The ancient Houma Indians were farmers. Their settled peasant life allowed them to
develop their elaborate music, dance, art, sport and religion. Their temple housed
beautifully colored sculpture and its sacred fire burned the bones of the most honored chiefs.
In the center of the village the Houmas built a ballcourt. There the young men spent their
days playing the popular Indian game called Chungke. The Houmas used the red crawfish
as their war emblem and the tail of an eagle was a pledge of peace. The chiefs of the
Houmas were both men and women. One woman chief had struck such blows against the
enemy in battle that whenever she walked four young men sang and danced in honor
before her. Some experts suggest that the Houmas and Choctaws are related, but this is not
clear. Houma is the Choctaw word for red.
The French explorer Lasalle noted the Houma village in 1682. This first white contact
occurred on the east bank of the Mississippi, opposite the mouth of the Red River. In 1706
the Houmas responded to colonial tensions between the French and English by migrating
south, closer to their French allies. They established two villages near Donaldsonville, one
on each side of the Mississippi. Though some Houmas remained in that area throughout
the eighteenth century, others established the village Chuluhouma where the city of Houma
stands today. As whites moved into the area, the Houmas again migrated south. This time
they occupied the bayou marshlands from Dularge to Golden Meadow. Though the Houmas
continued some farming, to survive in the marsh they became hunters, trappers and fishermen.
They have continued in these occupations to this day.
Rosalie Corteau led the final southern migration. The tribe remembers her as its outstanding
personality and matriarch. She was a fiery woman who defended her rights fearlessly. The
Houmas still repeat the many stories of her courage.
In 1859 Rosalie bought a large area of swampland for her people. The tribe, however
continued to lose this land to white encroachment. Unable to read or write and speaking only
French, the Houmas were vulnerable to land manipulations they did not understand. The
discovery of oil on their land accelerated their loss and as they lost their land they were
excluded from many of their trapping grounds which seriously disrupted their livelihood.
The Houmas had another problem. As Indians, they did not fit well into the black and white
pattern of segregation in Louisiana. The segregated school system hurt them especially.
They were not admitted to white schools and had no Indian schools for many years, so they
received no education at all. After decades of struggle over the issue, the Houma children
were finally admitted to the public schools in 1963. The tribe however, continued to feel
the wounds of their long educational neglect.
Throughout the struggle over land, education, and trapping rights, both the tribe and friendly
whites appealed to the federal government for help. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has, however
continued to ignore its responsibility to this Indian people. Its failure to acknowledge
the Houmas continues to cripple the tribe by excluding it from the full range of federal
services to which it is entitled. The United Houma Nation, Inc., the governing body
of today's Houmas has long fought for recognition. They first submitted their pattern
for federal recognition in 1985 and here in 2006 still have not received what is due them.
After two centuries of neglect, the Houmas hope to end the sad history of federal neglect.
They look forward to a time when they will have the resources and freedom to build their
own destiny. They are continuing their work on genealogy of the tribal members and
working toward recognition.
For information on the Houma Indians of Louisiana, the book
The Houma People of Louisiana - A Story of Indian Survival
is available by contacting:
The United Houma Nation, Inc.
20986 Highway 1
Golden Meadow, LA 70357
(985) 475-6640
The book I Hear The Song of The Houmas - (J'entends La Chanson Des Houmas)
is the story of the life of the Houmas as it may have been at the time when the French
explorers and missionaries first came to the lower Mississippi Valley and the Gulf Coast,
before the lives of the Houmas were changed by their contact with the Europeans. The
author is Oradel Nolen Morris of Houma, LA. Copies may still be available by contacting
The United Houma Nation, Inc. listed above or:
Dulac Community Center
125 Coast Guard Road
Dulac, LA 70353
(985) 563-7483
