The Ouachita are a Native American tribe who lived in northeastern Louisiana along the Ouachita River. Their name has also been pronounced as Washita by English speakers. The spelling "Ouachita" and pronunciation "Wah-sha-taw" came about as a result of French settlers and their influence. Many landscape features and places have been named for them since colonization of the region by Europeans and Americans.

History

The Ouachita were loosely affiliated with the

Caddo Confederacy The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, who ...

. Their traditional homelands were the lower reaches of the

Ouachita River The Ouachita River ( ) is a river that runs south and east through the U.S. states of Arkansas and Louisiana, joining the Tensas River to form the Black River near Jonesville, Louisiana. It is the 25th-longest river in the United State ...

Sturtevant, 630 in present-day northeastern Louisiana and along the Black River.Small Indian Tribal History.
''Access Genealogy''. (retrieved 9 Sept 2009) Around 1690, the tribe is believed to have settled at Pargoud Landing on the Ouachita River. This was later the site of a French trading post, and ultimately the present-day city of

Monroe, Louisiana Monroe (historically french: Poste-du-Ouachita) is the list of municipalities in Louisiana#List of Municipalities, eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, Ouachita Parish. With a 2020 Unit ...

developed around it.The Caddo Indians of Louisiana.
''Louisiana Division of Archaeology.'' (retrieved 9 Sept 2009) Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, a French-Canadian colonizer, encountered the Ouachita people in 1700. He first met members of the tribe transporting salt to the Taensa. Bienville traveled to the principal Ouachita village, which he described as housing 70 people in five houses. The Ouachita assimilated into the Natchitoches tribe by the 1720s. Today's descendants are enrolled in the

Caddo Nation of Oklahoma The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, who ...

. The Ouachita are known for their traditional practice of burying horses.

Namesakes

The

Ouachita Mountains The Ouachita Mountains (), simply referred to as the Ouachitas, are a mountain range in western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. They are formed by a thick succession of highly deformed Paleozoic strata constituting the Ouachita Fold and Thru ...

of Oklahoma and Arkansas and

of Arkansas and Louisiana were named for the tribe, as was Lake Ouachita. The

Washita River The Washita River () is a river in the states of Texas and Oklahoma in the United States. The river is long and terminates at its confluence with the Red River, which is now part of Lake Texoma () on the TexasOklahoma border. Geography The ...

Ouachita Parish, Louisiana Ouachita Parish (French: ''Paroisse d'Ouachita'') is located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 160,368. The parish seat is Monroe. The parish was formed in 1807. Ouachita Parish ...

, and

Washita County, Oklahoma Washita County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,629. Its county seat is New Cordell. The county seat was formerly located in Cloud Chief. The county was created in 1891. History ...

, were also named for the tribe, as well as the town of

Washita, Oklahoma Washita is a rural community in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located west of Anadarko on a bend in the Washita River The Washita River () is a river in the states of Texas and Oklahoma in the United States. The river is lon ...

. According to the ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', the name comes from the French transliteration of the

Caddo The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, w ...

word ''washita'', meaning "good hunting grounds." Louis R. Harlan claimed that "Ouachita" is composed of the

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

words ''ouac'' for buffalo and ''chito'' for large, together meaning "country of large buffaloes". At one time, herds of buffalo inhabited the lowland areas of the Ouachitas. Historian Muriel H. Wright wrote that "Ouachita" is composed of the Choctaw words ''owa'' for hunt and ''chito'' for big, together meaning "big hunt far from home".

Spelling variations

The Ouachita tribe became known among English speakers as the Washita tribe; both spellings are transliterations in European languages (French and English, respectively) of the pronunciation of their Caddo name. They may also be known as the Yesito.

Notes

References

* Bolton, Herbet E
''The Hasinais: Southern Caddoans As Seen by the Earliest Europeans.''
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2002. . * Sturtevant, William C., general editor and Raymond D. Fogelson, volume editor. ''Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast''. Volume 14. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004. .

External links

{{authority control Caddoan peoples Native American tribes in Louisiana Native American tribes in Oklahoma Native American tribes in Texas Native American history of Louisiana