The United Houma Nation, Inc. is a state-recognized tribe and non-profit organization in Louisiana. It is one of the largest state-recognized tribes in the United States, with over 19,000 members. It is not a federally recognized American Indian tribe.
History Ancestors of the United Houma Nation (UHN) began moving to Terrebonne Parish in the 1780s, they coalesced into a distinct community on Bayou Terrebonne between 1810 and 1830. These ancestors were ethnically French, Acadian, German, African and Native American. Since the 20th century, the ancestors of the UHN have generally been reported as a “mixed blood” Indigenous community in literature by scholars such as Fred Kniffen, Edison Roy, and Ann Fischer. Researchers noted they identified as Houma people, but assumed descent from several tribes, including the Choctaw, Biloxi, Chitimacha, Acolapissa and Chawasha.
19th century Early ancestors of the UHN began settling along Bayou Terrebonne between 1790 and 1820. The three founding families of the group are identified as the Courteau, Billiot, and Verdin families. The Courteaus were of Native American origin, the Verdins were of mixed German/French and Native American descent, and the Billiots were of African American and German origin.
In 1808, Rosalie Courteau married Jacques Billiot. The marriage has been described as central to the formation of the group. By 1820, Alexander Verdin was living with his Native American wife, Marie Gregoire, on Bayou Terrebonne. Rosalie Courteau's father was Houma Courteau, an Indigenous man. In two deeds from the 1820s, he was identified respectively as “Touh/Tough-la-bay alias Courteau of the Beloxy Nation” and “Loup La Bay called Courteau Indian of the Beloxy Nation". Courteau has also been Identified as Lacalobe, Joseph Abbe, and Shulushumon. John Swanton recorded the name Shulushomon from Houma Courteau's granddaughter Felicite Billiot. The BIA and historian Daniel Usner suggested that "Shulushomon" may have been a title meaning Red Shoes, rather than a personal name.
Rosalie Courteau's mother, Marianne Courteau, is speculated to have had Indigenous ancestry. Informants told Swanton that Marianne's name at the time of her Baptism was “Nuyu'n”, however no direct evidence confirming Native American ancestry has been identified.
Community expansion Marie Gregoire was described as a “femme sauvage” (Native American woman) in Alexander Verdin's 1829 will. By 1820, the Verdin, Courteau, and Billiot families were living adjacent to one another along Bayou Terrebonne. From the 1820s onward, the three founding families married non-Indigenous families, including the Naquins, Chaissons, and Solets. Due to high birth rates, and out-marriage, the group continued to expand. Between 1825 and 1870, UHN ancestors moved throughout the lower bayous, founding new communities connected to their original settlement on Bayou Terrebonne.
According to UHN oral tradition, Rosalie Courteau emerged as chief of the group between 1830 and the 1880s. In the 1860 Federal census, most of the group's ancestral population were enumerated as “Indian". In 1868, a letter written by Father Denéce, first pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Montegut, described Native Americans living on the Bayous:
In 1892, reporter Catherine Cole of the New Orleans Daily Picayune travelled through Terrebonne Parish. Cole stated that the Houma people had previously settled in the area of the same name, but by 1892 were living in palmetto huts along the Bayous. She was informed that 336 “Indians” lived in the parish.
20th century
In 1907, John Swanton visited the group. he interviewed Charles Billiot, who identified seven settlements associated with the group and provided the surnames associated with each community. the settlements he listed were Isle de Jean Charles, Point au Chien, Point au Barre, Grand Caillou, Berataria Bayou, Lafourche, and Bayou Bleu.
Much of the information Swanton obtained about Houma Courteau came from his grandson Bartholemy Billiot, who referred to Houma Courteau as Shulushumon and described him as a Biloxi medal chief.
Swanton documented that the tribe were descended from three families: the “Couteaux”, “Billiout”, and “Verdine" families. He concluded that, although the group identified as Houma, they were descended from several tribes, including the Bayogoula, and Acolapissa.
In 1917, ethnologist David Bushnell identified a major UHN settlement, Pointe-au-Chien, as Chitimacha. Bushnell's Chitimacha informant was Abel Billiot. The BIA disputed Bushnell's identification, stating that Billiot had no documentable Chitimacha ancestry. His wife, Pauline Creppel, was Rosalie Courteau's great-granddaughter. Bushnell noted that several families claimed Chitimacha descent, while acknowledging Houma ancestry. Loss of land
During the 1930s, the group lost much of their land to speculators and oil and gas companies. Land claims were often challenged due to missing civil marriage records, which many families lacked due to distance from population centers. Under Louisiana law at the time, children born outside of legally recognised marriages could be denied inheritance rights.
As a result of the loss of their land, UHN ancestors generally had to lease the lands they had historically been able to use freely. Their ability to create settlements on open land was further curtailed by the expansion of oil and gas companies, which leased large areas of land that were subsequently settled by Houma, white, and African American residents in segregated communities. The development of oil fields also significantly damaged the people's economic circumstances. Oyster beds became polluted, while the income they derived from trapping declined. The construction of roads into their territory to facilitate oil development also enabled outsiders to enter the area, contributing to overhunting and overfishing on lands used by the group.
Legal efforts undertaken by the group during the 20th century to recover lands lost to oil companies largely failed, with lawyers who reviewed some of the cases ultimately abandoning them.
Educational barriers In 1916, H.L. Billiot appealed to the 20th Judicial District Court after his children were denied admission to an all-white school. Proceedings in H.L. Billiot v. Terrebonne Parish School Board began in April 1917. Billiot argued that he did not meet the definition used for the word "colored" in Louisiana, as he was of White and Native American ancestry. Billiot was an ancestor of the UHN.
Initially, the case focused on Billiot's ancestry, but later centred on the ancestry of Billiot's wife, Celesie Fredrick. Attorneys representing the School Board focused on Celesie's grandfather, Etienne ("King") Billiot Jr. They argued that the mother of Etienne Billiot Sr, Marianne Erice, was a woman of African ancestry from San Domingo. However, witnesses maintained that she was of Spanish descent.
Elderly people who had known Etienne ("King") Billiot personally were called to testify regarding his racial background, although they described him as a person of color, they avoided identifying him as African American. One witness, Taylor Beattie, provided the following testimony regarding Billiot:
The BIA later stated that Billiot was the son of non Indigenous parents and therefore could not be a chief, although his wife Celesie Verret was of documented Indigenous ancestry. After concluding that both H.L. Billiot and his wife were of mixed ancestry, and that his wife may have had African ancestry, the court ruled in favour of the School Board. An appeal by Billiot brought the case to the Louisiana Supreme Court, which dismissed the appeal on grounds that it lacked jurisdiction over the case.
In 1930, the Terrebonne Parish school board opened a school for the group, but questions soon arose among community members over whether it was intended to serve children of all races. Although officials stated that children of any race could attend, the absence of white children from the school led members of the community to believe that officials were attempting to assign them to a school for African Americans. As a result, parents withdrew their children from the school.
Missionary schools were subsequently established for the community and received widespread support, but struggled to accommodate the growing number of children requiring education. Some opposition to the public school also stemmed from parents who refused to send their children to school alongside other children from the community whom they considered to be of part African ancestry. The establishment of missionary schools helped resolve those tensions by providing an alternative to the public school system and allowing the community to avoid what some members regarded as an inferior educational position relative to white students.
During World War II, significant migration from the group's communities to New Orleans occurred, partially driven by employment opportunities in war-related industries such as shipbuilding. In New Orleans, many found that the racial classifications imposed in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes had little practical relevance, and many were classified as white, and consequently able to attend schools, clubs, and other institutions designated for white people. Marriages with people from outside the community also contributed to the decline of Cajun French among the group's migrants in New Orleans.
Following World War II, The Terrebonne Parish School Board agreed to construct a school specifically for the group, The Dulac Indian School, on the condition that it be operated by the Methodist church. Construction was completed in 1953. The school only provided education up to eighth grade. As a result, those seeking further education often had to leave Terrebonne Parish, this contributed to the migration of many families to cities such as New Orleans, where they were able to access public schools and other institutions while being classified as white.
Edison Roy documented tensions surrounding members of the group whom some community members considered to have partial African ancestry. He reported that some were unhappy that those regarded as having African ancestry attended the Dulac Indian School alongside their children, with parents explaining "we feel sorry for them so we'll let them come to the school with our kids." Roy further described racial stratification within the community, stating that some families identified particular family lines as having "African blood" and told him that they did not associate with those families. He estimated that approximately 20% of the families he interviewed fell within this classification.
Some Adolescents in Dulac felt pressured to leave despite their attachment to their families and community, as they found the local school facilities and teachers generally inadequate. Among young adults who left Dulac to attend high schools and colleges, and to escape prejudice and poverty, some nevertheless expressed a desire to return, citing their attachment to their community.
In 1954, the School Board planned to integrate Native American children into white schools. The plan collapsed after white parents threatened to withdraw their children if Native American children were admitted. A high school serving the group was established in 1961.
In the 1960s, Ann Fischer had come to Terrebonne Parish to document Traiteurs, explore the forests, and collect plants used by the community. She also heard accounts from community members concerning land taken by oil companies. In 1960, Fischer wrote to LaVerne Madigan, executive director of the Association of American Indian Affairs, requesting research and legal assistance for the group. She also noted the community's limited educational opportunities.