The day after Thanksgiving, Native American Heritage Day, offers an opportunity to reflect on the resilience, ingenuity, and enduring legacies of Louisiana’s Indigenous tribes such as the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Cherokee, and Houma. These reflections speak to their connection with the land, their communities, and their survival against great odds.

Dr. Tammy Greer, a citizen of the United Houma Nation and the Director of the Center for American Indian Research and Studies (CAIRES) at the University of Southern Mississippi, shared stories during a talk at Pelican Gardens in Algiers on Nov. 24, 2024 that illuminate the cultural richness of Southeastern tribes and their continued contributions to Native heritage.

Creation and the sacred journey

Greer recounted the story of how the Creator formed the first people from yellow clay in a cave called Naniah Waiya, now in Winston County, Mississippi. Groups emerged from the cave and set out in different directions.

“The first group went east,” she explained, “and those are the people we now call the Muskogee people. The second group tried to follow but found their way blocked by a burned forest, so they traveled east on their own. The third group went north, becoming the Chickasaw people. The fourth group stayed, and those are the Choctaw people.”

Each journey, guided by spiritual meaning, emphasized trust in the Creator. In the migration story of Choctaw and Chickasaw, two brothers led their people from an uninhabitable land. Each night, a sacred pole was placed in the ground, and each morning, the direction it pointed guided their steps.

“This wasn’t just a pole,” Greer said. “It united the three worlds—the lower world of chaos and creativity, the middle world where we live, and the upper world of order and the sky. That pole was asking the spirits of all three worlds to come together and show the way. Can you imagine? That takes a lot of trust.”

This sacred journey led them across rivers and mountains, finally to the Mississippi River. After crossing it on cane rafts, they reached their new homeland, where the pole stood upright.

Mound builders and community innovators

Southeastern tribes are renowned for their mound-building culture, constructing structures that served as ceremonial and communal centers. “These mounds weren’t just about leadership or power—they were about bringing people together,” Greer explained. “They were places for ceremonies, games, speeches, and even practical uses like preventing flooding. What we need now, they built back then.”

These mounds also reflected a deep spiritual connection. Many were aligned with constellations, embodying the tribes’ relationship with the upper world. “It’s like having a picture of someone you don’t see often,” Greer said. “These constellations on the ground kept the relationship with the stars alive. They remind us that we are star people, and one day, we’ll go home.”

Today, these mounds are a testament to the architectural and cultural brilliance of Native peoples. However, many have been lost due to development. Efforts to protect and preserve these sites are critical acts of cultural preservation, particularly during Native American Heritage Month.

The heritage of adaptation and trade

Southeastern tribes adapted to their environments with remarkable ingenuity. From using alligator garfish scales as arrowheads to crafting intricate baskets from palmetto and river cane, their creativity remains inspiring. Greer spoke of their extensive trade networks, which stretched across North America.

“Yaupon holly, a caffeinated plant, was one of our most important trade items,” she said. “Why wouldn’t it be? It’s like caffeine—who wouldn’t trade for that? These trade routes connected us to people as far away as Canada and South America.”

The Houma people, known for their deep connection to the land, retained survival skills that are still practiced today. “I tell people,” Greer shared, “you could drop off a 12-year-old Houma kid in the woods, and they’d come back fatter than they left because we still know how to live off the land.”

Reviving sleeping traditions

Greer spoke of reviving “sleeping” traditions, such as natural dyeing, basket weaving, and medicinal plant use. These practices are not just about preservation—they are acts of reclamation and resilience.

“When we say something is ‘sleeping,’ it means it can be awakened,” she said . “Carving isn’t dead—it’s sleeping. And when someone like Miss Janie revives a tradition, like the Palmetto half-hitch coil basket, she wakes it up for all of us.”

Native American Heritage Day and Month provide a space to reflect on these revivals and their importance. Greer encouraged people to reconnect with native plants and traditions. “When you build a relationship with a plant, you make room for it, and it gives back to you. That’s balance, and there are hundreds of teachings about bringing balance back to the world.”

Honoring resilience

The resilience of Southeastern tribes is evidenced by their survival during forced removal such as the Choctaw’s Trail of Tears. Despite these hardships, many stayed and adapted, preserving their culture and traditions.

“Even my dogs know the medicine of this place,” Greer said, quoting a Choctaw elder. “They know what to eat, what not to eat, and how to heal themselves here. But they didn’t know that place [Oklahoma].”

This Native American Heritage Day, we honor not just the survival of Indigenous peoples but their brilliance, creativity, and contributions to this land. As Greer said, “Our ancestors survived because of their relationship with the land and each other. We owe it to them to carry their stories forward.”

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Brandi Liberty is an enrolled member of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas & Nebraska and a descendant of the United Houma Nation in Southern Louisiana. She is the owner of The Luak Group and its subsidiary...