Survivors: the Tunica of Louisiana

Despite warfare, disease and pressure to migrate from European settlers and other tribes, some peoples managed to hang on to the cultural identity.  The Tunica of the central Mississippi Valley are one group of hardy survivors.

The ancestors of the Tunica were part of the Mississippian Culture, an advanced pre-Contact culture dependent on maize cultivation.  As that Civilization began to fragment into smaller tribes, the Spanish landed in Florida under Hernando de Soto beginning in 1539.  He traveled throughout the area of what is now the southeastern states.  One of the tribes he encountered in the Mississippi Valley was the Tunica in 1541.  They were dwelling on the Yazoo River in 1699, when French explorers encountered them.  The French established a mission among the Tunica, many of whom still clung to Mississippian religious practices including buildings designated as temples, a priest caste and ritual objects.  They also traded in salt, a valuable commodity to both Natives and Settlers alike. 

Beginning in the 18th century, the Chickasaw raided extensively in Tunica territory for slaves.  The Chickasaw were trading allies of the British, which put them at odds with tribes preferring to deal with the French.  To avoid the Chickasaw, the Tunica moved to what is now Angola, Louisiana.  Beginning in 1729, the French and Natchez became embroiled in a series of wars, brought on by French incursion onto Natchez land and taking Natchez people as slaves.  The Natchez were defeated in these wars and sought refuge with the Tunica.  Some of the Natchez survivors, with Chickasaw and infiltrators from other tribes, attempted to take advantage of the Tunica hospitality and ambush the Tunica from within their own camp.  The Tunica fought back and kept control of their territory.  After this episode, they moved to Trudeau Landing in what is now West Feliciana parish, and continued trading with various tribes and Settlers alike.  They also raised horses, which the French found convenient to purchase from the Tunica rather than import.

The relationship between the Tunica and French ended in 1760, when the French ceded control of Louisiana to the Spanish.  In time, remnants of other tribes mingled and intermarried with the Tunica, such as the Siouan-speaking Biloxi.  Despite British incursion into Louisiana from West Florida, the Tunica remained allied to the Spanish.  In 1779, Tunica auxiliaries were part of a force under Governor Bernardo de Galvez to attack a British outpost at Baton Rouge.  After the Revolutionary War, influx of American settlers forced the Tunica to move again, to Avoyelles Parish, where they were granted land by the Spanish.  There, an Italian immigrant by the name of Marco Litche established a trading post that developed into a town, Marksville.  The Tunica and allied tribes such as the Biloxi settled into a peaceful farming existence.  They were not explicitly subjected to Indian Removal but White neighbors continued to harass members of the tribe and steal their land.  Some removed to Oklahoma and Texas, while others tried to remain in Louisiana and make the best of a bad situation.

In the midst of mounting prejudice, the Tunica and other remnant tribes drew together as a people, continuing to elect their chiefs and participate in their ancient ceremonies in secret, so as not to draw attention to themselves.  The modern Tunica-Biloxi tribe remains headquartered in Louisiana, although the languages of both are now extinct.  Their tribe includes Ofo, Avoyelle and some Choctaw, with a reservation centered on Marksville, Louisiana.