# Atakapa

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{{short description|Former Native American tribe from Gulf of Mexico}}
{{for|the language|Atakapa language}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Atakapa
| native_name      = {{lang|aqp|Ishak}}
| image            = 200px
| caption          = ''An Attakapas'', by Alexandre de Batz, 1735
| population       = 
| regions          = United States<br/>([Louisiana](/source/Louisiana), [Texas](/source/Texas))
| religions        = [Christianity](/source/Christianity), Indigenous religion
| languages        = [English](/source/English_language), [French](/source/French_language), [Spanish](/source/Spanish_language), [Atakapa](/source/Atakapa_language)
| related          = isolate language group, intermarried with [Caddo](/source/Caddo), [Koasati](/source/Koasati),<ref name=s660/> and [Houma](/source/Houma_people)<ref name=p382/>
}}
The '''Atakapa''' {{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|t|æ|k|ə|p|ə|,_|-|p|ɑː}}<ref name=s659>Sturtevant, 659</ref><ref>{{MW|Atakapa}}</ref> or '''Atacapa''' were an [Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands](/source/Indigenous_people_of_the_Southeastern_Woodlands), who spoke the [Atakapa language](/source/Atakapa_language) and historically lived along the [Gulf of Mexico](/source/Gulf_of_Mexico) in what is now [Texas](/source/Texas) and [Louisiana](/source/Louisiana). 

They included several distinct bands. They spoke the [Atakapa language](/source/Atakapa_language), which was a [linguistic isolate](/source/Language_isolate).

After 1762, when Louisiana was transferred to Spain following French defeat in the [Seven Years' War](/source/Seven_Years'_War), little was written about the Atakapa as a people. Due to a high rate of deaths from infectious epidemics of the late 18th century, they ceased to function as a people. Survivors generally joined the [Caddo](/source/Caddo), [Koasati](/source/Koasati), and other neighboring peoples, although they kept some traditions. Some culturally distinct Atakapan descendants survived into the early 20th century.<ref name=s660>Sturtevant, 660.</ref> There are several [unrecognized tribes](/source/List_of_organizations_that_self-identify_as_Native_American_tribes) who identify as having descent from the Atakapa.

== Name ==
The Atakapa called themselves the {{lang|aqp|Ishak}}, which translates as "the people."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.timesofacadiana.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070725/NEWS0102/707250301/1051&template=printart |title=''Times of Acadiana.com'' |access-date=2007-08-10 |archive-date=2007-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929012236/http://www.timesofacadiana.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20070725%2FNEWS0102%2F707250301%2F1051&template=printart |url-status=dead }}</ref> 

Their name was also spelled ''Atacapaze'', ''Atalapa'', ''Attakapa'', ''Attakapas'', or ''Attacapa''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barnes |first1=Thomas C. |last2=Naylor |first2=Thomas H. |last3=Polzer |first3=Charles W. |title=Northern New Spain: A Research Guide |publisher=University of Arizona |url=https://open.uapress.arizona.edu/read/northern-new-spain-a-research-guide/section/1f21260b-5632-4c85-a79f-dde8198f2c5c |access-date=10 May 2024}}</ref>

''Atakapa'' is either a [Choctaw](/source/Choctaw_language) or [Mobilian](/source/Mobilian_Jargon) term meaning "eater of human flesh". The Choctaw used this term due to their practice of ritual [cannibalism](/source/Human_cannibalism). Europeans encountered the Choctaw first during their exploration, and adopted their name for this people to the west.<ref>{{Cite journal |last = Swanton| first = John R.| title = Linguistic Position of the Tribes of Southern Texas and Northeastern Mexico| journal = American Anthropologist| volume = 17| issue = 1| pages = 17–40| publisher = Blackwell Publishing| date = January–March 1915| doi =10.1525/aa.1915.17.1.02a00030| jstor =  660145| doi-access = free}}</ref><ref>
{{Cite journal
 | last = Butler
 | first = Joseph T.
 | title = The Atakapas Indians: Cannibals of Louisiana
 | journal = Louisiana History
 | volume = 11
 | issue = 2
 | pages = 167–176
 | publisher = Louisiana Historical Association
 | date = Spring 1970
 | jstor =  4231120
 }}</ref> The peoples lived in river valleys, along lake shores, and coasts from present-day [Vermilion Bay](/source/Vermilion_Bay_(Louisiana)), [Louisiana](/source/Louisiana) to [Galveston Bay, Texas](/source/Galveston_Bay%2C_Texas).<ref name=s659/>

==Atakapa language==
The [Atakapa language](/source/Atakapa_language) was a [language isolate](/source/language_isolate), once spoken along the Louisiana and East Texas coast and believed extinct since the mid-20th century.<ref name=dictionary>{{cite book|last1=Gatschet|first1=Albert S. |first2=John Reed|last2=Swanton|last3=Smithsonian Institution|work=Bureau of American Ethnology|title=A dictionary of the Atakapa language|year=1932|url=http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth20200|access-date= March 14, 2010}}</ref> [John R. Swanton](/source/John_R._Swanton) in 1919 proposed a Tunican language family that would include Atakapa, [Tunica](/source/Tunica_language), and [Chitimacha](/source/Chitimacha_language). [Mary Haas](/source/Mary_Haas) later expanded this into the [Gulf language family](/source/Gulf_languages) with the addition of the [Muskogean languages](/source/Muskogean_languages). As of 2001, linguists generally do not consider these proposed families as proven.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mithun |first=Marianne |title=The Languages of Native North America |url=https://archive.org/details/languagesnativen00mith |url-access=limited |edition=First paperback |year=2001 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |isbn=0-521-23228-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/languagesnativen00mith/page/n164 302], 344}}</ref>

== History ==
thumb|Precontact distribution of Atakapa
Atakapa [oral history](/source/oral_tradition) says that they originated from the sea. An ancestral prophet laid out the rules of conduct.<ref name=s662>Sturtevant, 662.</ref>

The first European contact with the Atakapa may have been in 1528 by survivors of the Spanish [Pánfilo de Narváez](/source/P%C3%A1nfilo_de_Narv%C3%A1ez) expedition. These men in Florida had made two barges, in an attempt to sail to Mexico, and these were blown ashore on the Gulf Coast. One group of survivors met the [Karankawa](/source/Karankawa), while the other probably landed on [Galveston Island](/source/Galveston_Island). The latter recorded meeting a group who called themselves the Han, who may have been the [Akokisa](/source/Akokisa). Among the survivors was [Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca](/source/%C3%81lvar_N%C3%BA%C3%B1ez_Cabeza_de_Vaca) who later wrote an account of several years living among the Indians of the Texas coast.<ref name=s659/>

=== 18th century ===
In 1703, [Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne](/source/Jean-Baptiste_Le_Moyne), the French governor of ''[La Louisiane](/source/La_Louisiane)'', sent three men to explore the Gulf Coast west of the [Mississippi River](/source/Mississippi_River). The seventh nation they encountered were the Atakapa, who captured, killed and cannibalized one member of their party.<ref name=s659/> In 1714 this tribe was one of 14 that were recorded as coming to [Jean-Michel de Lepinay](/source/Jean-Michel_de_Lepinay), who was acting French governor of Louisiana between 1717 and 1718,<ref>[http://enlou.com/people/lepinay-bio.htm enlou.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070625030514/http://www.enlou.com/people/lepinay-bio.htm |date=2007-06-25 }}</ref> while he was fortifying [Dauphin Island, Alabama](/source/Dauphin_Island%2C_Alabama).<ref>[http://www.lutheransonline.com/servlet/lo_ProcServ/dbpage=page&mode=display&gid=20061635345409848401111555 "The Atakapa"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703003816/http://www.lutheransonline.com/servlet/lo_ProcServ/dbpage%3Dpage%26mode%3Ddisplay%26gid%3D20061635345409848401111555 |date=2007-07-03 }}, Lutherans Online</ref>

The [Choctaw](/source/Choctaw) told the [French](/source/France) settlers about the "People of the West," who represented subdivisions or tribes. The French referred to them as ''les sauvages''.  The Choctaw used the name ''Atakapa,'' meaning "people eater" (''hattak'' 'person', ''apa'' 'to eat'), for them.<ref name=s662/> It referred to their practice of ritual [cannibalism](/source/Human_cannibalism) related to warfare.

A French explorer, [Francois Simars de Bellisle](/source/Francois_Simars_de_Bellisle), lived among the Atakapa from 1719 to 1721.<ref name=s659/> He described Atakapa feasts including consumption of human flesh, which he observed firsthand.<ref>Newcomb, 327.</ref> The practice of cannibalism likely had a religious, ritualistic basis. French [Jesuit](/source/Society_of_Jesus) missionaries urged the Atakapa to end this practice.

The French historian [Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz](/source/Antoine-Simon_Le_Page_du_Pratz) lived in [Louisiana](/source/Louisiana) from 1718 to 1734. He wrote:<ref>[http://www.thecajuns.com/attakpas.htm "Attakapas"], ''The Cajuns.com''.</ref>

{{quote|Along the west coast, not far from the sea, inhabit the nation called Atacapas, that is, Man-Eaters, being so called by the other nations on account of their detestable custom of eating their enemies, or such as they believe to be their enemies. In the vast country there are no other cannibals to be met with besides the Atacapas; and since the French have gone among them, they have raised in them so great a horror of that abominable practice of devouring creatures of their own species, that they have promised to leave it off: and, accordingly, for a long time past we have heard of no such barbarity among them.|Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz}}

thumb|upright|Detail from a drawing by Alexandre de Batz, 1735
Louis LeClerc Milfort, a Frenchman who spent 20 years living with and traveling among the [Muscogee](/source/Muscogee) (Creek), came upon the Atakapa in 1781 during his travels. He wrote:<ref>Milfort, Louis Leclerc. [http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cmamcrk4/mlfrt1.html ''Memoirs or A Quick Glance at my various travels and my sojourn in the Creek Nation''], Chapter 15, Rootsweb Homepages.</ref>

{{quote|The forest we were then in was thick enough so that none of my men could be seen. I formed them into three detachments, and arranged them in such a way as to surround these savages, and to leave them no way of retreat except by the pond. I then made them all move forward, and I sent ahead a subordinate chief to ascertain what nation these savages belonged to, and what would be their intentions toward us. We were soon assured that they were Atakapas, who, as soon as they saw us, far from seeking to defend themselves, made us signs of peace and friendship. There were one hundred and eighty [180] of them of both sexes, busy, as we suspected, smoke-drying meat. As soon as my three detachments had emerged from the forest, I saw one of these savages coming straight toward me: at first sight, I recognized that he did not belong to the Atakapas nation; he addressed me politely and in an easy manner, unusual among these savages. He offered food and drink for my warriors which I accepted, while expressing to him my gratitude. Meat was served to my entire detachment; and during the time of about six hours that I remained with this man, I learned that he was a European; that he had been a [Jesuit](/source/Jesuit); and that having gone into Mexico, these people had chosen him as their chief. He spoke French rather well. He told me that his name was Joseph; but I did not learn from what part of Europe he came.

He informed me that the name Atakapas, which means eaters of men, had been given to this nation by the [Spaniards](/source/Spaniards) because every time they caught one of them, they would roast him alive, but that they did not eat them; that they acted in this way toward this nation to avenge their ancestors for the torture that they made them endure when they had come to take possession of [Mexico](/source/Mexico); that if some Englishmen or Frenchmen happened to be lost in this bay region, the Atakapas welcomed them with kindness, would give them hospitality; and if they did not wish to remain with them they had them taken to the Akancas, from where they could easily go to [New Orleans](/source/New_Orleans).

He told me: "You see here about one-half of the Atakapas Nation; the other half is farther on. We are in the habit of dividing ourselves into two or three groups in order to follow the [buffalo](/source/American_bison), which in the spring go back into the west, and in autumn come down into these parts; there are herds of these buffalo, which go sometimes as far as the [Missouri](/source/Missouri_River); we kill them with arrows; our young hunters are very skilful at this hunting. You understand, moreover, that these animals are in very great numbers, and as tame as if they were raised on a farm; consequently, we are very careful never to frighten them. When they stay on a prairie or in a forest, we camp near them in order to accustom them to seeing us, and we follow all their wanderings so that they cannot get away from us. We use their meat for food and their skins for clothing. I have been living with these people for about eleven years; I am happy and satisfied here, and have not the least desire to return to Europe. I have six children whom I love a great deal, and with whom I want to end my days."
  
When my warriors were rested and refreshed, I took leave of Joseph and of the Atakapas, while assuring them of my desire to be able to make some returns for their friendly welcome, and I resumed my Journey.|Louis LeClerc Milfort}}

In 1760, the French Gabriel Fuselier de la Claire came into the Attakapas Territory, and bought all the land between [Vermilion River](/source/Vermilion_River_(Louisiana)) and [Bayou Teche](/source/Bayou_Teche) from the Eastern Atakapa Chief Kinemo. Shortly after that a rival Indian tribe, the [Opelousa](/source/Opelousa), coming from the area between the Atchafalaya and [Sabine](/source/Sabine_River_(Texas%E2%80%93Louisiana)) rivers, exterminated the Eastern Atakapa. They had occupied the area between Atchafalaya River and ''Bayou Nezpique'' (Attakapas Territory).

William Byrd Powell (1799–1867), a medical doctor and [physiologist](/source/physiologist), regarded the Atakapan as cannibals. He noted that they traditionally flattened their skulls frontally and not occipitally, a practice opposite to that of neighboring tribes, such as the [Natchez Nation](/source/Natchez_Nation).<ref>Powell, William Byrd. Letter to Samuel G. Morton. 12 August 1839. ''[American Philosophical Society](/source/American_Philosophical_Society)'', L.S. 2p. 127.</ref>

The Atakapa traded with the [Chitimacha](/source/Chitimacha) tribe.<ref>Pritzker, 374.</ref> In the early 18th century, some Atakapa married into the [Houma](/source/Houma_people) tribe of Louisiana.<ref name=p382>Pritzker, 382.</ref> Members of the [Tunica-Biloxi](/source/Tunica-Biloxi) tribe joined the Atakapa tribe in the late 18th century.<ref>Pritzker, 393.</ref>

=== 19th century ===
[John R. Swanton](/source/John_R._Swanton) recorded that only 175 Atakapa lived in Louisiana in 1805.<ref name="tsha">{{cite web |last1=Couser |first1=Dorothy |title=Atakapa Indians |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/atakapa-indians |website=Texas State Historical Association |access-date=4 May 2022}}</ref> It is believed that most Western Atakapa tribes or subdivisions were decimated by the 1850s, mainly from infectious disease<ref name=tsha/> and poverty.

=== 20th century ===
[[File:atakapaindian.jpg|thumb|upright|Atakapa statue in [St. Martinville, Louisiana](/source/St._Martinville%2C_Louisiana).]] In 1908, nine known Atakapa descendants were identified.<ref name=tsha/> Armojean Reon (ca. 1873–1925) of [Lake Charles, Louisiana](/source/Lake_Charles%2C_Louisiana), was noted as a fluent Atakapa speaker.<ref>Sturtevant, 660-61.</ref> In the 1920s, ethnologists Albert Gatshet and John Swanton studied the language and published ''A Dictionary of the Atakapa Language'' in 1932.<ref name=tsha/>

==Culture==
[[File:Nelumbo lutea.jpg|thumb|left|The Atakapan ate the [rhizome](/source/rhizome)s and [seeds](/source/Lotus_seed) of the American lotus]]
The Atakapan ate shellfish and fish.  The women gathered bird eggs, the American lotus (''[Nelumbo lutea](/source/Nelumbo_lutea)'') for its roots and seeds, as well as other wild plants. The men hunted [deer](/source/white-tailed_deer), [bear](/source/American_black_bear), and [bison](/source/plains_bison), which provided meat, [fat](/source/Animal_fat), and [hide](/source/Hide_(skin))s. The women cultivated varieties of [maize](/source/maize).  They processed the meats, bones and skins to prepare food for storage, as well as to make clothing, tent covers, tools, sewing materials, arrow cases, bridles and rigging for horses, and other necessary items for their survival.<ref name=s662/><ref name=s661>Sturtevant, 661.</ref>

The men made their tools for hunting and fishing: bows and arrows, fish spears with bone-tipped points, and [flint](/source/flint)-tipped spears. They used poisons to catch fish, caught [flounder](/source/flounder) by torchlight, and speared [alligators](/source/American_alligator) in the eye. The people put alligator oil on exposed skin to [repel](/source/Insect_repellent) [mosquito](/source/mosquito)es. The Bidai snared game and trapped animals in [cane](/source/Arundinaria) pens. By 1719, the Atakapan had obtained horses and were hunting bison from horseback. They used [dugout canoe](/source/dugout_canoe)s to navigate the bayous and close to shore, but did not venture far into the ocean.<ref name=s661/>

In the summer, families moved to the coast. In winters, they moved inland and lived in villages of houses made of pole and thatch. The Bidai lived in bearskin tents. The homes of chiefs and medicine men were erected on earthwork [mounds](/source/Mound_builder_(people)) made by several previous cultures including the [Mississippian](/source/Mississippian_culture).<ref name=s662/>
{{clear}}

== Subdivisions or bands ==
thumb|left|Plaque for Attakapa Trace Junction
Atakapa-speaking peoples are called Atakapan, while Atakapa refers to a specific tribe.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://mpo.lafayettela.gov/Projects%5CAtakapa-IshakTrail%5CMap%5CAIT_Phase1_Tribal_Info_Poster.pdf |title=The Atakapa-Ishak Nation |access-date=2014-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030233647/http://mpo.lafayettela.gov/Projects/Atakapa-IshakTrail/Map/AIT_Phase1_Tribal_Info_Poster.pdf |archive-date=2013-10-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Atakapa-speaking peoples were divided into bands which were represented by [totem](/source/totem)s, such as snake, alligator, and other natural life.

===Eastern Atakapa===
The Eastern Atakapa (Hiyekiti Ishak, "Sunrise People") groups lived in present-day [Acadiana](/source/Acadiana) parishes in southwestern Louisiana and are organized as three major regional bands:<!-- But this has three bands listed; what are the two regional bands? -->
* The '''Ciwāt''' or '''Alligator Band'''<ref>[http://www.atakapa-ishak.org/constitution/ Atakapa Ishak Nation - Constitution of the Atakapa-Isak Nation of S.E. Texas and S.W. Louisiana (source for Band and Clan names)]</ref> lived along the [Vermilion River](/source/Vermilion_River_(Louisiana)) and near [Vermilion Bay](/source/Vermilion_Bay_(Louisiana)) in southwestern [Iberia Parish](/source/Iberia_Parish%2C_Louisiana) and southeastern [Vermilion Parish](/source/Vermilion_Parish%2C_Louisiana) in south central Louisiana. This [inlet](/source/inlet) of the [Gulf of Mexico](/source/Gulf_of_Mexico) is separated from it by [Marsh Island](/source/Marsh_Island_(Louisiana)); they also occupied a portion of the Louisiana mainland in southeastern Vermilion Parish. The [alligator](/source/alligator) was very important to this band. In addition to consuming its meat as food, they used its oil for cooking and to treat minor [arthritis](/source/arthritis) and [eczema](/source/eczema) symptoms. They used its scales as arrowheads.
* The '''Otse''', '''Teche Band''', or '''Snake Band''' lived on the prairies and coastal marshes in the [Mermentau River](/source/Mermentau_River) [watershed](/source/Drainage_basin), along the [Bayou Nezpique](/source/Bayou_Nezpique), [Bayou des Cannes](/source/Bayou_des_Cannes), and [Bayou Plaquemine Brule](/source/Bayou_Plaquemine_Brule), containing the freshwater [Grand](/source/Grand_Lake_(Louisiana)) and White lakes,<ref name=s659/> and around [St. Martinville](/source/St._Martinville%2C_Louisiana) on Bayou Teche in present-day [St. Martin](/source/St._Martin_Parish), [Lafayette](/source/Lafayette_Parish), [St. Landry](/source/St._Landry_Parish), [St. Mary](/source/St._Mary_Parish%2C_Louisiana), [Acadia](/source/Acadia_Parish) and [Evangeline](/source/Evangeline_Parish%2C_Louisiana) parishes in southern [Louisiana](/source/Louisiana).<ref name="daily">Bradshaw, Jim. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928071224/http://www.carencrohighschool.org/LA_Studies/ParishSeries/IberiaParish/AttakapasDistrict.htm "Iberia Parish was once part of Attakapas District"]}}, ''Daily Advertiser,'' 25 November 1997 (retrieved 8 June 2009).</ref> They are named for the [snake](/source/snake), which symbolizes the winding and twisting course of [Bayou Teche](/source/Bayou_Teche).
* The '''Tsikip''', '''[Opelousa](/source/Opelousa)''',<ref>[http://ccet.louisiana.edu/tourism/cultural/The_People/opelousasjstyle.html The Opelousas]</ref> '''Opelousas Band''' ("Blackleg") or '''Heron Band''', painted their lower legs and feet [black](/source/black) during mourning ceremonies, mimicking the long black legs of the [heron](/source/heron). Before European contact in the 18th century, they lived between the [Atchafalaya River](/source/Atchafalaya_River) and [Sabine River](/source/Sabine_River_(Texas%E2%80%93Louisiana)) (at the present-day border of Texas-Louisiana) to the west of the lower [Mississippi River](/source/Mississippi_River). Later they were centered in the area around present-day [Opelousas, Louisiana](/source/Opelousas%2C_Louisiana) and the prairies around [St. Landry Parish](/source/St._Landry_Parish%2C_Louisiana). They were at times associated with the neighboring Eastern Atakapa and [Chitimacha](/source/Chitimacha) peoples. They were warlike and preyed on neighbors to defend their own territory. In 1760 Chief ''Kinemo'' of the Eastern Atakapa sold the tribal lands between the Vermilion River and Bayou Teche to Frenchman Gabriel Fuselier de la Claire; the angry Opelousa exterminated the Eastern Atakapa bands for selling off communal lands. The Opelousa band may have spoken an Eastern Atakapan dialect.

===Western Atakapa===
The Western Atakapa (Hikike Ishak, "Sunset People") resided in southeastern Texas. They were organized as follows.
*'''Atakapa (proper)''' groups, divided into major regional bands:
** The '''Katkoc''' or '''Eagle Band''' (named after the [eagle](/source/eagle)s in the area), were also known as '''Calcasieu Band''', because they were living along [Calcasieu River](/source/Calcasieu_River) between the [Calcasieu Lake](/source/Calcasieu_Lake) in southwest Louisiana and [Sabine Lake](/source/Sabine_Lake) on the Louisiana-Texas border.
** The '''Red Bird Band''', lived on the prairies and coastal areas of what is now Cameron Parish, in South Western Louisiana; they were represented by the cardinal or [red bird](/source/Northern_cardinal).
** The '''Niāl''' or '''Panther Band''', lived in the areas around the [Sabine River](/source/Sabine_River_(Texas%E2%80%93Louisiana)) of South East Texas, they took the [panther](/source/Panthera) as their totem.<ref>[http://www.atakapa-ishak.org/constitution/ Constitution of the Atakapa-Isak Nation of S.E. Texas And S.W. Louisiana - Listing of Tribes and Totems]</ref>
* The '''[Akokisa](/source/Akokisa)''', '''Arkokisa''', or '''Orcoquiza''' ("river people"), westernmost Atakapa tribe, lived in the mid-18th century in five villages along the lower course of the [Trinity](/source/Trinity_River_(Texas)) and [San Jacinto](/source/San_Jacinto_River_(Texas)) rivers and the northern and eastern shores of [Galveston Bay](/source/Galveston_Bay) in present-day Texas. In 1805, their surviving people were reported to be living in villages on the lower [Colorado](/source/Colorado_River_(Texas)) and [Neches](/source/Neches_River) rivers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/bma17 |title="Akokisa Indians" |last=Campbell |first=Thomas N. |date=June 15, 2010 |website=[Handbook of Texas Online](/source/Handbook_of_Texas_Online) |publisher=[Texas State Historical Association](/source/Texas_State_Historical_Association) |access-date=9 October 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/bmo12 |title="Orcoquiza Indians" |last=Blake |first=Robert Bruce |date=June 15, 2010 |website=[Handbook of Texas Online](/source/Handbook_of_Texas_Online) |publisher=[Texas State Historical Association](/source/Texas_State_Historical_Association) |access-date=9 October 2018 }}</ref>
*The '''Quasmigdo''', better known as '''[Bidai](/source/Bidai)''' (a [Caddo language](/source/Caddo_language) name meaning "brushwood"),<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.texascenterforregionalstudies.com/the-bidai-tribe-of-intrigue-who-were-they-really.html |title=The Bidai, Tribe of Intrigue. Who were they, Really? |access-date=2017-05-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830003514/http://www.texascenterforregionalstudies.com/the-bidai-tribe-of-intrigue-who-were-they-really.html |archive-date=2017-08-30 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> were based around [Bedias Creek](/source/Bedias_Creek), ranging from the [Brazos River](/source/Brazos_River) to [Neches River](/source/Neches_River), Texas.<ref name=s659/>
*The '''[Deadose](/source/Deadose)''', a band of Bidai that separated in the early 18th century, lived north of the other Bidai between the confluence of the [Angelina River](/source/Angelina_River) and Neches River and the upper end of Galveston Bay in east-central Texas. Around 1720 they moved westward between the Brazos and Trinity rivers; later they settled near missions on the [San Gabriel River](/source/San_Gabriel_River_(Texas)) (with the Bidai and Akokisa) in the [Texas Hill Country](/source/Texas_Hill_Country). Between 1749 and 1751 they gathered (with the Akokisa, Orcoquiza, Bidai, and Patiri) at the short-lived San Ildefonso Mission near the mouth of Brushy Creek; some settled near the [Alamo Mission in San Antonio](/source/Alamo_Mission_in_San_Antonio).<ref name=s659/> In the second half of the 18th century, the Deadose were closely associated with [Tonkawa](/source/Tonkawa)n groups ([Ervipiame](/source/Ervipiame) (?), [Mayeye](/source/Mayeye), and [Yojuane](/source/Yojuane)). Suffering high mortality from epidemics of [measles](/source/measles) and [smallpox](/source/smallpox), survivors joined kindred Bidai, Akokisa and Tonkawa. They lost their distinctive tribal identity in the latter part of the 18th century.<ref>[http://studythepast.com/5388_campus_fall11/materials/bidai_indians_southeastern_texas.pdf The Bidai Indians of Southeastern Texas]</ref>
* The '''Patiri''' or '''Petaros''' lived north of the San Jacinto River valley between the Bidai to the north and the Akokisa in the south of Texas. This places them in the [Piney Woods](/source/Piney_Woods) of [East Texas](/source/East_Texas), west of the Trinity River in the area between [Houston](/source/Houston) and [Huntsville](/source/Huntsville%2C_Texas). Little is known about them; perhaps they were a southern Bidai band.<ref name=s659/>
* The '''Tlacopsel''', '''Acopsel''', or '''Lacopspel''' — it is believed that they lived in the same general area as the kindred Bidai and Deadose. The location of their settlements in southeast Texas are unknown. They are known only from Spanish documents of the eighteenth century, when they were referred to for requesting missions from the Spanish in east central Texas.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/bmt55 |title="Tlacopsel Indians" |last=Campbell |first=Thomas N. |date=June 15, 2010 |website=[Handbook of Texas Online](/source/Handbook_of_Texas_Online) |publisher=[Texas State Historical Association](/source/Texas_State_Historical_Association) |access-date=9 October 2018 }}</ref>

== Cultural heritage groups ==
Different groups claiming to be descendants of the Atakapa have created several organizations, and some have unsuccessfully petitioned Louisiana, Texas, and the United States for status as a recognized tribe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/SE-Texas-Atakapa-tribe-seeking-federal-5722475.php|title=SE Texas' Atakapa tribe seeking federal designation|last=Besson|first=Eric|date=2014-09-02|website=Beaumont Enterprise|access-date=2019-12-11}}</ref> A member of the "Atakapa Indian de Creole Nation," claiming to be trustee, monarch, and deity, filed a number of lawsuits in federal court claiming, among other things, that the governments of Louisiana and the United States seek to "monopolize intergalactic foreign trade." The suits were dismissed as frivolous.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca5/19-30032/19-30032-2019-12-10.html|title=Atakapa Indian de Creole Nation v. Louisiana, No. 19-30032 (5th Cir. 2019)|website=Justia Law|language=en|access-date=2019-12-11}}</ref>

Another group, the [Atakapa Ishak Tribe of Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana](/source/Atakapa_Ishak_Tribe_of_Southeast_Texas_and_Southwest_Louisiana), also called the Atakapa Ishak Nation,<ref>[http://www.timesofacadiana.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070725/NEWS0102/707250301/1051&template=printart timesofacadiana.com "This isn't Cajun Country"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929012236/http://www.timesofacadiana.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20070725%2FNEWS0102%2F707250301%2F1051&template=printart |date=2007-09-29 }}, ''Times of Acadiana'', 25 July 2007.</ref> based in [Lake Charles, Louisiana](/source/Lake_Charles%2C_Louisiana) obtained nonprofit status in 2008 as an "ethnic awareness" organization.<ref>{{cite web |title=Atakapa Ishak Tribe of Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana |url=https://www.guidestar.org/profile/80-0156227 |website=GuideStar |access-date=26 May 2021}}</ref> They also refer to themselves as the Atakapa-Ishak Nation and met en masse on October 28, 2006.<ref>[http://www.lutheransonline.com/servlet/lo_ProcServ/dbpage=page&mode=display&gid=20061635345409848401111555 ''Atakapa Ishak Nation SE Texas and SW Louisiana''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703003816/http://www.lutheransonline.com/servlet/lo_ProcServ/dbpage%3Dpage%26mode%3Ddisplay%26gid%3D20061635345409848401111555 |date=2007-07-03 }}, Issue No. 1, November 2006, at Lutherans Online.</ref> The Atakapas Ishak Nation of Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana unsuccessfully petitioned the US federal government for recognition on February 2, 2007.

These organizations are not [federally recognized](/source/federally_recognized) or [state-recognized](/source/state-recognized) as Native American tribes.

== Legacy ==
The names of present-day towns in the region can be traced to the Ishak; they are derived both from their language and from French transliteration of the names of their prominent leaders and names of places. The town of [Mermentau](/source/Mermentau) is a corrupted form of the local chief Nementou. "Plaquemine," as in [Bayou Plaquemine Brûlée](/source/Bayou_Plaquemine_Br%C3%BBl%C3%A9e) and [Plaquemines Parish](/source/Plaquemines_Parish%2C_Louisiana), is derived from the Atakapa word {{lang|aqp|pikamin}}, meaning '[persimmon](/source/persimmon)'. [Bayou Nezpiqué](/source/Bayou_Nezpiqu%C3%A9) was named for an Atakapan who had a tattooed nose. [Bayou Queue de Tortue](/source/Bayou_Queue_de_Tortue) was believed to have been named for Chief Celestine La Tortue of the Atakapas nation.<ref>[http://www.thecajuns.com/attakpas.htm thecajuns.com "Arrow points and place names are reminders of Attakapas"], The Cajuns.</ref> The name [Calcasieu](/source/Calcasieu_Parish%2C_Louisiana) comes through French from an Atakapa name, {{lang|aqp|Katkōsh Yōk|italic=no}} ('Crying Eagle').<ref>{{cite journal |title=Economic and Social Development of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, 1840–1912 |last=Ulmer |first=Grace |journal=The Louisiana Historical Quarterly |date=July 1949 |volume=2 |issue=3 |page=521}}</ref>

The city of [Lafayette, Louisiana](/source/Lafayette%2C_Louisiana), is planning a series of trails, funded by the [Federal Highway Administration](/source/Federal_Highway_Administration), to be called the "Atakapa–Ishak Trail". It will consist of a bike trail connecting downtown areas along the bayous Vermilion and Teche, which are now accessible only by foot or boat.<ref>[http://www.theind.com/cover-story/5558- "Blazing a T.R.A.I.L."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322074613/http://www.theind.com/cover-story/5558- |date=2012-03-22 }}, ''The Independent''</ref><ref>[http://mpo.lafayettela.gov/projects/Atakapa-IshakTrail/Atakapa-IshakTrail.asp "Atakapa–Ishak Trail"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516015805/http://mpo.lafayettela.gov/projects/Atakapa-IshakTrail/Atakapa-IshakTrail.asp |date=2012-05-16 }}, Lafayette, Louisiana website</ref>

==See also==
*[USS Atakapa (ATF-149)](/source/USS_Atakapa_(ATF-149))
*[Attakapas Parish](/source/Attakapas_County%2C_Orleans_Territory)

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
*Kaufman, David V. ''Atakapa Ishakkoy Dictionary.'' Second Edition. Chicago: Exploration Press, 2022. {{ISBN|978-0999548653}}.
*Kimball, Geoffrey D. ''Yukhíti Kóy: A Reference Grammar of the Atakapa Language.'' Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2022. {{ISBN|9781496229663}}.
* Newcomb, William Wilmon, Jr. ''The Indians of Texas: From Prehistoric to Modern Times.'' Austin: University of Texas Press, 1972. {{ISBN|978-0-292-78425-3}}.
* Nezat, Jack Claude. ''The Nezat and Allied Families 1630–2007'', and ''The Nezat and Allied Families 1630-2020''.   {{ISBN|978-0-615-15001-7}}.
* Sturtevant, William C., general editor and Raymond D. Fogelson, volume editor. ''[Handbook of North American Indians](/source/Handbook_of_North_American_Indians): Southeast.'' Volume 14. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004. {{ISBN|0-16-072300-0}}.
* Pritzer, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000: 286-7. {{ISBN|978-0-19-513877-1}}.

==External links==
*[http://www.louisiana101.com/hotlinks_wayback_ATAKAPA_8.html Tribes in Louisiana] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712012650/http://www.louisiana101.com/hotlinks_wayback_ATAKAPA_8.html |date=2018-07-12 }}
*[https://64parishes.org/entry/ishak-indigenous-people/ Ishak Indigenous People, from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities]
*[https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/bma48 Handbook of Texas Online]
*[http://www.atakapa-ishak.org/ Atakapa-Ishak Nation]

{{Native American Tribes in Texas|state=collapsed}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atakapa People}}
Category:Atakapa
Category:Native American history of Louisiana
Category:Native American history of Texas
Category:Native American tribes in Louisiana
Category:Native American tribes in Texas
Category:Unrecognized tribes in the United States

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Atakapa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atakapa) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atakapa?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.