Tunica
The Tunica are a Native American tribe originally located in the regions of Mississippi and Arkansas, particularly near the Yazoo River's confluence with the Mississippi River. Traditionally, they lived in small villages characterized by rectangular thatched-roof houses and engaged in farming, fishing, and hunting. The Tunica had a well-developed culture, producing pottery, weaving cloth from mulberry fibers, and trading salt with neighboring tribes. Historically, they were known for their friendly relations with French settlers, forming alliances during conflicts with other Indigenous groups, notably the Natchez. However, their population began to decline in the 1730s due to diseases introduced by Europeans.
By the late 1700s, the Tunica had migrated to present-day Marksville, Louisiana, where they, along with remnants of other local Indigenous groups, eventually became federally recognized as the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana in 1981. The tribe currently consists of 1,226 enrolled members and includes individuals from several Indigenous groups. Efforts to revive the Tunica language, which had no speakers since the 1930s, began in 2010 and continue through various educational and cultural initiatives. Today, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe actively pursues economic development and cultural advocacy while fostering educational partnerships to strengthen their community.
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Tunica
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Southeast
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Tunica
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Louisiana
- POPULATION SIZE: 1,226 (Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana)
The Tunica traditionally lived in Mississippi and Arkansas, just north of the area where the Yazoo River joins the Mississippi. They farmed, fished, and hunted, and they lived in small villages of rectangular thatched-roof houses; villages often included a temple building. They made pottery, wove cloth of mulberry fibers, and mined salt to trade with other tribes. The culture involved a high level of material security, and chiefs enjoyed nearly kinglike status.
The Tunica people were friendly with the French and were allies with them in French struggles against other Indigenous groups, notably the Natchez. In 1731, a large party of Natchez and allies attacked the Tunica, leading to heavy casualties on both sides; the principal chief of the Tunica was killed in the fight. Around the 1730s, the population began to decline, primarily because of post-contact diseases brought by the Europeans. When only a few hundred remained, the remnants of the Tunica and other Tunica-speaking Indigenous groups started to band together. In the late 1700s, the combined group moved up the Red River and settled near what is now Marksville, Louisiana. Some also migrated to the Oklahoma area with their neighbors from the Choctaw Indigenous nation around that time.
The Tunica absorbed the remnants of other local Indigenous groups, and it was federally recognized as the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, consisting mainly of Tunica and Biloxi people, in 1981. The consideration of the Tunica and Biloxi as a single group by the federal government and the heavy intermarriage between the two makes it difficult to estimate the size of the Tunica population specifically. However, in the mid-2020s, the Tunica-Biloxi recognized 1,226 enrolled members interspersed throughout Louisiana, Texas, Illinois, and other parts of the United States. Further, in addition to Tunica and Biloxi, members of the Ofo, Avoyel, and Choctaw are also included in the Indigenous nation. In 2010, the Tunica-Biloxi tribe began a project with the Tulane University Linguistics Program to revive the Tunica language, the last Indigenous speaker of which died in the 1930s. In 2018, the Tunica-Biloxi hired a linguist to continue the efforts of the Language and Culture Revitalization Program, and they were awarded a grant of $748,200 to maintain these efforts. In the mid-2020s, the Tunica Biloxi pursued projects aimed at economic development and affordable housing, while emphasizing educational partnerships and continued cultural advocacy.
Bibliography
Berg, Kaili. “Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana Breaks Ground on $6.4 Million Affordable Housing Project.” Native News Online, 3 Oct. 2024, nativenewsonline.net/currents/tunica-biloxi-tribe-of-louisiana-breaks-ground-on-6-4-million-affordable-housing-project. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.
Early, Ann M. “Tunica.” Encyclopedia of Arkansas, 30 June 2023, encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/tunica-552. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.
"History." Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, www.tunicabiloxi.org/history. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.
Miller, Mark Edwin. Claiming Tribal Identity: The Five Tribes and the Politics of Federal Acknowledgment. University of Oklahoma Press, 2013.
Pasquier, Michael T., and John Barbry. “Tunica-Biloxi Tribe.” 64 Parishes, 25 Sept. 2023, 64parishes.org/entry/tunica-biloxi-tribe-adaptation-2. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.
Troutman, John W. "Recognition Odysseys: Indigeneity, Race, and Federal Tribal Recognition Policy in Three Louisiana Indian Communities." Journal of American Ethnic History, vol. 35, no. 2, Winter 2016, pp. 113–15. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=112222699&site=ehost-live. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.