students of the Dulac Community Center attending class. This photo was taken from Carl and Mildred Brunson’s photo album. Dulac Area 1953-1963 Older students of the Dulac Community Center attended class. This photo was taken from Carl and Mildred Brunson’s photo album. Daigleville School is located in Houma and is to be the future office of the United Houma Nations. The school was a Native American only high school during the time of segregation until 1964.
An Unspoken Language
By Madeleine Bauland, Staff Writer Language affects relationships and how people communicate. For the Houma, their language brings people closer together and strengthens tribal community ties. It is one of the biggest parts of their culture. The language of the Houmas, Uma, is part of the Western Muskogean family of languages and was unwritten. Since colonization, the community has spoken French and English. Reclaiming their language is vital to the Houma people because many of them have migrated and are not in their homelands anymore. They reside in all different locations across the United States and even globally. Because the language has evolved over time, it is important that the people of the Houma Tribe continue to hold on to it. Ben Wood, a member of the Houma Language Project, a group of volunteers dedicated to preserving Houma language, says language is tied to the tribe’s identity and those who speak it can feel physical benefits. It reduces stress levels, creates a healthier community and can help members achieve a better life outcome. “It definitely has a positive physical impact,” Wood says. There are also words in Uma and other Western Muskogean languages that have no English equivalent, he says. Those who still speak it are preserving the culture, and the deep meaning it holds is unlike any other language. Colleen Billiott, a member of the United Houma Nation and co-founder of the Houma Language Project, says that the work she does is important to her because of how it deepens her connection with family members whose example she learned from. “I am continuing to work off the foundation of what my pawpaw did for the tribe and what my great grandparents left behind like the recording of my great mawmaw, Elvira, singing in the Houma language” Billiot says. “That to me gives me so much meaning. That’s powerful. Being Houma, I know who I am, and I have pride in who I am.” The Houma Language Project Learn More PODCAST Hali Dardar, co-founder of the Houma Language Project, discusses language. Garde Voir Ci · Season 4, Episode 1 – The Houma Language Project with Hali Dardar Houma (Uma) words Black Blue Red White Additional Words One Houma: tcafa two Houma: toklu three Houma: totcenu four Houma: oshtu five Houma: tałape man Houma: atak Moon Houma: ashe Thank you Houma: yakuke see Houma: pesa eat Houma: apa woman Houma: oho sun Houma: ashe water Houma: oke hear Houma: haklu Hello Houma: aletu
Natural Medicine
The Houma’s Migration
Family in a thatch palmetto camp. The Indigenous people of the delta House found near the New Orleans area. The Houma stayed alongside waterways while migrating for fertile soil and as a source of transportation. Houma Village in Baton Rouge 1699 Timeline of migration and first contact with western explorers. Image by Michael Dardar showing the Houma communities. Previous Next By brody gannon, staff writer While not always welcomed, migration is sometimes necessary for survival. The Houma were one of the native peoples who migrated out of necessity and, ultimately that migration protected the tribe. The first historical record of the Houma is by the French in 1686 and, according to explorer Henri de Tonti, they were “the bravest savages of the river,” according to an article in the Loyola Law Review by Adam Crepelle. The Spanish came later. “The French wanted to work with the Houma, while the Spanish were taking things by force,” says Kirby Verret, a Houma member. “Our people first met the French in the mid 1680’s where the Red River and Mississippi River meet. That’s where the Houma people were.” He says the French were attempting to learn their language and wanted to join the Houma’s active trading system. But European exploration brought disease and alcohol to the Houma, ravaging the tribe’s numbers by 1700, according to Crepelle. In addition, colonial warfare and tribal conflict split the tribe into two groups on the east and west side of the Mississippi. The pressures of living between two colonial powers caused conflict within the tribe and, by the 1820s, the Houma sought refuge toward the South into the marshlands of coastal Louisiana, according to Crepelle’s article. Unlike the Cherokee and other tribes, the Houma had moved far enough south early enough that they were not included in the Trail of Tears, the forced relocation of about 100,000 Native Americans from their ancestral homelands between 1830 and 1850. “We had already moved further south, so we were out of the way already,” Verret says. Yet even in the isolated marshes of South Louisiana, the Houma still faced tensions with white settlers causing them to disperse even more into the bayous. Today, the Houma reside mainly in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes along with St. Mary, Jefferson, Plaquemines and St. Bernard. Migrations still haven’t stopped. “Even in my lifetime, hurricanes have pushed my family further north from Dulac,” says Roxanna Foret, a Houma member and elementary school social studies teacher. “It fascinates me how they lived and fished near Bayou la Butte. I want my mom’s siblings to bring me down there some day.” She said their homes were washed away over time, and they have been pushed north due to yearly flooding.
The Houma People
By Jade Williams, features editor The native peoples who lived in North America are varied and plentiful. Just in Louisiana, tribes like the Chitimacha, Coushatta, Jena Band Choctaw were the first to make this land home. These tribes have an enormous amount of history. The tribe that eventually settled in the Bayou Region is the United Houma Nation. The people of this tribe have moved around and have been documenting their history for centuries. The first mention of the Houma Tribe is found from La Salle, a seventeenth century French explorer who reported on the existence of the “Oumas” village in 1682, according to an article titled The Native Heritage Project. In 1686, Chevalier de Tonti, a voyager who assisted La Salle, went up the Mississippi River and found the “Oumas tribe, the bravest of all the savages.” The tribe’s location at this time was east of the Mississippi River in West Feliciana Parish. Today, this area is known for being the site of the Angola State Prison. The Native Heritage Project article also states that in 1699, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, who was said to be governor of Louisiana and the founder of New Orleans, noted the conflict between the Houmas and the Bayougoula people. The Bayougoula was another indigenous tribe who took part in the naming of Baton Rouge along with the people of the Houma Tribe. “We are the reason why Baton Rouge got its name. The Houma people. It was named Iti Homma because of the red stick that separated the hunting territory and boundaries between us and the Bayougoula,” says Brittany Jimenez, a Houma Tribe member who lives in Texas, but is originally from Jefferson Parish. An article from Visit Baton Rouge states that this marker on the east bank of the Mississippi River caught the eye of French-Canadian explorer, Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville in 1699. The article states that he and his men saw the bloodied cypress pole on the bluff, adorned with animal parts and stained red from the tribes’ latest haul, and dubbed the area “le bâton rouge,” French for “Red Stick.” In 1817, the town was officially incorporated as “Baton Rouge.” The Houma Tribe also took part in the naming of New Orleans. An article titled Houma History, states that before the tribe came to be what it is today, the tribe seems to have had more than one village, but no names were recorded until the 1720s when they were called Little Houma and Great Houma. The article states that beginning with the Quinipissa in 1698, the tribe survived by absorbing people from almost every small tribe in the region, which combined different cultures of French and Spanish. This had impacted the tribe’s language and traditions. As time passed by, the tribe began to settle into Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes in south eastern Louisiana. Most of their descendents are still there today. An elder of the tribe, Kathleen Bergeron from St. Mary Parish says how much the tribe has overcome and how it reflects on who they are as people and as a tribe. “It’s given me my identity,” Bergeron says. “It rounded me, tells me who I am.” Culture identity is very important within tribes, and hair is known to be one of most significant aspects. Both the men and women had hair that was kept long and straight. The women plaited their hair and would dress it with feathers and beads more than the men would. Although both men and women braided their hair, they each have different reasons as to why. For the women and children, hair braiding was simply a pretty way to style their hair. The men would mostly braid their hair for battle. Often, the status of someone in the tribe could be shown by wearing braids. One of the many practices that can still be seen today within the Houma Tribe is the plaiting of the hair. The hair is to be grown out very long, especially for women. This would enable them to make two braids, one on each side of their head. The Houmas will often decorate the braids with feathers, beads, or leather. Both men and women continue to braid their hair, especially for Powwows. Creating tattoos was not an easy task for Native Americans. The process was extremely painful and can sometimes take hours to complete just one design. Swift hands and soft motions were crucial to achieving such beautiful design. They would use objects such as sharpened bone or rock that would embed the patterns onto the skin. After the design is complete, soot or natural dyes would be placed on the wound to stain it. The practice of the painting of the skin was similar to those shown above. To achieve the color and texture for the face and body paint, the Houmas would use colors gained from natural sources like plants and clays. This practice often is seen during social events like lacrosse games, festivals, religious ceremonies, and for war. Blackening of the teeth was practiced by the Houmas. This photo is an example of what the teeth would look like after blackening. Both sexes would blacken their teeth, mainly for beauty. They achieved this look by rubbing tobacco and wood ash on the teeth.
Janie Verret Luster
Dularge, Louisiana United Houma Nation Favorite Traditions “I’m a traditional Houma Indian basket weaver and traditional artist using the alligator gar fish. I still practice some of our old traditional medicines that were passed down to me by my parents and grandparents and great aunts – very proud of that.” Being UHN “Sharing our culture is one of my loves. It’s so important that our people know their history and know who they are and where they come from.” Listen
The Lost Bayou: The United Houma Nation
By Jade Williams & Addie Wetzel, Features Editor & Managing Editor Before gumbo, Zydeco and the multicultural influences that shaped today’s modern South Louisiana culture, the people of the United Houma Nation inhabited this land and nearby regions. One of the many native peoples, their rich culture influenced many aspects of the bayou region today. Migration Originally from Mississippi, the tribe were mound builders that go back thousands of years. Over time, war, colonization and prejudice pushed the tribe into Louisiana and eventually to the Louisiana coast. “We were identified in Mississippi by the Spanish in the 1540s, but we migrated. We spread out,” says Kathleen Bergeron, a tribal elder from St. Mary Parish. “When the French arrived, we were north of Baton Rouge. Matter of fact, Southern (University) campus is our ancestral land.” Melanie Hayes, an archivist for the tribe, says they eventually settled in areas of swamp and marsh in Louisiana spanning six parishes — St. Mary, Terrebonne, Lafourche, Jefferson, Plaquemines and St. Bernard. And, unlike some other Native American tribes, the Houma has never had a reservation or protected lands. Losing Land The six parishes where most of the 19,000-member tribe now lives line the Gulf of Mexico and, with that, are threatened by hurricanes, rising sea levels, coastal erosion and other environmental risks created by companies like oil and gas. Their land is disappearing. “The land that we used to meet on… it’s just gone,” Hayes says. Bergeron says her family always fished and trapped, but the areas are now lost. “The places that my grandparents and my parents trapped are pretty much gone,” says Bergeron. “You see where they used to have the docks, it’s all water now. Used to be where they put their camps to trap, it’s gone.” Losing Culture The culture and community of the United Houma Nation faces more than just the loss of their land. The tribe’s culture is also being threatened as the older generations pass away. Things like language, arts and crafts and the ways of healers called traiteurs are being lost, says Hayes. “This period is very threatening because of technology, social media and our kids are getting to go to main schools,” Bergeron says. Hayes agrees. “Language is being butchered by social media,” she says. Yet even with the current threats, the tribe’s past shows they can overcome, Bergeron says. “We don’t give up. We are not giving up who we are.”
The Great Storm Timeline
Isle Dernière’s THE GREAT STORM of 1856 Friday, August 8 2 Days Before High waves and higer than usual tides. Saturday, August 9 1 Day Before Marshes around the island were submerged, animals were unsettled and The Star had difficulty sailing down the Atchafalaya through Four League Bay into Caillou Bay. Sunday, August 10 Morning Storm Day The Star, having difficulty navigating, continued to the island to help those they could. Sunday, August 10 4 pm Storm Day The winds shifted and the waves battered the drowning island throughout the night. Monday, August 11 1 Day After Nothing was left on the island. Tuesday, August 12 2 Days After Last Island Hurricane dissipated over southwestern Mississippi Figured no one on mainland knew survivors were stranded Resort guest, John Davis set out on a sailboat to the mainland Davis arrived the Brashear City Hotel before dawn reporting that Last Island had been swept away by a storm Help dispatched in all directions to announce calamity & crippled conditions of survivors Wednesday, August 13 3 Days After Help arrived from Brashear City (Morgan City) Wednesday, August 20 10 Days After Pirates looted valuables. click to the right for a full, detailed timeline of the Great Storm of 1856