Coushatta

The Coushatta (Koasati: Koasati, Kowassaati or Kowassa:ti) are a Muskogean-speaking Native American people now living primarily in the U.S. states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.

When the Coushatta first encountered Europeans, their homelands were in present-day Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. They have long been closely allied and intermarried with the Alabama people, also members of the Creek Confederacy. The Koasati language is related to the Alabama language and can be understood together with the Mikasuki language.

Under pressure from European colonization after 1763 and the French defeat in the Seven Years' War, the Coushatta began to move west into Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, which were then under Spanish rule. They settled in these areas by the early 19th century. Some of the Coushatta and Alabama were removed west to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) in the 1830s under Indian Removal, together with other Muscogee peoples.

Today, Coushatta people are enrolled in three federally recognized tribes: Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town in Wetumka, Oklahoma, Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, and Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas.

Language

The Koasati language belongs to the Apalachee-Alabama-Koasati group of the Muskogean languages. Around the year 2000, about 200 people still spoke this language, and most of them lived in Louisiana. The language uses the Latin script for writing.

History

Further information: List of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition

The Coushatta were skilled farmers who grew maize, beans, and squash, and also hunted game and fish. They were also known for their basket weaving. Spanish explorers, including Hernando de Soto in 1539-1543, wrote about meeting the Coushatta in places like the Tennessee River Valley. The Spanish called them Coste.

In the 1600s and 1700s, the Coushatta moved westward to avoid European settlers. They lived in areas that are now Alabama, Tennessee, and later along the Tennessee River. By the time of the American Revolution, some Coushatta joined the Muscogee (Creek) Confederacy and became part of the "Upper Creeks." They were closely related to the Alabama people and often married into their communities. In the 1830s, many Coushatta and Alabama people were forced to move to Indian Territory, which is now Oklahoma. Their descendants there are now the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town in Wetumka, Oklahoma.

Some Coushatta chose to move to Louisiana, and their descendants are today the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana. Others settled in Texas and are now the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, with a reservation near Livingston, Texas. These tribes have worked to keep their traditions and languages alive.

In the 20th century, the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town in Oklahoma gained federal recognition in 1939. The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana achieved federal recognition in 1973. In Louisiana, the Coushatta have developed farms growing rice and crawfish. Sadly, they were tricked by a lobbyist who promised to help them open a gaming casino but instead took their money without doing the work. Since then, the tribe has found other ways to support itself, including tax-free sales of certain goods. The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas gained federal recognition in 1987 and has a reservation with over 1,100 members.

Ethnobotany

The Coushatta people have used a special plant called sweet everlasting to help with fevers. They made a tea from the leaves and also used it in baths for people who were sick with fevers.