Natchitoches people


The Natchitoches are a Native American tribe from northwestern Louisiana and Texas. They organized themselves in one of the three Caddo-speaking confederacies along with the Hasinai, and Kadohadacho.

History

Natchitoches territory was along the Red River of the South in northeastern Texas and northwestern Louisiana, they were important allies of the French in the 17th and 18th centuries, played a major role in the subjugation of the Natchez in the Natchez uprising and the so-called Natchez wars.
In the early 17th century, the Natchitoches were joined by some of the remnants of the Kadohadacho, a tribe with many members who had been killed or enslaved by the Chickasaw. They settled on the Cane River around present-day Natchitoches, Louisiana, which is a city named after the tribe.

Name

Many historians have claimed that the name Natchitoches is derived from the Native word nashitosh meaning "pawpaw people". However, Native American linguist John R. Swanton wrote that the word may actually be derived from nacicit meaning "Place where the soil is the color of red ochre".

Member tribes

Member tribes of the historic Natchitoches Confederation:
  • Doustioni or Dotchetonne were a band who likely lived near the Gulf of Mexico. The French edition led by Sieur de la Salle in 1682 recorded them as allies of the Kadohadacho. J. R. Swanton identified them as a Caddo tribe from the area around Bayou Dauchite in northwestern Louisiana, both are not proven. At the invitation of their French allies, they settled near the related Lower Natchitoches on the Red River. Severely decimated by disease and war, they lost their independent identity and were absorbed by the other Caddo tribes. No further record of the tribe survives.
  • Natchitoches
  • Ouachita or '''Washita'''

    Today

Descendants of the Natchitoches along with other members of the Caddo Confederacy tribes are enrolled in the federally recognized Caddo Nation of Oklahoma.
In 2017, the State of Louisiana state-recognized the Natchitoches Tribe of Louisiana, affirming its distinct cultural and historical identity. This recognition acknowledges the unique heritage of the Natchitoches people and their continued presence in the region.