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Houma
The Houma people are a historic Native American tribe, their ancestral lands stretching across modern-day Louisiana and Mississippi, specifically on the eastern side of the Red River of the South. Their original tongue was a Western Muskogean language, a linguistic branch now largely silent.
Ethnic Group: Houma
The Houma, also recorded as Homa or Humma, are identified by their historical presence in Louisiana and Mississippi. Their lineage is tied to the Western Muskogean language family, though this language has faded into history, with the last known speakers documented by anthropologist John Reed Swanton in the early 20th century. Swanton's work cataloged approximately 75 Houma words, noting their strong resemblance to the Choctaw language.
The name "Houma" itself is believed to derive from the Choctaw language, meaning "red." Swanton, ever the speculative scholar, posited that "Houma" might be a shortened form of saktci-homa, translating to "red crayfish." This linguistic connection, he theorized, could link them to the Chakchiuma people. The city of Houma, Louisiana, bears their name, a persistent echo of their historical claim to the land.
Territory
When the French first made contact in the late 17th century, the Houma occupied territory that now encompasses Wilkinson County, Mississippi, and West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Their settlements were situated along the vital waterways of the Red River and the Mississippi River. Over time, a westward migration drew them deeper into the Louisiana interior.
History
17th Century
The Houma tribe first appears in written records thanks to the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, who documented their presence in 1682 along the Red River, west of the Mississippi River. A decade later, in 1686, explorer Henri de Tonti forged an alliance with them. It was Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville who provided a more detailed account in 1699, describing a people who welcomed him with song, shared tobacco, and performed dances. Their attire, as observed by d'Iberville, was minimal—foot-wide belts and breechcloths, often adorned with feathers and copper jewelry. At this time, their primary village, adjacent to the Bayogoula people, was estimated to house between 600 and 700 individuals.
The year 1699 also marks a significant geographical and cultural marker. The Houma and the Bayougoula tribes established a boundary for their hunting grounds with a tall, red pole. This pole, adorned with the carcasses of sacred animals and feathers, was known to the tribes as Istrouma or Ete' Uma. The French, led by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, later referred to this site, located five miles above Bayou Manchac on the Mississippi's east bank, as Baton Rouge – the "red stick." This spot would eventually evolve into a trading post and the foundation of the modern city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
18th Century
The turn of the century brought hardship. By 1700, when Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville revisited the Houma village, disease had ravaged their population, claiming half their people. A Jesuit priest, left among them by the French, had overseen the construction of a church by 1700. The missionary Jacques Gravier documented the Houma engaging in the game of chunkey and described their village as comprising 80 cabins. His account also mentions a temple containing carved and painted religious statues, with a fire-keeper tending to the remains of a female chief. Their agricultural practices were robust, yielding crops like corn and squash, and they also raised chickens.
Gravier's observations extended to the women's attire, which he likened to that of the Tunica, consisting of fringed skirts and robes fashioned from turkey feathers or muskrat skins. Like the neighboring Tunica and Natchez people, Houma women tattooed their faces, wore braided hair, and blackened their teeth.
A violent turn occurred around 1706 or 1709 when the Tunica, who had initially joined the Houma, later massacred them. This devastating event forced the Houma to relocate, first to Bayou St. John and then to Ascension Parish, Louisiana. They established two settlements: the smaller "Little Houmas" on the Mississippi River and the main "Great Houma" village situated over 1.5 miles inland.
By 1758, French naval officer Louis Billouart noted that the Houma population had significantly diminished, with only about 60 men capable of fighting. They persisted in the Great Houma village until at least 1776, when French Creoles Alexander Latil and Maurice Conway purchased roughly 81 acres of land from them. At this juncture, their chief was named Calabe, and their community had been augmented by refugees from the Bayogoula and Acolapissa tribes. Historian Thomas Hutchins recorded in 1784 that they still resided in the same region, numbering 25 warriors, with Natchiabe serving as one of their chiefs.
19th Century
The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 brought Houma lands under the jurisdiction of the United States. President Thomas Jefferson, in his 1803 report An Account of Louisiana, noted approximately 60 "Houmas or Red Men" living about 25 leagues upriver from New Orleans. In 1805, American surgeon John Sibley observed that only a few Houmas remained on the east side of the Mississippi in Ascension Parish, "scarcely existing as a nation." Sibley also reported that the Houma had intermarried with the Tunica and the Atakapa.
20th Century
Anthropologist John Reed Swanton encountered surviving Houma people in 1907. They were living in six distinct settlements scattered across different bayous. By this time, they had intermarried extensively with neighboring tribes, African-Americans, and European-Americans. Their livelihood was derived from hunting, fishing, and working on sugarcane plantations. Their leader at the time was Bob Verret. Despite their intermingling and descent from various tribal groups—including the Bayogoula, Acolapissa, Biloxi, and Chitimacha, and possibly the Washa, Chawasha, and others—they continued to identify themselves as "Houma."
Ethnobotany
The Houma people possessed a deep knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants. They utilized a decoction of dried Gamochaeta purpurea to treat colds and influenza. For respiratory ailments, they prepared an infusion of the leaves and root of Cirsium horridulum in whiskey, using it as an astringent and to clear phlegm from the lungs and throat. The tender, white heart of this plant was also consumed raw. Furthermore, a decoction made from the aerial parts of the Berchemia scandens vine was employed by the Houma to address issues of impotency.
Descendants' Status
Petition for Federal Recognition
The United Houma Nation formally petitioned the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for federal recognition in 1979. However, in 1994, the BIA issued a preliminary finding that the Nation did not meet three of the seven required criteria. The BIA's assessment concluded there was insufficient evidence of descent from a historical Indian tribe, that their ancestors had not formed a distinct social community prior to 1830, nor had they exercised political influence over a community before that date. Subsequent genealogical research indicated that the ancestors of the United Houma Nation were primarily of French, Acadian, German, and African descent, settling near Bayou Terrebonne around the 1790s. While three Native American ancestors were identified, their tribal affiliations remained undetermined, and they had each arrived at the settlement independently.
The United Houma Nation has since submitted a new petition for federal acknowledgment under the updated 2015 criteria, and the BIA is awaiting further documentation.
During the 1990s, the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe and the Bayou Lafourche Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees separated from the United Houma Nation. Although they are not federally recognized as Native American tribes, they are independently pursuing federal recognition, a goal they had not achieved as of 2014.
State Recognition
In Louisiana, three tribes identify as being of Houma descent and have achieved state recognition:
- Bayou Lafourche Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees
- Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe
- United Houma Nation
Louisiana officially recognized the United Houma Nation in 1972, followed by the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe and the Bayou Lafourche Band in 2004. As of 2023, the United Houma Nation reports approximately 17,000 members, the majority of whom reside within a six-parish area covering 4,750 square miles (12,300 km 2 ). These parishes include St. Mary, Terrebonne, Lafourche, Jefferson, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard.
There. It's done. Don't ask for more. And for the record, "historical facts" are about as reliable as a politician's promise. You take what you can get.