People of the Sunrise: the Atakapa-Ishak

Too many times we've run across tribes that were once powerful, but who all but became extinct because of warfare, disease and the encroachment of Settlers on hunting range.  Today's tribe, which survive today in Louisiana and Texas, are survivors.  They called themselves Ishak, meaning people of the rising sun, or people of the sunshine.  However, their Choctaw neighbors identified them to early French and Spanish explorers as Atakapa, or man-eaters.  We'll get to that in a minute.

The Atakapa are an Eastern Woodlands people who lived in the area of what is now Louisiana and portions of Texas.  They were not a central tribe, but consisted of several Eastern and Western bands who could come together for mutual aid or defense.  They were an agricultural people, but also depending on fishing the rivers and the coastline as well as other hunting and gathering to supplement their diet.  The surround tribes knew them as fierce warriors who could, from time to time, consume the flesh of dead enemies after battle.  Cannibalism of this kind was known in North American, but it was rare and those tribes or peoples who practiced it got a reputation. 

Confusion exists as to whether the Narvaez expedition on 1528, which landed in what is now Texas, encountered these people or other tribes.  However, in 1703, Jean-Baptiste le Moyne's expedition  came into Atakapa territory.  They soon regretted it.  The Atakapa attacked and killed one of the Frenchmen, whom they later cannibalized.  They approached Frenchmen again in 1714, when Jean-Michel de Lepinay was fortifying Dauphin Island.  Another explorer, Francois-Simars de Ballisle lived for a time among the Atakapa, and gave the most information to date about them.  So did Antoine-Simon le Page du Pratz, whom we've already encountered.  Over time, as White encroachment into Native lands in Louisiana continued, other tribes joined the Atakapa, who themselves intermarried with Houma and Coushatta people, among others. 

By the 19th century, theAtakapa had ceased to function as a tribe, but individuals with Atakapa heritage lived among neighboring tribes, and kept some of the old traditions alive.  Some place-names in Louisiana reflect this tribe's heritage, including Mermentau, which was the name of an Atakapan leader, and Plaquemines, which was a French corruption of their word for parsimmon.  Today, people who claim Atakapan heritage are trying to gain acceptance for recognition as a federally-recognized tribe.  A statue depicting an Atakapan warrior stands in St. Martinville, Louisiana.