According to tribal legend, the name of the Coushatta Tribe means "Lost Tribe" and originated when a wandering band of tribesmen encountered a group of white men. Asked who they were. the Indians misunderstood the question and replied "koashatt", meaning they were lost.  This answer was translated by the white men into a word that eventually came to be "Coushatta".  
  
 Some Coushatta's also believe that the name originally meant "white reed - brake" and came from the traditional Indian craft of weaving plaited baskets from swamp cane.  Modern Coushatta's still practice this art, but the craft for which they are best known today is the creation of coiled pine needle baskets from the vast resource of long leaf pine surrounding the Indian community.  Coiled by dexterous Indian hands, the pine needles are bound with raffia to fashion unbelievable effigies of animals and a variety of other decorative and useful forms.  Nationally recognized, the Coushatta pine needle basketry is considered by experts to be "in a class by itself." 
  

The Struggle to Maintain our Dignity...

The Struggle to Preserve our Heritage...

The Struggle to Strengthen our Culture...

These Struggles Have Made Us Stronger...

 Like Coushatta basketry, native medical practices and the tribal language have also been preserved and are still practiced by the tribes people.  The language especially is considered unique by linguistic experts because it has survived in its purest form.  

 Language analysis indicates that the Coushatta's, long before the period of recorded history, were once an integral part of a unitary Muskogean stock.  After the linguistic family split into tribes -- the Muskogee proper, Coushatta's, Alabama's, Hitchiti, Miccosukees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws - - the Coushatta's developed unique linguistic traits which have persisted to this day. 

 Although the tribal basketry, medicine and language have survived, many aspects of the ancient Indian culture have been lost during the hardship and repeated migration of the last 200 years.  Seeking to revive its proud heritage, the Tribe has developed a strong cultural program to teach traditional ways. 

 Making bows and arrows, using blowguns, cooking traditional Indian dishes, performing ancient chants and dances and recounting tribal legends are a major part of the cultural program recently implemented by the Tribe.  These activities in an undiluted form unique to the Coushatta Tribe are being revived through the talents of older members of the Tribe.  Just as Coushatta daughters now learn the art of pine needle basketry from their mothers, tribal elders are encouraged by the strong culture program to pass on remaining tribal traditions within their families.  

 The family unit remains the most important social tie in the Coushatta community.  Seven large families or "clans" are represented today. In early Coushatta culture. at least ten clans  
each symbolized by a particular animal or element --were influential in the social organization.  The political organization, however, was based not on family, but on an elected Chief chosen for his oratorical abilities. Known as micco, the Chief appointed a Town Chief, or micco apotka, and a Warrior Chief who was responsible for all aspects of warfare. 

 As members of the Creek  Confederacy, the Coushatta ancestors of today's Louisiana tribe were basically peace loving town dwellers with an agriculture based economy.  Tribal life centered around the town square where Coushatta leaders gathered to discuss preparation of war, arrangements for religious ceremonies and the state of the tribal economy.  The pre-migration Coushatta economy focused primarily on agriculture, hunting, fishing and trade, but the real basis was agriculture. 

 Planting maize (corn) as the staple crop, Coushatta's also grew peas, beans, squash, pumpkins, melons, potatoes and rice. Tribal leaders allotted specific areas for individual clans, with each allotment carefully demarcated by an artificial boundary.  A fixed portion of each harvest was donated to the public granary to protect the tribe against poor harvests and during war emergencies as well as to permit travelers and the needy to be fed at the expense of the entire community. 

 Hunting supplemented agriculture.  Favoring a bow made of black locust or hickory and arrows of cane, the Coushatta's were slow to accept use of the white man's gun. Eventually, however, the Indians became as adept at using firearms as they were with blowguns and bows and arrows.  Early Coushatta fishermen also made use of bows and arrows and blowguns, as well as hooks and lines, spears, traps and hand nets. 
  
 Trade, too, was an important factor in the economy.   Although trade routes with other Indians were established well before the coming of Europeans, white traders had far-reaching effects on the Indian and his economy. In fact, early migrations of the Coushatta's often resulted as much from the desire for better trade conditions as for unsettled land. 

 While the "Koastis" in the river country  of Alabama were primarily agriculturists, the Indians of early migrations put more emphasis on hunting, fishing and trading.  Agriculture remained a major part of the economy, of course, usually influencing the location of settlements and ensuring, to a degree, the economic independence of the Tribe. 

 When the Tribe eventually settled for good in Louisiana, this idyllic economic pattern was shattered by the coming of the rice farmer.  The Coushatta's were no longer the subsistence farmers, hunters and fishermen of earlier days, but worked the field of the Acadian farmer or logged in the timber industry.  Women of the Tribe continued working with arts and crafts as a supplement to the family income. 
  

The Dark Years Have Ended for the 

Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana.

Red Shoes' People are Now Sensing an Awakening

of Pride in Themselves.

Their Heritage

and 

Their History....

 Those Coushatta's remaining in Louisiana have continued the role of wage earner to this day, many turning to industry within the surrounding areas.  Some of these Coushatta wage earners are now involved in tribal government and programs, while others work in the Tribe's flourishing aqua culture industry.  The Tribe has 70 acres of land devoted to rice and crawfish farming.  As the Coushatta's reach toward their goal of tribal self-determination, more and more jobs are being created out of functioning tribal programs. 

 Coushatta men who once worked as loggers have turned their skills to construction of new tribal housing.  Coushatta women who once sold their pine needle baskets haphazardly are now displaying and marketing their artistry in the newly constructed gift shop located in the reservation's retail complex.  This complex also includes a convenience store and restaurant and is owned and operated by the Coushatta Tribe and its members.  Coushatta people who survived the last decade on welfare or by working menial jobs are finding fulfillment in a growing number of similarly useful, important tribal job programs. 

 With effective leadership and the development of a strong tribal government comes the revival of a culture almost lost, a heritage almost forgotten. 

 Today the Coushatta Nation's future is filled with hope and rich with opportunity. 

The "Lost Tribe" Wanders No More...

Somewhere Red Shoes is Smiling...

Welcome to the Sovereign Nation 

of the 

Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana.