The Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe, () 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 (a Natchez people), and Choctaw (Muskogean) 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 () in central Avoyelles Parish, just south of the city of Marksville, Louisiana, and overlapping its boundaries. The Reservation is .
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.
History
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.
Based on evaluations of the three surviving de Soto narratives for topography, linguistics and cultural traits, combined with archaeological excavations and analysis, most archaeologists and ethnohistorians have agreed to identify the Menard, Walls, Belle Meade, Parkin and Nodena phases as the de Soto-named provinces of Anilco, Quizquiz, Aquixo, Casqui and Pacaha, respectively.
It was 150 years before another European group recorded the Tunica. In 1699 the LaSource expedition (coming downriver from French Canada) encountered the Tunica, describing them as a modestly sized tribe numbering only a few hundred warriors. They and other peoples had suffered from smallpox epidemics, which had high mortality rates as they had no natural immunity to this new disease carried by Europeans.
By the time the French arrived, the Central Mississippi Valley was sparsely occupied by the Quapaw. They became significant allies to the French and aided their successful settlement. The French established a mission among the Tunica around 1700, on the Yazoo River. Father Antoine Davion was assigned to the Tunica, as well as to the smaller tribes of the Koroa, Yazoo, and Houspé tribes.
The Tunica were skilled traders and entrepreneurs, especially in the manufacture and distribution of salt, a valuable item to both native and Europeans. Salt was extremely important in the trade between the French and the various Caddoan groups in what are now northwestern Louisiana and southwestern Arkansas. The Tunica were believed to be the middlemen in the trade of salt from the Caddoan areas to the French.
By the early 18th century, the tribes along the lower Mississippi River were a target of Chickasaw raids for the English slave trade in South Carolina. By 1706 the Tunica decided to move.
As their enemies the Natchez were to their immediate south, they moved to the Mississippi side of the Mississippi and Red River confluence. This allowed them to keep control of their salt trade, as the Red River also connected to their salt source in the Caddoan areas.
They established a loose collection of hamlets and villages at present-day Angola, Louisiana. The archeological remains of a small hamlet from this time period were discovered in 1976 by an inmate of Angola Prison. It is known as the Bloodhound Site.
During the 1710s and 1720s, war periodically broke out between the French and the Natchez. The last uprising in 1729, the Natchez Massacre, was the largest; the Natchez killed most of the French at the village of Natchez and Fort Rosalie. French colonists gained the aid of Indian allies and returned to the villages, killing or capturing most of the Natchez. The survivors were sold into slavery.