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The
Avoyel or
Avoyelles was a small
NatchezNatchez was a language of Louisiana. Its two last fluent speakers, Watt Sam and Nancy Raven, died in the late 1930s. The Natchez nation is now working to revive it as a spoken language.-Classification:...
-speaking tribe who inhabited land near the mouth of the Red River in the area of present-day
MarksvilleMarksville is a city in and the parish seat of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,537 at the 2000 census. Louisiana's first land-based casino, Paragon Casino Resort, opened in Marksville in June 1994...
,
LouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. The indigenous name for this tribe is
Tamoucougoula. The word Avoyel is of French derivation and means either "Flint People" or "the people of the rocks."
History
The Avoyelles were neighbors of the
Tunica peopleThe Tunica people were a group of linguistically and culturally related Native American tribes in the Mississippi River Valley, which include the Tunica ; the Yazoo; the Koroa ; and possibly the Tioux...
.
Avoyelles ParishAvoyelles is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Marksville. In 2000, its population was 41,481. The parish is named for the Avoyel Indian tribe.-History:...
is named for the Avoyelles tribe. The traditional homeland for the Avoyel was near the mouth of the Red River and included lakes and bayous.
Numbering 280 in 1698, as recorded by the French, the tribe declined markedly after that. They were likely affected by the same drastic decimation as were other tribes, by new infectious diseases unwittingly carried by Europeans, to which the natives had no acquired
immunityImmunity is a biological term that describes a state of having sufficient biological defenses to avoid infection, disease, or other unwanted biological invasion. Immunity involves both specific and non-specific components. The non-specific components act either as barriers or as eliminators of wide...
. By 1805 they were said to have been reduced to only two or three women. The Avoyel survivors were likely absorbed into the neighboring Tunica people through marriage.
See also
- Tunica people
The Tunica people were a group of linguistically and culturally related Native American tribes in the Mississippi River Valley, which include the Tunica ; the Yazoo; the Koroa ; and possibly the Tioux...
- Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana
Avoyelles is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Marksville. In 2000, its population was 41,481. The parish is named for the Avoyel Indian tribe.-History:...