American Creole Indian culture is strong in south Louisiana
By Nikki Buskey Staff Writer Houmatoday.com HOUMA — Though known for the strong vein of Cajun culture that runs through it, Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes also host a small but vibrant community of American Indians. In fact, the Terrebonne community of Houma is named for a local tribe that built a village called Chufuhuma or "Red House." That village was on the site of modern-day Houma. "We have a rich history here in southeast Louisiana, and we have survived through all the hardships, all of the challenges we have faced," said Brenda Dardar-Robichaux, principal chief of the United Houma Nation. The Houma tribe got its start further north, near Baton Rouge. The capitol city's name, which translates to red stick, describes Houma Indian boundary markers encountered by French explorers trekking through Louisiana. The Houma Indians were uprooted during colonial struggles and relocated to what's now Terrebonne in the 18th Century, ul