Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana
150 Melacon Road
Marksville, LA 71351
Phone: 318-253-9767

The Tunica people are a group of linguistically and culturally related Native American tribes in the Mississippi River Valley, which include the Tunica (also spelled Tonica, Tonnica, and Thonnica); the Yazoo; the Koroa (Akoroa, Courouais); and possibly the Tioux. They first encountered Europeans in 1541 – members of the Hernando de Soto expedition. The Tunica language is an isolate. Over the next centuries, under pressure from hostile neighbors, the Tunica migrated south from the Central Mississippi Valley to the Lower Mississippi Valley. Eventually they moved westward and settled around present-day Marksville, Louisiana. Since the early 19th century, they have intermarried with the Biloxi tribe, an unrelated Siouan-speaking people from the vicinity of Biloxi, Mississippi and shared land. Remnant peoples from other small tribes also merged with them. In 1981 they were federally recognized and now call themselves the Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe; they have a reservation in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. By the Middle Mississippian period, local Late Woodland peoples in the Central Mississippi Valley had developed or adopted a full Mississippian lifestyle, with intensive maize agriculture, hierarchical political structures, mussel shell-tempered pottery and participation in the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC). At this time the settlement patterns were a mix of dispersed settlements, farmsteads and villages. Over the next centuries, settlement patterns changed to a pattern of more centralized towns, with defensive palisades and ditches, indicating a state of endemic warfare had developed between local competing polities. Material culture, such as pottery styles and mortuary practices, began to diverge at this point. The archaeological evidence suggests that the Mississippi valley was home to several competing paramount chiefdoms, with supporting vassal states, all belonging to the same overall culture. The groups in the area are defined by archaeologists as archaeological phases, based on differentiation in these material cultures. They include the Menard, Tipton, Belle Meade-Walls, Parkin and Nodena phases. In the immediate vicinity of the future city of Memphis, Tennessee, two phases seem to have been paramount chiefdoms: Parkin and Nodena. The other phases were possible vassal states or allies in their competition for local supremacy.

Tunica-Biloxi history is closely intertwined with the history of Louisiana. French and Spanish colonial governments depended on the Tunica for trade, diplomacy with other tribes, and as a barrier against British encroachment. The Spanish conquistador, Hernando de Soto, may have visited the ancestral Tunica town of Quizquiz in 1541, according to some archeologists. But the first documented contact with the Tunica Tribe was with French colonists in Louisiana. The tribe had shifted its location to a site near the mouth of the Yazoo River by 1694, when the French Jesuits established a mission under Father Antoine Daivon. As the southernmost Indian nation to oppose the English, the Tunica cultivated a relationship with France as early as 1699. Hatred of the English-inspired and English-armed Chickasaw slave traders brought the French and Tunica together and prompted the Tunica to move their village from the Yazoo River basin halfway to New Orleans. Biloxis inhabited the Pascagoula River region of the Gulf Coast of Mississippi when French explorers first encountered them in 1699. Before this time, there is no definitive written record of Biloxis, at least not under the name “Biloxi.” However, documents from the Juan Pardo expedition into the Appalachian Highlands from 1566-1568 mention meeting with 18 indigenous rulers in the town called Xuala by the earlier de Soto expedition (1539-43) and Joara by the Pardo expedition. One of these rulers was identified by the Pardo expedition as “Atuqui,” which appears to be the Biloxi word atuki, meaning ‘raccoon’. It thus appears that the Pardo expedition encountered a Biloxi ruler, King Atuki, among those indigenous leaders who congregated with Pardo in Joara. This evidence indicates that the Spanish most likely encountered Biloxis about 130 years before the well-documented French encounter with them along the Gulf Coast in 1699. By establishing themselves opposite the juncture of the Red and Mississippi rivers, the Tunica afforded their community a commanding position on trade routes between the two river valleys and New Orleans. The Grand Tunica Village provided a buffer between the French and the Natchez and served later as French headquarters during the long Natchez wars. As participants in the Pontiac rebellion, the Tunica concluded their alliance with France by attacking an English settlement party in 1764, shortly after France had lost its North American colonies. Retaliation by Britain against the Tunica and allied tribes made the transfer of loyalty from France to Spain a convenient one. The Tunica favored the Spanish for their promise to honor previous agreements established between France and the Indian nations. When Spain sided with the colonists in the American Revolution in the fall of 1779, Tunica warriors fought side by side with Spanish Governor Bernardo de Galvez, attacking British posts at Manchac and Baton Rouge. Following the battles, Galvez invited the Tunica and their Biloxi and Ofo allies to settle on the Avoyelles Prairie, the area surrounding present-day Marksville, Louisiana.

The Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe, (Tunica: Yoroniku-Halayihku) formerly known as the Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe of Louisiana, is a federally recognized tribe of primarily Tunica and Biloxi people, located in east central Louisiana. Descendants of Ofo (Siouan-speakers), Avoyel, and Choctaw are also enrolled in the tribe. In the 21st century, the people speak mostly English and French. Many live on the Tunica-Biloxi Indian Reservation (31°06′48″N 92°03′13″W) in central Avoyelles Parish, just south of the city of Marksville, Louisiana, and overlapping its boundaries. The Reservation is 1.682 km² (0.649 sq mi). The 2010 census lists 951 persons self-identified as at least partly of Tunica-Biloxi, with 669 of those identifying as solely of Tunica-Biloxi ancestry. By the Middle Mississippian period, local Late Woodland peoples in the Central Mississippi Valley had developed or adopted a Mississippian lifestyle, with maize agriculture, hierarchical political structures, mussel shell-tempered pottery, and participation in the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC). The archaeological evidence suggests that the valley was home to several competing paramount chiefdoms, with supporting vassal states. The groups in the area have been defined by archaeologists by archaeological phases; these include the Menard, Tipton, Belle Meade-Walls, Parkin and Nodena phases. In the spring of 1541 Hernando de Soto and his army approached the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, coming upon the Province of Quizquiz (pronounced "keys-key"). These people spoke a dialect of the Tunica language, which is a language isolate. At that time, these related groups covered a large region extending along both sides of the Mississippi River in present-day Mississippi and Arkansas, as the expedition would soon learn.

The Tunica-Biloxi people first appeared in the Mississippi Valley. In the late 1700s, they settled near Marksville, where they were skilled traders and entrepreneurs. The Tunica-Biloxi gained federal recognition in 1981 for its reservation within the boundaries of Louisiana and is now one of four federally recognized Native American tribes in the state of Louisiana. Today, the tribe has more than 1,200 members throughout the United States, primarily in Louisiana, Texas and Illinois. The Tunica-Biloxi Indian Reservation is located just south of Marksville in east-central Louisiana with approximately 1,717 acres of Trust and Fee property in Avoyelles and Rapides Parishes. The modern Tunica-Biloxi tribe is composed of Tunica, Biloxi, Ofo, Avoyel and Choctaw. The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana owns and operates the Paragon Casino Resort, the largest employer in Central Louisiana. Through its compact, negotiated by the late Tribal Chairman Earl J. Barbry, Sr. and the State of Louisiana, the tribe has been able to assist local governments in the area with its quarterly distribution of funds, totaling more than $40 million over two decades.

The Tunica tribe was a Southeast Tribe that lived in the Mississippi River Valley and did not have much contact with the Spanish that had begun to colonize the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico. It would not be until the Spanish Conquistador, Hernando de Soto, arrived. In the spring of 1541, Hernando de Soto and his army approached the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, coming upon the Province of Quizquiz. These people spoke a dialect of the Tunican language. At that time, these related groups covered a large region extending along both sides of the Mississippi River in present-day Mississippi and Arkansas. After their initial visit from Hernando de Soto, the Tunica tribe did not see another European for another 150 years. However, by that time, the damage had been done from the initial contact. While the Spanish had been in their territory only for a short time, their encounter had devastating effects. The accidental introduction of Eurasian infectious diseases, such as smallpox, ravaged the native populations, who had no acquired immunity. The Tunica Tribe was not an exception. By the time the French arrived, the population had dwindled down to 900 people in total.

The Cultural Practices Of The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe have been affected by historical events, including being forcibly removed from their ancestral land in the 1700s. However, they have since reclaimed their historical territory in Louisiana and have continued to maintain their traditions despite assimilation pressures. One pain point faced by the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe is lack of financial resources to preserve their cultural heritage for future generations. As they continue to fight for recognition and funding, it is important to learn and appreciate their rich history. The target of The Cultural Practices Of The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe is to educate people about their customs and beliefs. Whether it is through storytelling, art, or music, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe endeavors to preserve their way of life. One interesting aspect of their culture is their use of medicinal plants to promote healing. This not only shows their knowledge of the natural world around them but also reflects a spiritual connection to the earth. In summary, The Cultural Practices Of The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe are an important part of preserving their heritage. Despite ongoing challenges, the tribe has continued to pass down their traditions for future generations to learn about and appreciate. From healing practices to storytelling, their customs reflect their values and way of life. By sharing this knowledge, we can continue to honor their unique cultural identity. The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe is a Native American tribe located in central Louisiana, USA. This tribe has a rich cultural heritage that has been passed down from generation to generation. In this blog post, we will explore the cultural practices of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe and learn about their customs, beliefs, and traditions. The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe values family as one of the most important aspects of life. Family members often live close to each other, and they celebrate many events together, such as weddings, births, and funerals. These events are an opportunity for the tribe to come together and strengthen their bonds with each other.

The Tunica were one of several Native American tribes situated in the Lower Mississippi River Valley during the French colonial period. As allies of the French colonial Louisiana government, the Tunica were involved in many of the turbulent events that took place between the start of the Louisiana colony and the Louisiana Purchase by the United States. As a result, their population was severely reduced in numbers during this century, and they moved their villages repeatedly, generally downstream, until settling near present-day Marksville, Louisiana, about 1790. Tribal traditions and early colonial historic reports do not give a clear picture of Tunica ancestral homelands and cultural traditions. There is evidence, however, to indicate that the Tunica resided, at least in part, in southeastern Arkansas for some time before 1700. Some scholars believe that some of the Indian towns that Hernando de Soto and his followers found in present-day Arkansas had Tunican names, such as Tanico, and therefore were Tunica settlements. By 1700, however, the Tunica villages were situated east of the Mississippi River, near the mouth of the Yazoo River, in present-day Mississippi. One plausible scenario is that the Quapaw moved into eastern Arkansas as the Tunica moved south sometime in the late 1600s. The extent and duration of the Tunica sojourn in Arkansas, and their relationship to the people described by the de Soto expedition chroniclers, remain active areas of research and speculation. French colonists and missionaries provide some fragmentary information about traditional Tunica culture. The Tunica spoke a language similar to that of the Tiou, Koroa, Yazoo, and other small groups in the Mississippi River Valley but distinct from the majority of southeastern Native American language families. Their lifestyle was generally similar to numerous other Southern native people, however. The Tunica were farmers, growing maize (corn), beans, and other domesticated plants, as well as herbs and medicines. Tunica men undertook much of the garden labor, a practice that was unusual when compared to most Southeastern Indian societies in which women were responsible for most agricultural activities. Harvested foods were placed in aboveground storage buildings that stood within each settlement. The Tunica hunted and collected wild foods to supplement their diet but were not as active in hunting as most of their neighbors.

A Promise from the Sun

Tayoroni-Halayihkusɛma winima hotu winkhenihalihkiti. Inkarhilani tipusaya enti hotu hɛku sihkpahitaniyu kichu rohinapokatasɛma sihkarhilahkinta. Arhilani kashi arhilahkwintawan rohinapowitiki wayitohku. Hɛku lapuhch. Tahch’ihchi ra inkniti, “Tahch’ihchi hishtahahki likat’ihch, Tonimahonisɛma hishtahaki hɛhchi ‘ɔnta.” Winima tihika namu winkyukahksiti ihkwana. Hita.

(The Tunica-Biloxi people send greetings to you all. We generously tell our stories to all of our friends reading this on their computers. In order to tell true stories, read carefully. This will be a good thing. The Sun strongly told us, “If the sun is shining, the Indian people are still here.” May many years come to you. Take care.)

The Biloxi tribe are Native Americans of the Siouan language family. They call themselves by the autonym Tanêks(a) in Siouan Biloxi language. When first encountered by Europeans in 1699, the Biloxi inhabited an area near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico near what is now the city of Biloxi, Mississippi. They were eventually forced west into Louisiana and eastern Texas. The Biloxi language—Tanêksąyaa ade–has been extinct since the 1930s, when the last known native semi-speaker, Emma Jackson, died. Today, remaining Biloxi descendants have merged with the Tunica and other remnant peoples. Together they were federally recognized in 1981; today they are called the Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe and share a small reservation in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. Descendants of several other small tribes are enrolled with them. The two main tribes were from different language groups: the Biloxi were Siouan-speaking and the Tunica had an isolate language. Today the tribe members speak English or French.

The Tunica and Biloxi Indians have lived on their reservation near Marksville for over two centuries, during which the tribes, though speaking completely different languages, intermarried. The Tunica exercised influence over a wide territory, encompassing present-day Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama and even Florida. They were traders and entrepreneurs of the first order. Under severe pressure from European diseases, famine and warfare, the Tunica steadily moved southward, following the Mississippi River. The Biloxi were a tribe on the Mississippi Gulf Coast at present-day Biloxi, Mississippi. They were the first people encountered by French colonizers Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville and Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville in 1669. The Biloxi, like the Tunica, formed a strong alliance with the French, which for a while brought them important economic and political benefits. Later, after the French were expelled, they allied themselves with the Spanish, rulers of Florida.

When the band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians arrived in the early 1800s, they settled on the highest ridge in the area, located on Isle de Jean Charles. In 1955, the island measured 22,400 acres. Now, only 320 acres remain. The surrounding wetlands are so compromised that even a strong south wind combined with a high tide will flood the only roadway linking the island to civilization. Spring arrived early this year for Isle de Jean Charles. The southern gulf breeze is refreshing after an atypical freeze here deep in the Louisiana marsh. It’s late February and the thick vegetation is already sprouting a bright, luxuriant green. The birdsong threatens to drown out conversation. In a matter of weeks, shrimp, speckled trout, and redfish will be running. For members of this tribe of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians, this is nothing short of paradise.

Biloxi was a Siouan language spoken in Mississippi and Alabama. It featured SOV word order. The Biloxi tribe was devastated by a smallpox epidemic, and the survivors migrated westward and merged with the Tunica Indians, with whom they share a Louisiana reservation today. Though the Tunica and Biloxi Indians were friends and allies, their languages were entirely unrelated, and since they were unable to communicate effectively in their native languages, both tribes shifted to French. The Biloxi language has not been spoken in more than a century. Biloxi is the name of the tribe in the language of their Choctaw neighbors. In their own language, the Biloxi called themselves Taneks or Tanekshaya, meaning “first” or “first people.” Their language was known as Tanekshaya Ade, “first people’s language.” Other spellings of these names have included Tanêks, Tanêksa, Taneksa, and Tanêksąyaa.

Biloxi Language

Biloxi language samples and resources.

Biloxi Nation Culture and History

Information and links about the Biloxi tribe past and present.

Biloxi Indians Fact Sheet

Our answers to common middle and high school questions about the lifestyle of Biloxi Indian people.

Biloxi Legends

Introduction to the mythology of the Biloxi Indians.

The Biloxi Indians (also written Baluxa, Beluxi, Bilocchi, Bolixe, Paluxy, and many other names by European chroniclers) were Siouan speakers who were first recorded living near present Biloxi, in southern Mississippi. Since they were the southernmost speakers of the Sioux language and were surrounded by Muskhogean-speaking groups, it is believed that they migrated from the north at an earlier unknown date. The Biloxis were matrilineal. While they probably lived in tents in the North, a French observer reported that in Mississippi they lived in long houses with mud walls and bark roofs; they made pottery, baskets, wooden bowls, and bone and horn implements. About 1763 some of the Biloxis moved westward to western Louisiana. In 1828 there were twenty families on the east bank of the Neches River in what is now Angelina County, Texas, in the area of present Biloxi Creek. The Biloxis were never numerous. Their westward movements, like those of many migratory Gulf Coast groups in early historical times, are attributed to pressure from Europeans. Like the Alabama, Coushatta, and Caddoan tribes with which the Biloxis allied themselves in East Texas, the Biloxis were reputed to have “no pretensions to soil, and were on friendly terms with the people of the Republic.” However, in 1836 the Biloxis appeared as associates of the Cherokees in the treaty of February 23 at Chief Bowl‘s village. In 1837 a committee report of the Texas Senate located the Biloxis and their allies together in the Nacogdoches and Liberty counties, estimating their strength at “150 warriors.” When Albert Sidney Johnston and President Mirabeau B. Lamar declared war on the Cherokees and killed Bowl, the rout was easily extended to other East Texas tribes such as the Biloxis, many of whom were harried from Texas into Arkansas by July 25, 1839. In 1843, however, other Biloxis who had moved westward signed the treaty of September 29 with the Republic of Texas at Bird’s Fort on the Trinity River. In 1846 Butler and Lewis found a Biloxi camp on Little River in Bell County. Other Biloxis moved farther west, and were encountered later as associates of the Seminoles as far west as Brackettville, Texas, and as far south as Nacimiento, Coahuila. Families and individuals also lived with the Choctaws and Creeks in Indian Territory and among the Alabama-Coushattas near Livingston, Texas.

The Biloxi Tribe is a Siouan-speaking Indian tribe that lived in the Southeast. They lived near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in the now-state Mississippi. Eventually, they were forced west into Louisiana and Texas. The tribe eventually went into extinction in the 1930s and any remaining descendants merged with the Tunica people. Their first contact with Europeans was the French-Canadian explorer Pierre LeMoyne D’Iberville, who was working on the colony of Louisiana. He had heard about the Biloxi tribe and that they were once a numerous tribe but had suffered many deaths due to disease (this would suggest they had contact with Europeans prior). D’Iberville described coming upon a deserted village in the late 17th century after the people had been stricken two years prior by disease. The village contained remnants of cabins made of mud, with roofs covered in tree bark. They could have contracted it from other peoples in contact with Europeans, among whom smallpox was endemic. The Native Americans had no immunity to the disease. The Biloxi tribe were descendants from the Mississippian culture which meant they were mound builders.

Biloxi Indian Fact Sheet

Promise from the Sun

Tunica-Biloxi Indians of Louisiana

Tunica-Biloxi history is closely intertwined with the history of Louisiana.

French and Spanish colonial governments depended on the Tunica for trade, diplomacy with other tribes, and as a barrier against British encroachment. The Spanish conquistador, Hernando de Soto, may have visited the ancestral Tunica town of Quizquiz in 1541, according to some archeologists. But the first documented contact with the Tunica Tribe was with French colonists in Louisiana. The tribe had shifted its location to a site near the mouth of the Yazoo River by 1694, when the French Jesuits established a mission under Father Antoine Daivon. As the southernmost Indian nation to oppose the English, the Tunica cultivated a relationship with France as early as 1699. Hatred of the English-inspired and English-armed Chickasaw slave traders brought the French and Tunica together and prompted the Tunica to move their village from the Yazoo River basin halfway to New Orleans.

Biloxi was inhabited by Native Americans as early as 8,000 BC up to the 1700s. Artifacts from the four major periods of Native American history have been found on Biloxi’s peninsula. During the course of Biloxi’s history, eight flags have flown over her and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. These flags included the flags of six countries: France, England, Spain, the Republic of West Florida, Confederate States of America, and the United States stars and stripes. The other two flags were state flags: the Magnolia State Flag and the current Mississippi State flag. With this in mind let us look at Biloxi’s history. In 1810 Biloxi became part of the short-lived Republic of West Florida. In 1811 Dr. William Flood, acting as ambassador for Governor Claiborne of Louisiana, investigated the Mississippi Coast for the United States. He indicated the population of Biloxi to be 420 people.

For decades, the Isle de Jean Charles off the coast of Louisiana served as a refuge for the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians. Today, their island is vanishing into the sea, leaving residents stranded without a piece of dry land to stand on. Over the last fifty years, the island has lost all but a sliver of its landmass due to a variety of human activities, all likely exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. Isle de Jean Charles is a slender ridge of land between Bayou Terrebonne and Bayou Pointe-aux-Chene in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. Reachable only by boat or a wagon trail that disappeared during high tides, the island was virtually cut off from civilization until the 1950s. The island’s isolation protected inhabitants from EuroAmerican settlers who banished nearby tribes to reservations in Oklahoma. Once considered “uninhabitable swamp land” by the state of Louisiana, the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians created a thriving subsistence lifestyle on the island of trapping, fishing, and agriculture. Their lifestyle changed little after the construction of the slim “island road” in 1953 because it became impassable during floods or when the wind shifted. Boats remained the most reliable source of transportation until the late 1990s when the road was elevated. This could explain why residents refer to the community as an island, while it is, in fact, a peninsula.

Tunica Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana

150 Melacon Road
Marksville, Louisiana 71351
(318)561-0400 Ext. 6421
info@tunica.org

Biloxi Indians. A name of uncertain meaning, apparently from the Choctaw language. They call themselves Taneks haya, ‘first people.’ A small Siouan tribe formerly living in south Mississippi, now nearly or quite extinct. The Biloxi were supposed to belong to the Muskhogean stock until Gatschet visited the survivors of the tribe in Louisiana in 1886 and found that many of the words bore strong resemblance to those in Siouan languages, a determination fully substantiated in 1892 by J. Owen Dorsey. To what particular group of the Siouan family the tribe is to be assigned has not been determined; but it is probable that the closest affinity is with Dorsey’s Dhegiha group, so called. The first direct notice of the Biloxi is that by Iberville, who found them in 1699 about Biloxi bay, on the gulf coast of Mississippi, in connection with two, other shall tribes, the Paskagula and Moctobi, the three together numbering only about 20 cabins 1 . The Biloxi removed to the west shore of Mobile bay in 1702. In 1761 Jefferys spoke of them as having been north east of Cat island, and of their subsequent removal to the north west of Pearl river Hutchins, in 1784, mentions a Biloxi village on the west side of the Mississippi, a little below the Paskagula, containing 30 warriors. According to Sibley (1805) a part of the Biloxi came with some French, from near Pensacola, about 1763, and settled first in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, on Red River, whence they “moved higher up to Rapide Bayou, and from thence to the mouth of Rigula de Bondieu, a division of Red river, about 40 miles below Natchitoch, where they now live, and are reduced to about 30 in number.” Berguin-Duvallon (1806) mentions them as in two villages, one on Red river, 19 leagues from the Mississippi, the other on a lake called Avoyelles.