Natchitoches Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,515. The parish seat and most populous municipality is Natchitoches, the largest by land area is Ashland, and the most density populated area is Campti. The parish was formed in 1805.
Robeline is a village in western Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 183 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Natchitoches Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The Caddoan languages are a family of languages native to the Great Plains spoken by tribal groups of the central United States, from present-day North Dakota south to Oklahoma. All Caddoan languages are critically endangered, as the number of speakers has declined markedly due to colonial legacy, lack of support, and other factors.
Comecrudan refers to a group of possibly related languages spoken in the southernmost part of Texas and in northern Mexico along the Rio Grande of which Comecrudo is the best known. These were spoken by the Comecrudo people. Very little is known about these languages or the people who spoke them. Knowledge of them primarily consists of word lists collected by European missionaries and explorers. All Comecrudan languages are extinct.
The Adai were a Native American people of northwestern Louisiana and northeastern Texas. They were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands and part of the Caddo Confederacy.
Los Adaes was the capital of Tejas (Texas) on the northeastern frontier of New Spain from 1721 to 1773. It included a Franciscan mission, San Miguel de Cuéllar de los Adaes, and a presidio, Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Los Adaes. The name Adaes derives from the indigenous Adai people, members of the Caddoan confederacy of Indians who were the people the missionaries aimed to convert to Christianity. The presidio and mission were established to counter French influence in Louisiana territory and defend New Spain from possible invasion or encroachment by the French. In 1763 Louisiana came under the control of Spain and the Los Adaes outpost was no longer necessary for defense. In 1773 the Spanish closed the mission and presidio and forced the population to move to San Antonio.
The Cane River National Heritage Area is a United States National Heritage Area in the state of Louisiana. The heritage area is known for plantations featuring Creole architecture, as well as numerous other sites that preserve the multi-cultural history of the area. The heritage area includes the town of Natchitoches, Louisiana and its national historic district. Founded in 1714, it is the oldest community in the territory covered by the Louisiana Purchase. Cane River Creole National Historical Park, including areas of Magnolia and Oakland plantations, also is within the heritage area.
The Natchitoches meat pie is a regional meat pie from northern Louisiana, in the United States. It is one of the official state foods of Louisiana.
The Natchitoches are a Native American tribe from Louisiana and Texas. They organized themselves in one of the three Caddo-speaking confederacies along with the Hasinai, and Kadohadacho.
The Yatasi were Native American peoples from northwestern Louisiana that were part of the Natchitoches Confederacy of the Caddo Nation. Today they are enrolled in the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma.
The Eyeish were a Native American tribe from present-day eastern Texas.
Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site in Natchitoches, Louisiana, US, is a replica of an early French fort based upon the original 1716 blueprints by Sieur Du Tisné with the improvements made in 1731 by Boutin. The French called the original fort: Fort Saint Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches. In the 1970's, the State of Louisiana anglicized the name to Fort Saint Jean Baptiste.
John Sibley (1757–1837) was an American surgeon. After serving as a surgeon's assistant in the American Revolutionary War, he moved to Natchitoches, Louisiana to work as a contract surgeon. From 1805 to 1815, Sibley was also the official Indian Agent of New Orleans Territory. Later in life, he served as a Senator in the Louisiana State Senate, as well as a colonel of a militia, a cattle farmer, a cotton planter, and a salt manufacturer.
Bidai is an unclassified extinct language formerly spoken by the Bidai people of eastern Texas. Zamponi (2024) notes that the numerals do not appear to be related to those of any other languages and hence proposes that Bidai may be a language isolate.
The Choctaw-Apache Tribe of Ebarb is a state-recognized tribe and nonprofit organization in Louisiana. The members of the Tribe are descendants of Choctaw and Lipan Apache people and are required to prove lineal descent as part of their state-approved membership process. Their office is based in Zwolle, Louisiana, while their Powwow Grounds are in Ebarb, Louisiana. Both locations are in Sabine Parish, Louisiana, where the Choctaw-Apache community has lived since the early 18th century.
Dr. Hiram F. “Pete” Gregory Jr. is an archeologist and professor of four-field anthropology at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
Anne des Cadeaux (unknown—1754), was a Native American active in early colonial Louisiana, and was from one of the early Louisiana Creole families. She was a devout Catholic, and was enslaved but later gained her freedom.
The Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana is a state-recognized tribe in Louisiana and 501(c)(3) organization in Robeline, Louisiana. Its members identify as descendants of the Adai people. The chief is John Mark Davis, as of 2023.
Jean Baptiste Brevelle was a Parisian-born trader, explorer, and one of the first soldiers garrisoned at Fort St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches in present-day Natchitoches, Louisiana and Le Poste des Cadodaquious in Texas.
Jean Baptiste Brevelle II was a French and Native American explorer, translator and soldier of the militia at Fort St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches in present-day Natchitoches, Louisiana and Le Poste des Cadodaquious in Texas.
