Author: Katie Bourque

Originally Featured on Louisiana Considered

Next weekend on May 20th and 21, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana will host their first Pow Wow since the COVID 19 pandemic. And tribal leadership, tribal citizens, neighboring tribes and community members are all invited to celebrate this weekend-long cultural event.

Ryan Lopez, Pow Wow committee member, tells us what it means to finally reunite in this celebration for the first time in years.

For the next few weeks, we will continue our conversations with candidates in the 2023 Louisiana governor’s race. Today we’re joined by Shawn Wilson, a democrat who served as secretary of transportation and development for Gov. John Bel Edwards. He tells us what he believes it will take for a candidate on the left to win in a red state.

But first, it’s Thursday and that means it’s time to catch up on politics with The Times Picayune / New Orleans Advocate’s editorial director and columnist Stephanie Grace. She tells us about recent failed attempts to loosen abortion restrictions in Louisiana.

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Alana Schreiber. Our digital editor is Katelyn Umholtz and our engineers are Garrett Pittman and Aubry Procell.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12:00 and 7:30 pm. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play, and wherever you get your podcasts. 

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NATCHITOCHES – The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana and Northwestern State University signed an agreement on May 2^nd that will advance economic development and research opportunities for the Tribe and the university. The five-year partnership will support the Tribe’s mission of developing educational opportunities for tribal citizens and provide vital workforce development resources for its 1,500 tribal citizens nationwide.

“The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana is ecstatic to continue and expand our longstanding relationship with Northwestern State University by signing a memorandum of understanding with University President Dr. Jones,” said Tunica-Biloxi Chairman Marshall Pierite. “This five-year MOU focuses on working together on efforts focused on economic and workforce development, funding advocacy, academic and scholarship opportunities and much more. We look forward to not only deepening our relationship with the university but also working together to provide our students with resources and opportunities to succeed academically and beyond.” 

The MOU will enhance academic opportunities through first-generation scholarships for traditional students and continuing education for adult learners. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to partner with members of the Tribe to advance collaborative efforts. NSU already has a tuition waiver in place for federally acknowledged American Indian tribes in Louisiana and beyond through the American Indian Opportunity Plan.

“I firmly believe that culturally meaningful college education is critical to building tribal sovereignty,” said NSU President Dr. Marcus Jones. “NSU is a committed partner to tribes in helping to do just that, provide meaning educational opportunities.”

Chairman Pierite acknowledged the work of Dr. Hiram “Pete” Gregory, NSU professor of anthropology, for his work and advocacy with many tribes in Louisiana, including the Tunica-Biloxi over many decades.

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana is a federally-recognized Native American tribe consisting of Tunica, Biloxi, Ofo, Avoyel, and Choctaw located in Avoyelles and Rapides parishes.  It is one of four federally recognized tribes in Louisiana. The Tunica-Biloxi people first appeared in the Mississippi Valley. In the late 1700s, they settled near Marksville, where they were skilled traders and entrepreneurs. Today, the Tribe has more than 1,500 members throughout the United States, primarily in Louisiana, Texas and Illinois.

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe received federal recognition in 1981 for its reservation within the boundaries of Louisiana. The tribe owns and operates the Paragon Casino Resort, the largest employer in Central Louisiana. Through its compact, negotiated by the late Tribal Chairman Earl J. Barbry Sr. and the State of Louisiana, the Tribe has assisted local governments in the area with its quarterly distribution of funds, totaling more than $40 million over two decades.

Information on NSU’s American Indian Opportunity Plan, which enables citizens of federally recognized tribes to attend NSU tuition-free, is available at www.nsu.la/aiop.  Information on the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana can be found at https://www.tunicabiloxi.org/.

Originally published in Country Roads Magazine

“Moving forward, we just need our heritage to live on,” Kylie Malveaux, seventeen, expresses in our feature article “In Good Hands”. “And if not the youth, then who? We have no one else to bring it forward.”

Malveaux, who serves as the Vice Chair of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana’s Seventh Generation Youth Council, represents Louisiana’s next generation of cultural warriors, individuals dedicated to staying true to their heritage and fighting for its survival into the future.

Our region is such a vast tapestry of culture, the result of countless peoples who have made the Gulf Coast region their home—the explorers, the conquerors, the pioneers, the refugees, the enslaved. Malveaux’s ancestors have been here longer than all of them, and have had to fight harder than most to preserve their way of life.

This year’s Embrace Your Place issue is centered on the culture bearers,  the individuals who have made it their life’s work to rage against total assimilation, to hold onto the histories and the traditions and the languages of their ancestors. As Louisiana French musician Jourdan Thibodeaux pleads in the title track of his new album La Priere, “Tu vis ta culture, out tu tues ta culture, il y a pas de milieu.”

“You live your culture, or you kill your culture. There is no middle ground.”

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe and Proctor & Gamble Company present the Earth Day Celebration and Tree Planting Ceremony.

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The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana’s Education Department and Proctor and Gamble sponsored a kite flying activity for Tribal youth and a tree planting ceremony in honor of Earth Day.

The trees were planted by Tunica-Biloxi Youth representatives, Tribal Council members and representatives from Proctor and Gamble. The ceremony included remarks by the Director of the Tunica-Biloxi Education Department, John Barbry, regarding the Tribe’s commitment to honoring Mother Earth and their commitment to bettering the community, in partnership with Proctor and Gamble.

“Because of the commitments from the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana and Proctor and Gamble, our neighborhood is a little greener today,” said John Barbry. “The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana is committed to honoring our past and preserving our future. We must take care of the area that has provided for our ancestors for generations and protect it for our future leaders and citizens.”

Ceremony attendees also heard the poem “Remembrance” from Leslie Carmouche, Tunica-Biloxi Education Department Academic Counselor, and remarks from Proctor and Gamble representatives. The newly planted trees will stand as the Tribe’s promise to preserve and protect their ancestral homelands in Marksville, LA while promoting a shared goal of improving green spaces around their Reservation with the help and support of community partnerships.

Marksville, La. – (April 10, 2023) – The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana has obtained 8(a) certification status through Tunica-Biloxi Industries, an economic development programthat focuses its efforts on small business development by providing various forms of management, technical, financial, and procurement assistance.

8(a) programs allow firms owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals – such as tribal and native entities, small businesses and community development corporations– access to resources and opportunities that will help them effectively compete within the economy. With this certification status, Tunica-Biloxi Industries will be able to formulate a competitive advantage that will allow them to enter industries such as cut and sew, textile manufacturing, rare earth recycling and more.

“This has been a goal for over thirty years in the making, which makes this a significant milestone for the Tunica-Biloxi citizens,” said Marshall Pierite, Chairman of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana. “This 8(a)-certification milestone will allow the tribe to position itself to be a solution to many nationwide obstacles and create resiliency for the tribe and its surrounding communities.”

The 8(a) program is particularly beneficial for tribes in remote locations because it allows for access to new markets without the need for a large workforce. Additionally, when the economy experiences hardship, those under the 8(a) program may be eligible to receive contract awards or protective measures in the event of a disaster that may impact a business– such as a pandemic shutdown.

To learn more about the benefits and qualifications of the 8(a) program, please visit: https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-assistance-programs/8a-business-development-program