LCRP is accepting applications for virtual language classes for all ages through Thursday, Oct. 29. Class time will be set based off of interest and availability. These classes are a fun way to learn the Tunica language!
If you are interested, we ask that you download and fill out a registration form below and return it to Jessica Barbry.
For questions, please contact Jessica Barbry for more information at 318-240-6469 or email jabarbry@tunica.org.
T
he Tunica-Biloxi Tribe’s Seventh Generation Youth Council is pleased to present Virtual Youth Camp! The camp will take place on July 27-31 and will immerse Tunica-Biloxi children, ages 5-17, in all aspects of our culture through a series of virtual workshops. Workshops will cover topics such as traditional Tunica-Biloxi dress, language revitalization, traditional song and dance, tribal history, pow wow importance and more!
There will be approximately 3-4 workshops per day, each 20 minutes, which will run from 12-4 p.m. Registration closes on June 29. For more information on the camp and to register, visit the Facebook Event Page.
To Register right now please fill out this form.
For the third year, Tulane University will host the New Orleans Center for the Gulf South Indigenous Symposium. This year’s symposium is titled “Being Native Today: Indigenous Identities in the Gulf South” and will be held on March 20, 2020 at 8:30 am – 5:30 pm in the Kendall Cram Lecture Hall in the Lavin-Bernick Center on Tulane University’s Uptown Campus.
Through dialogues with different members of Tribal Nations, this symposium seeks to address the dynamic components of Indian identity and open a conversation about the variety of ways in which diverse Native peoples understand what it means to be Indigenous today.
For more information on the event visit: indigenoussymposium.tulane.edu
In an effort to meet the needs of the large Native American population in the Houston area and their respective Tribal members, The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana based out of Marksville, LA and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas based out of Livingston, TX are opening the American Indian Center of Houston. The grand opening of this center, which will be located at 2000 S. Dairy Ashford, Suite 550, Houston, TX 77077, will take place on Saturday, Feb. 29 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 12 p.m.
To oversee its operations, Sam Houston State University graduate and Tunica-Biloxi Tribal member, Nikki Barbre-McDonald has been hired as the Director of the American Indian Center of Houston.
“I am honored to be a part of the opening of the American Indian Center of Houston. The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe saw a need in the greater Houston area for not only our members, but for all Native Americans,” said Nikki McDonald, Director of the American Indian Center.
Through the Center, both tribes will provide a variety of services for Native Americans in the area including Alabama-Coushatta’s Employment and Training Program, which provides employment and training services to Native Americans/American Indians, Native Hawaiians and Native Alaskans that reside within the 121 county of the State of Texas.
“I am confident that the Center will be impactful for not only our Tribal members but for all Native Americans in the Houston area,” said Chairman of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana Marshall Pierite. “We’re grateful that Alabama-Coushatta is joining us in this endeavor. Together, we can achieve our shared mission of improving the lives of Native Americans throughout the country on enhanced capacity.”
Due to the growing population of Native Americans in Harris and surrounding counties, the two Tribes are striving to become more accessible to families in these areas. According to Jeremy Zahn, Tunica-Biloxi Council Member, there are an estimated 70,000 Native Americans residing in the southeast Texas region today.
“We are exploring options for a variety of federal grants, partnerships with other tribes, and working with local non-profits to assist in meeting the needs of our underserved communities,” said McDonald.
The center hopes to obtain federal grants to promote easier access to federal services that are often unavailable to Native American families living away from the 326 Indian reservations scattered throughout the United States. Until then, the center will offer educational workshops and health fairs to promote the well-being of the Native American community.”
In the future, Tunica-Biloxi elder, Anna Farris, believes the center will become a breakthrough for the Houston community. “We are helping our youth move forward for our future, while our past is still being taught and not forgotten.”
For more information on the American Indian Center of Houston, contact Nikki McDonald at (346)374-8516 or NMcDonald@tunica.org.
