"View of the Fort of the Natchez", from Georges Henri Victor Collot's Voyage dans l'Amérique Septentrionale, ou Description des pays arrosés par le Mississipi, l'Ohio, le Missouri. Originally published in 1796. Credit: Public domain

Dating back to A.D. 700, the Natchez Tribe lived in an area 175 miles northwest of New Orleans. The tribe called that home until the 1700s, when their peaceful relationship with French settlers took a turn.

According to historian Gilles Havard, 400 French settlers arrived with 250 enslaved Africans to grow tobacco. “Originally,” he said in a 2024 French National Center for Scientific Research article, “their presence was based on friendly relations and sharing of know-how.”

The Natchez Tribe shared hunting skills and healers, while the French provided rifles, cooking pots and wool fabric. “The French were also often dependent on the (Natchez Tribe) economically and militarily,” Havard added.

However, their give-and-take partnership dissolved, resulting in violence in 1716 and 1723, according to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History

“When a new commander demanded possession of the main Natchez village to annex to his own plantation, the (Natchez Tribe) stalled the Frenchman until they could plan a proper response,” New Orleans Historical states. “On the morning of Nov. 29, 1729, they made their move and attacked the French (at Fort Rosalie) … killing 230 white men but sparing women and enslaved Africans.” 

With reinforcements, the French continued the fight and eventually won.

“By 1731, the remaining Natchez had abandoned the area to seek refuge with other tribes,” the National Park Service states. “The Natchez homeland was in the undisputed hands of the French.”

According to New Orleans Historical, “the town named Natchez had become a major trading center for enslaved Africans working in the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta” by the 1830s. The remaining Natchez Tribe members were forced to move to Oklahoma.

“The Natchez offer a fascinating example of resilience,” Havard states. “They still exist today despite the great upheavals that have marked their history.” 

For more tales from New Orleans history, visit the Back in the Day archives.

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Tammy C. Barney is an award-winning columnist who spent most of her career at two major newspapers, The Times-Picayune and The Orlando Sentinel. She served as a bureau chief, assistant city editor, TV...