CHITIMACHA

The Chitimacha occupied ancestral territory in what is now the lower part of the state of Louisiana, along the Mississippi Delta in the vicinity of Grand River, Grand Lake, and the lower course of Bayou La Teche. They actually consisted of three subtribes, the Chitimacha proper, the Chawasha, and the Washa, sharing a unique language, Chitamachan, which may be related to Tuni-can, spoken by neighboring tribes, such as the TUNICA and YAZOO.

The Chitimacha, classified as SOUTHEAST INDIANS, lived in pole-frame houses with walls and roofs of palmetto thatch. Sometimes the walls were plastered over with mud, a technique called wattle and daub. Alligators, turtles, fish, and shellfish were abundant in their territory, along with other game. The men used blow-guns in addition to bows and arrows to shoot small game, and they could send the small darts flying up to 60 feet. The Chitimacha grew sweet potatoes and melons in addition to corn, beans, and squash. For food storage, the women made patterned cane baskets with fitted tops. They also made pottery. The name Chitimacha (also spelled Chitamacha, Chetimacha, and Sheti-masha), pronounced chid-uh-MAH-shuh, means “those who have pots.”

In 1682, Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle claimed the Mississippi Valley for France, naming it Louisiana, after France’s King Louis XIV. Then in 1699, Pierre Le Moyne, sieur d’Iberville, founded a settlement near present-day Biloxi. And in 1718, Iberville’s brother, the sieur de Bienville, founded New Orleans. The Chiti-macha therefore were under the French sphere of influence for most of the colonial period.

The relations between the two peoples were not always peaceful, however. In 1706, after some of their people had been enslaved by Indians living among the French, Chiti-macha killed a French missionary to the NATCHEZ, named

St. Cosme, and his three companions. For the next 12 years, the Chitimacha and the French engaged in a series of raids and counterraids. During that period, the majority of Indian slaves among the French colonists were from the Chitimacha tribe. Peace was made in 1718, when the Chitimacha agreed to settle at a site on the Mississippi River, near present-day Plaquemine.

By 1881, most Chitimacha lived at Charenton, Louisiana, where a community known as the sovereign Nation of the Chitimacha exists today. Another Louisiana group, the Biloxi—Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees, includes three independent bands, the Grand Caillou / Dulac Band, the Isle de Jean Charles Band, and the Bayou Lafourche Band. The Chitimacha are still famous for their beautifully crafted baskets of narrow cane splints with black, red, and yellow designs.

Detail of Chitimacha basket showing intricate weave and vegetable-dye colors

Other tribal members have become known for their silverwork.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which struck Louisiana and neighboring states in August and September 2005, damaged and destroyed the homes of a number of Southeast tribes, including the Chitimacha.