Chaouacha
The Chaouacha people was an indigenous tribe of Louisiana, best known in history for being the victims of a massacre in retaliation for the Natchez revolt on French colonists in which they had had no part. When first described they lived on the east bank of the Mississippi, just south of New Orleans. Following the attack by the Natchez on Fort Rosalie, colonists feared of an Indian rebellion, or even worse a combined Indian and Slave revolt. Governor of Louisiana Étienne Périer ordered a force of black slaves to massacre the Chaouacha community.[1] In 1699 they were reported to be allied with the Ouacha/ Washa and the Opelousa. A 1802 mention by French colonist Baudry de Lozieres describes them as "Tchaouachas: Reduced to 40 warriors. A wandering indolent and lazy nation, settled near the French in 1712. Corn is the only assistance one can expect of them."[2]
References
- ^ Balvay, Arnaud (2013). "The French and the Natchez: A Failed Encounter". French and Indians in the Heart of North America, 1630-1815. MSU Press.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|editors=ignored (|editor=suggested) (help) - ^ John R. Swanton. Indian Tribes of the Lower Mississippi and Adjacent Coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Bulletin - Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1911. p. 301 [1]