Chitimacha

The Chitimacha (also Chitimachan, Chetimacha) are a Native American group that lives in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly in St. Mary Parish. They currently number about 720 people. The Chitimacha language, a language isolate, has no known relatives. It is no longer spoken, though it is well documented in the work (mostly unpublished) of the late linguist Morris Swadesh. Image File history File links Chitimacha_lang. ... Image File history File links Chitimacha_lang. ... Native Americans (also Indians, Aboriginal Peoples, American Indians, First Nations, Alaskan Natives, Amerindians, or Indigenous Peoples of America) are the indigenous inhabitants of The Americas prior to the European colonization, and their modern descendants. ... ... State nickname: Pelican State Other U.S. States Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans, officially (currently Baton Rouge due to the evacuation of New Orleans) Governor Kathleen Blanco (D) Official languages None; English and French de facto Area 134,382 km² (31st)  - Land 112,927 km²  - Water 21,455... St. ... A language isolate is a natural language with no demonstrable genetic relationship with other living languages; that is, one that has not been proven to descend from a common ancestor to any other language. ...

History

The Chitimacha's historic home is the southern Louisiana coast, where they had lived for about 2,500 years, migrating there from the area surrounding modern Natchez, Louisiana, and before that, from eastern Texas. In the late 1600s, they came into contact with the French, who raided their territory in search of slaves. By the time peace was reached in 1718, the population had declined drastically, through warfare and disease, and the survivors were forced to move north. Natchez is a village located in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. ... ... Events and Trends November 5, 1605 - The Gunpowder Plot to blow up the British Parliament. ... The Buxton Memorial Fountain, designed by Samuel Sanders Teulon, celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, erected in Victoria Tower Gardens, Millbank, Westminster, London. ... // Events July 21 - Treaty of Passarowitz signed November 22 - Off the coast of Virginia, English pirate Edward Teach (best known as Blackbeard) is killed in battle when a British boarding party cornered and then shot and stabbed him more than 25 times. ...

One hundred years later, the arrival of Acadian refugees in their area, brought a further decline in the Chitimacha population, as a result of intermarriage and acculturation, particularly the introduction of Catholicism, as well as land-grabbing by the new settlers. In 1917, the tribal leadership sold what was left of the Chitimacha land to the United States government. The Acadians (French: Acadiens) are the original French settlers of parts of the northeastern region of North America comprising what is now the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. ... This article considers Catholicism in the broadest ecclesiastical sense. ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ...

By 1930, the Chitimacha population had dropped to just 51 people, though it has since climbed steadily, and there are now 720 registered Chitimacha. Just over 200 still live in the Chitimacha Reservation in St. Mary Parish, where there is a Bureau of Indian Affairs school. The governing Council is involved in ongoing negotiations with the United States to obtain compensation for the land expropriations of the past. 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) responsibility is the administration and management of 55. ...