| Named after | Pointe-aux-Chênes ("Oak Point"), a community in Terrebonne Parrish |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1993 [1] |
| Type | state-recognized tribe, 501(c)(3) organization [2] |
| EIN 72-1460716 [2] | |
| Legal status | active |
| Purpose | A23: Cultural, Ethnic Awareness [2] [3] |
| Headquarters | Montegut, Louisiana [2] |
| Location |
|
| Membership | about 800 [4] (2022) |
Official language | English |
| Leader | Melissa Verdin [2] |
| Revenue | $247,037 [3] (2024) |
| Website | pactribe |
Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe is a state-recognized tribe and nonprofit organization in Louisiana. It is headquartered in Montegut, Louisiana. [2] It is active in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes.
Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe (PACIT) identify as descendants of the Acolapissa, Atakapa, Biloxi, Chitimacha, [4] and Choctaw peoples. [5] The organization formerly identified as descending from the Houma people [6] since at least 1907 to 1993. [1]
The group has approximately 800 members. [4]
The Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe and the Bayou Lafourche Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees broke away from the United Houma Nation in the 1990s. [6] All three are state-recognized tribes today in Louisiana. [6]
The Pointe Au Chien Indian Tribe organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Montegut, Louisiana. Its tax-exempt status was temporarily revoked in 2023 but has been restored by 2024. [3]
Its principal officer is Melissa Verdin. [2] Its total assets were $517,288 in 2024. [3]
In 1996, the group petitioned to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs for federal recognition after breaking away from the United Houma Nation, whose petition had been denied. [7] In 2008, the proposed amending finding stated that the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe "is not an Indian tribe within the meaning of the Federal law," since their ancestors did not constitute a community or hold political influence over the group before 1830. [1] The preliminary finding states, "The evidence in the record has not demonstrated that the PACIT petitioner's members descend from a historical Indian tribe..." [1] Their petition is still being processed under the revised 2015 criteria for recognition. [7]
Although the Pointe Au Chien Indian Tribe has survived hurricanes for hundreds of years, Hurricane Ida devastated the Pointe-au-Chien community on August 29, 2021, leaving unprecedented damage with about 150 tribal families in need of assistance for temporary housing and rebuilding. Because of not being a federally recognized tribe, important disaster proclamations and rescue funds were not forthcoming from U.S. government relief agencies. [8]
The tribe established a French immersion charter school, École Pointe-au-Chien, in Pointe-aux-Chenes, [4] after the Terrebonne Parish School District closed that community's public school in 2021. [9] The school district sold the former Pointe-aux-Chênes school building to the tribe, for one dollar, so the French immersion school could be housed there. [10]
In the summers, they host Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe Culture Camp. [4]