Tangipahoa facts for kids
The Tangipahoa were a Native American tribe. They lived in what is now Louisiana, just north of Lake Pontchartrain. Their land was between the Pearl River and the Mississippi River.
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What Does "Tangipahoa" Mean?
The name Tangipahoa comes from words in the Muskogean language. These words, (tonche pahoha), mean "corncob people" or "people of the corn." It's a cool way to think about how important corn was to them! Today, you can still find places named after this tribe, like Tangipahoa Parish, the Tangipahoa River, and the village of Tangipahoa in Louisiana.
How Many Tangipahoa People Were There?
It's hard to know exactly how many Tangipahoa people lived long ago.
- In 1650, a French explorer named Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville wrote that the Tangipahoa and a related tribe, the Acolapissa, had about 250 families. This meant around 150 men.
- Later, another researcher, James Mooney, looked at reports from Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe. He thought the tribe might have had around 1500 people in total.
What Language Did They Speak?
The Tangipahoa people spoke a language that was very similar to Choctaw and Chickasaw. These languages are all part of the Muskogean languages family.
A Look at Tangipahoa History
The Tangipahoa tribe lived in their homeland for many years.
Early Encounters
On March 31, 1682, a French explorer named Henri de Tonti was traveling with Sieur de La Salle. They wrote that they camped at a Tangipahoa village called Maheoula.
Later, Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville thought this village might have been an Acolapissa settlement. He believed the Tangipahoa and Acolapissa were part of the same larger group.
The Village is Destroyed
Sadly, the Tangipahoa settlement was destroyed sometime in the 1600s. When La Salle reached the village, he saw that it had been burned. There were also bodies lying in the village.
La Salle asked the Bayagoula tribe what had happened. The Bayagoula people told him that the Houma people had destroyed the Tangipahoa village.
Merging with Other Tribes
After their village was destroyed, the remaining Tangipahoa people likely joined with the Acolapissa tribe. Over time, they are believed to have merged even further. They joined with the Bayagoula and then later with the Houma tribe. This was a common way for smaller tribes to survive after difficult times.
