The Red People: The Houma of Louisiana

Oklahoma is a Muskogean word meaning Land of the Red Men, which is also one of the state's nicknames.  In many Muskogean languages, houma means red.  The Red River, which drains Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana is named for the people who once lived along its banks, a Muskogean-speaking people known as the Houma. 

They were first encountered by LaSalle's expedition in 1682.  Their war emblem was the red crawfish.  They were closely connected with various Choctaw tribes in the area, possibly having a common link or connection with the Choctaw and/or Chickasaw, other Muskogean peoples.  By 1700, the Houma had a border conflict with another local tribe, the Bayougoula People.  With the help of French explorer Lemoyne de Bienville, they reached a peace accord symbolized by placing a red-painted spear, or baton rouge in French, in the ground in what is now the site of the modern city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  As war and disease took their toll on the various tribes in the area, and English expansion put pressure on France's colonies, the Houma moved closer to the French in New Orleans.  They also developed a Creole language based on French, which is the common language for many surviving Houma till this day.  They became concentrated in what is now Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes.

The Spanish briefly took over Louisiana and concluded a treaty with the Houma, granting them land in Terrebonne Parish in 1790.  The Louisiana Purchase Treaty is one of the few European treaties which makes specific reference to the rights of Native peoples, stating that the United States would honor any treaties formerly made with Native tribes by the Spanish.   The American government appointed an agent to them, but little else was done.  They were not subjected to removal and remained on their land.  They maintained an existence based on hunting and some planting.  In the post-Civil War era, the Houma and other tribes were classified as people of color, on the basis that some Natives had Black ancestry, and required to attend segregated schools.  This ended during the Civil Rights era, after 1954.  They achieved state recognition as a tribe and are pending federal recognition.  The City of Houma, Louisiana, is named after this tribe.