Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2008 - (Page 92)

New World Disorder The Natchez Indians put up fierce resistance to European colonists In 1542, Hernando De Soto’s expedition was looting Native American villages and sacking granaries as they made their way through the lower Mississippi River Valley. However, for many days a group of native warriors from a vast tribe had been following and observing the Spanish explorers. They finally overtook the 350 or so Spaniards on the Mississippi, giving chase in 100-foot-long war canoes, capsizing their ungainly boats and leaving them defeated and dazed. This group was led by Quigualtam, chief of what is commonly called the Natchez Indians. In The Natchez Indians: A History to 1735, James Barnett writes that when ReneRobert La Salle’s party descended the river (1713-15), “the late prehistoric chiefdoms had all been swept away by disease and environmental factors. In their place were smaller populations organized along simpler lines.” By this time, the Spanish had ceded much of their southern land to the French, the English were at the fringes of the territory, and vast areas of unexplored land beckoned. Barnett offers a concise and highly readable history of the Natchez tribe, filling in the many blanks in common knowledge about this remarkable native civilization. He contextualizes the Natchez both historically and culturally, offering perspective and insight, noting : [The Natchez] “were about to play a brief and tragic part in shaping world history through their association with the agents and armies of two European super-powers: England and France.” Barnett discusses the term “Natchez” and what it has meant at various times over the past several centuries. Archaeological evidence and linguistic studies suggest that the Natchez were originally part of the AnnaEmerald chiefdom, and that various refugee groups coalesced into a broad The Natchez Indians: A History to 1735 by James F. Barnett, Jr. University Press of Mississippi, Jackson, 2007 185 pages, with notes, bibliography, and index confederation near present-day Natchez, Mississippi. The Grand Village, the area that visitors to the site are now familiar with, was the ceremonial center of the tribe. Encompassing a broad geographical range and various ethnic groups, the tribe functioned for most of its existence without a centralized government. Relations between native and European cultures were fraught with misunderstandings, and that is a controlling theme of the entire Natchez story. Beyond the challenges of understanding various native dialects was a muddled appreciation of tribal practices. One of these was the calumet, or “peace pipe” ceremony. Barnett explains: “the Native Americans usually saw the ceremony as temporary and fleetingly binding only to those few who were present; the Europeans often took the ritual to be permanent and binding to not only the chief but to all of his people. At times, those different perceptions led to disastrous results.” By virtue of their location and wilderness expertise, the Natchez were “inexorably drawn into the European economic web.” They became part of the thriving fur trade, as well as the slave trade, which the English had established there in the late 17th century. A number of tribes, particularly the Chickasaw, allied themselves with the English in hunting down members of other tribes, shipping captives to the Virginia-Carolina region. This overall growth of trade established a new basis for native power. Old measures of tribal status, such as family lineage, were being subverted by the wealth of ambitious natives. While reading, I kept focusing on Barnett’s phrase, ”to further complicate the picture.” That is a perfect summation of the Natchez’ story. Their civilization was ripe for exploitation by the English and French, and at no time 92 LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES\Fall 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2008

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2008 Contents Friends Editor’s Column Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities New Orleans Immortelle The Historic New Orleans Collection Highland-Fairfield: The Historic Heart of Shreveport The Ogden Museum of Southern Art Perils of the Mississippi River Louisiana Foodways Harvest of Life King Oliver: The Forgotten King of Jazz Louisiana Architecture Jazz Notes Louisiana State Museum Eye of the Storm Louisiana Association of Museums Soul Resin Bookstand Sound Advice Forum

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2008

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