Туника-Билокси: История и культура индейского племени Миссисипи и Луизианы.

Native American tribe from Mississippi and Louisiana

The Tunica Biloxi Indian Tribe, formerly known as the Tunica Biloxi Indian Tribe of Louisiana, is a federally recognized tribe of primarily Tunica and Biloxi people, located in east central Louisiana. Descendants of Ofo (Siouan speakers), Avoyel (a Natchez people), and Choctaw (Muskogean) are also enrolled in the tribe. In the 21st century, the people speak mostly English and French. In the spring of 1541 Hernando de Soto and his army approached the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, coming upon the Province of Quizquiz (pronounced "keys key"). These people spoke a dialect of the Tunica language, which is a language isolate. At that time, these related groups covered a large region extending along both sides of the Mississippi River in present day Mississippi and Arkansas, as the expedition would soon learn. Based on evaluations of the three surviving de Soto narratives for topography, linguistics and cultural traits, combined with archaeological excavations and analysis, most archaeologists and ethnohistorians have agreed to identify the Menard, Walls, Belle Meade, Parkin and Nodena phases as the de Soto named provinces of Anilco, Quizquiz, Aquixo, Casqui and Pacaha, respectively. It was 150 years before another European group recorded the Tunica. In 1699 the LaSource expedition (coming downriver from French Canada) encountered the Tunica, describing them as a modestly sized tribe numbering only a few hundred warriors. They and other peoples had suffered from smallpox epidemics, which had high mortality rates as they had no natural immunity to this new disease carried by Europeans. By the time the French arrived, the Central Mississippi Valley was sparsely occupied by the Quapaw. They became significant allies to the French and aided their successful settlement. The French established a mission among the Tunica around 1700, on the Yazoo River. Father Antoine Davion was assigned to the Tunica, as well as to the smaller tribes of the Koroa, Yazoo, and Houspé tribes. The Tunica were skilled traders and entrepreneurs, especially in the manufacture and distribution of salt, a valuable item to both native and Europeans. Salt was extremely important in the trade between the French and the various Caddoan groups in what are now northwestern Louisiana and southwestern Arkansas. The Tunica were believed to be the middlemen in the trade of salt from the Caddoan areas to the French. By the early 18th century, the tribes along the lower Mississippi River were a target of Chickasaw raids for the English slave trade in South Carolina. By 1706 the Tunica decided to move. As their enemies the Natchez were to their immediate south, they moved to the Mississippi side of the Mississippi and Red River confluence. This allowed them to keep control of their salt trade, as the Red River also connected to their salt source in the Caddoan areas. They established a loose collection of hamlets and villages at present day Angola, Louisiana. The archeological remains of a small hamlet from this time period were discovered in 1976 by an inmate of Angola Prison. It is known as the Bloodhound Site. During the 1710s and 1720s, war periodically broke out between the French and the Natchez. The last uprising in 1729, the Natchez Massacre, was the largest; the Natchez killed most of the French at the village of Natchez and Fort Rosalie. French colonists gained the aid of Indian allies and returned to the villages, killing or capturing most of the Natchez. The survivors were sold into slavery. In 1729 the chiefs of the village sent emissaries to potential allies, including the Yazoo, Koroa, Illinois, Chickasaw, and Choctaw. The Natchez Rebellion or Natchez War expanded into a larger regional conflict with many repercussions. The Tunica were initially reluctant to fight on either side. In June 1730 the Head Chief of the Tunica, Cahura Joligo, agreed to let a small party of Natchez refugees settle near his village (present day Angola), provided they were unarmed. A few days later, the chief of the Natchez arrived at the Tunica village with a hundred men, and an unknown number of women and children. They concealed Chickasaw and Koroa warriors in the canebrake around the village. Cahura Joligo informed the Natchez party that he could not receive them unless they gave up their arms. They said they intended to do so, but asked to keep their arms a while longer. He consented and had food distributed to his new guests. A dance was held that night. After the dance and when the village had gone to sleep, the Natchez, Chicasaw and Koroa attacked their hosts. Cahura Joligo killed four Natchez during the fighting, but was killed along with 12 of his warriors. His war chief Brides les Boeufs (Buffalo Tamer) repulsed the attack. He rallied the warriors, and after fighting for five days and nights, regained control of the village. Twenty Tunica were killed and as many wounded in the fighting. They killed 33 of the Natchez warriors. In 1764 the Tunica moved 15 mile (24 km) south of the Trudeau Landing site to just outside the French settlement at Pointe Coupée, Louisiana. A European American settlement developed around the post and became known as Marksville. It was noted on Louisiana maps as of 1809.

Marksville was a good location for a trading post, as the Red River was still an important avenue of trade. But rapid changes took place. Under Napoleon Bonaparte, France reacquired the area in 1800. After failing to regain power in its colony of Saint Domingue, France sold the large territory known as the Louisiana Purchase to the fledgling United States in 1803. Anglo Americans migrated to Louisiana in great numbers, mostly from the southern United States, eventually changing its culture to one dominated by the English language and Protestant Christianity, especially in the northern parts of the area. In the late 19th century, railroads surpassed the rivers as main avenues of trade and transportation, and the Marksville area became a quiet backwater. The only U. S. government mention of the Tunica from 1803 to 1938 was made in 1806 by an Indian Commissioner for Louisiana. He noted that the Tunica numbered only about 25 men, lived in Avoyelles Parish, and made their livings by occasionally hiring out as boatmen. The casino is known for its contributions back to its members. The 2000 census lists 648 persons identified as Tunica. Tribal government currently consists of an elected tribal council and tribal chairman. The tribe maintains its own police force, health services, education department, housing authority, and court system. Former tribal chairman Earl J. Barbry Sr., was widely noted as one of the longest serving chairmen in Indian Country, serving from 1978 until his death in July 2013. Barbry was succeeded as chairman by Marshall Pierite, formerly vice chairman of the tribe, from August 2013 through April 2014. Barbry's son, Joey Barbry, served as chairman from April 2014. Marshall Pierite again became chairman upon his election in April 2018.

In the 1960s a treasure hunter named Leonard Charrier began searching for artifacts at the Trudeau Landing site in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. The Tunica, who felt he had stolen tribal heirlooms and desecrated the graves of their ancestors, were outraged. In the 1970s the site was excavated by archaeologists, uncovering large amounts of pottery, European trade goods and other artifacts deposited as grave goods by the Tunica from 1731 to 1764 when they occupied the site. With help from the State of Louisiana, the tribe filed suit to gain title to the artifacts, which has subsequently become known as the "Tunica treasure". The case took a decade to be decided in the courts, but the ruling became a landmark in American Indian history. It helped to lay the groundwork for new federal legislation, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), passed in 1990. Because the artifacts had been separated from the original burials and connections were lost, the tribe decided to build a museum to house these items. Members of the tribe were trained as conservators in order to repair damage done to the artifacts by the centuries underground and handling during the ten year court battle. The museum was built in the shape of the ancient temple mounds of their people, with the earthen structure to take the symbolic place of the original burial underground. It opened in 1989 as The Tunica Biloxi Regional Indian Center and Museum. Due to structural problems, it was closed in 1999, with plans for a new larger facility underway. Today the Tunica Treasure collection is housed in the Tunica Biloxi Cultural and Educational Resources Center, a state of the art facility that includes a library, conservation center, distance learning center, conference facilities, tribal offices, and museum on the tribal reservation in Marksville. Eighty percent of the artifacts of the Tunica Treasure have been restored.

Formal efforts to be recognized by the federal government were begun in the 1940s when Chief Eli Barbry, Horace Pierite, Clarence Jackson, and Sam Barbry traveled to Washington, D. C. to consult with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. later taking the name of Tunica Biloxi Indian Tribe.

The Tunica Biloxi Tribe operates Louisiana's first land based casino, Paragon Casino Resort. It opened in Marksville in June 1994. language is a language isolate. The Tunica tribe historically lived close to the Ofo and Avoyeles tribes, but communication among the three depended on their use of the Mobilian Jargon or French. The last known native speaker of the Tunica language, Sesostrie Youchigant, died in 1948. Linguist Mary Haas had worked with Youchigant in the 1930s to describe what he remembered of the language. She published the description in A Grammar of the Tunica Language in 1941, followed by Tunica Texts in 1950, and Tunica Dictionary in 1953. Tunica is a reawakening language, with immersion programs and youth summer camps teaching second language learners. By the early 19th century their numbers had dwindled. In 1934, the last native speaker, Emma Jackson, was in her 80s. Morris Swadesh and Mary Haas met her on a linguistic survey trip in September 1934 and confirmed her status as a speaker of the language. Most modern Tunica speak English, with a few older members speaking French as a first language.