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The Houma () are a historic Native American people of Louisiana on the east side of the Red River of the South. Their descendants, the Houma people or the United Houma Nation, have been recognized by the state as a tribe since 1972, but are not recognized by the federal government. According to the tribe, as of 2023 they have more than 17,000 enrolled tribal citizens residing within a six-parish area that encompasses 4,750 square miles (12,300 km2). The parishes are St. Mary, Terrebonne, Lafourche, Jefferson, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard. The city of Houma (meaning "red"), and the Red River were both named after this people. Oklahoma shares a similar etymology, as the root humma means "red" in Choctaw and related Western Muskogean languages, including Houma. Ethnobotany The Houma people take a decoction of dried Gamochaeta purpurea for colds and influenza. They make an infusion of the leaves and root of Cirsium horridulum in whiskey, and use it as an astringent, as well as drink it to clear phlegm from lungs and throat. They also eat the plant's tender, white heart raw. A decoction of the aerial parts of the Berchemia scandens vine was used for impotency by the Houma people. History Origins The Houma tribe, thought to be Muskogean-speaking like other Choctaw tribes, was recorded by the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, in 1682 as living along the Red River on the east side of Mississippi River. Because their war emblem is the saktce-ho'ma, or Red Crawfish, the anthropologist John R. Swanton speculated that the Houma are an offshoot of the Yazoo River region's Chakchiuma tribe, whose name derives from saktce-ho'ma. Members of the tribe maintained contact with other Choctaw communities after settling in present-day lower Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes. They used the waterways to harvest fish and crawfish, and to supply their water needs and for traveling. It is not certain how the Houma settled near the mouth of the Red River (formerly called the River of the Houma). By the time of French exploration, the Houma were settled at the site of present-day Angola, Louisiana. French era In 1682, the French explorer Nicolas de la Salle noted in his journal that he had passed near the village of the Oumas. This brief mention marks the entry of the Houma into written recorded history. Later explorers, such as Henri de Tonti and Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, give a fuller description of the early Houma. Iberville reported the Houma village to be six to eight miles inland from the east bank of the Mississippi, near the mouth of the Red River. When Europeans arrived in greater number in the area, they struggled with the language differences among the Native Americans. They thought each Native American settlement represented a different tribe and made errors in their designations of the peoples as a result. The Bayogoula people were, like the Houma, thought to be related to the Choctaw people of Mississippi. In historic times, several bands of Choctaw people migrated into the Louisiana area. Those descendants today are known as the Jena, Clifton, and Bayou Lacombe bands. Though, the Houma people, Bayougoula people, and Acolapissa people, were documented as separate tribes. By 1699–1700, the Houma tribe and the Bayougoula tribe had established a border for their hunting grounds by placing a tall red pole marked by sacred animal carcasses and feathers in the ground. Called Istrouma or Ete' Uma by those tribes and Baton Rouge by the French Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, this marker was at a site five miles above Bayou Manchac on the Mississippi's east bank. The area developed as a trading post and the modern city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 1706, the Houma migrated south from the Red River region to other areas. One account said they wanted to move closer to their new French allies, concentrated in the New Orleans area, and away from the English-allied tribes to the north. From the 1730s to the French-Indian war (1754–1763) (also known as the Seven Years' War), European wars played out in North America. Numerous Native American tribes formed protective alliances with Europeans to deal with the conflicts. As early as 1739, the French reported that the Houma, Bayougoula, and Acolapissa were merging into one tribe. Though the tribe remained predominantly Houma, the last remnants of many tribal nations joined them for refuge. Because of increasing conflicts among the English, French, and Spanish colonists, the Houma migrated south by the beginning of the 19th century to their current locations in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes. The modern city of Houma, Louisiana, was later developed at this site. The tribe moved further south. Early United States era Having lost Saint-Domingue with the success of the slave revolt establishing Haiti, Napoleon ended his North American ambitions and agreed to sell the Louisiana colony to the United States. This doubled the land area of the new republic. On April 30, 1803, the two nations signed a treaty confirming the Louisiana Purchase. With respect to native inhabitants, article six of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty states The United States promise to execute such treaties and articles as may have been agreed between Spain and the tribes and nations of Indians, until, by mutual consent of the United States and the said tribes of nations, other suitable articles shall have been agreed upon. Although the United States signed the treaty, they failed to uphold the policy. Dr. John Sibley was appointed by President Thomas Jefferson as US Indian agent for the region. He acknowledged 60 Houma people in the Opelousa area Due to their dispersion and lack of organization, many Houma people living in other regions were not counted, and thus the people were considered extinct by the United States. Modern era By the end of the 19th century, the Houma had developed a creole language based on the French language of the former colony. The Houma-French language which the Houma people speak today is a mix between the French spoken by early explorers and Houma words, such as shaui ("raccoon"). Yet, Houma-French language is still a French language, because it can be understood by French speakers from Canada, France, Rwanda or Louisiana. There are some differences in vocabulary, for example, chevrette to say crevette (shrimp). The accent of the Houma Nation French-speaker is comparable to the difference between an English-speaker from the United States and an English-speaker from England; every linguistic group develops many different accents. As southern Louisiana became more urban and industrialized, the Houma remained relatively isolated in their bayou settlements. The population of the Houma at this time was divided among six other Native American settlements. Travel between settlements was made by pirogues and the waterways; the state did not build roads connecting the settlements until the 1940s. Like the other Native American popula.... Discover the Barbara Sillery popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Barbara Sillery books.