Avoyel facts for kids
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Extinct as a tribe | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Louisiana | |
| Languages | |
| historically Avoyel, Natchez?, Mobilian trade jargon | |
| Religion | |
| Native tribal religion |
The Avoyel (pronounced Ah-VOY-el) were a small Native American tribe. When Europeans first arrived, the Avoyel lived near where the Red River meets the Atchafalaya River in what is now Marksville, Louisiana.
Other names for them included Shi'xkaltī'ni (Stone-Arrow-Point people) in the Tunican language. In the Mobilian trade language, they were called Tassenocogoula, Tassenogoula, Toux Enongogoula, and Tasånåk Okla. All these names, including "Avoyel," are said to mean "Flint People" or "People of the Rocks."
This name likely came from their role in trading flint. Flint was used to make tools. They traded flint from their land in Avoyelles Parish to other tribes. They were like middlemen, trading flint from Caddoan peoples in the north to the Atakapa and Chitimacha peoples in the south, who didn't have much stone.
The French also called the Avoyel the petits Taensas (meaning "Little Taensa"). Explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville mentioned them in 1699. However, they were a different group from the Natchezan speaking Taensa tribe, who were known as the grand Taensas ("Big Taensa").
Language of the Avoyel
| Avoyel | |
|---|---|
| Region | Louisiana |
| Extinct | (date missing) |
| Language family |
unclassified
|
| Linguist List | 076 |
The Avoyel language is a bit of a mystery. We don't have any written or spoken examples of it today. Because of this, historians aren't sure if it was related to the Caddoan languages or the Natchezan languages.
History of the Avoyel
At the time Europeans arrived, the Avoyel lived in several villages along the Red River. Some were near what is now Alexandria. They also had a village surrounded by a palisade (a strong fence of wooden stakes) near Marksville. They controlled the river up to where it met the lower Black River, the Upper Atchafalaya River, and the Mississippi River.
The Avoyel tribe was never very large. In 1698, French records show there were about 280 Avoyel people. Their population dropped sharply after that. Like many other Native American groups, they were greatly affected by new infectious diseases that Europeans unknowingly brought. The Avoyel people had no natural protection against these illnesses.
By 1805, it was said that only two or three Avoyel women remained. The few Avoyel survivors likely joined other nearby tribes through marriage. These tribes included the Tunica, Ofo, and Biloxi peoples. These tribes had moved to the area in the late 1700s because Euro-Americans were settling on their lands.
See also
In Spanish: Avoyel para niños
