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Choctaw-Apache Tribe of Ebarb

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Choctaw-Apache
Tribe of Ebarb[1]
Named afterChoctaw people, Apache people, Ebarb, Louisiana
Typestate-recognized tribe, nonprofit organization
EIN 72-0875349[1]
Legal statusschool, charity[1]
PurposeB82: Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services[1]
Location
Membership (2022)
11,200
Chairman
Thomas N. Rivers[1]
Revenue (2018)
$10,211[1]
Expenses (2018)$14,001[1]
Fundinggrants, contributions[1]
Staff3[1] (in 2018)
Websitechoctawapachetribeebarb.org

The Choctaw-Apache Tribe of Ebarb is a state-recognized tribe and nonprofit organization in Louisiana.[2] The members of the tribe are descendants of Choctaw and Lipan Apache people[3][4] and are required to prove lineal descent as part of their state-approved membership process.[5] The tribe is based in the towns of Zwolle, Louisiana and Ebarb, Louisiana (powwow grounds), both of which are in Sabine Parish, Louisiana, where the group have lived since the early 18th century.[6][7][3]

History

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Louisiana Indian Agent Dr. Sibley reported to the U.S. Congress that the Choctaw-Apache Community of Ebarb began in the early 18th century, after the Spanish founded Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Los Adaes Presidio, a fort in the area defended by Mestizo and Spanish soldiers. Dr. Sibley reported they married or had unions with local Caddo, Adai, and formerly enslaved Lipan Apache women living in the area. As the State's Indian Agent, Dr. Sibley offered refuge to these Indians allowing them to settle and remain in Louisiana. Dr. Sibley's reports are on record at the Smithsonian Institution and Library of Congress.[8] [4][3]When the Spanish dissolved the fort in 1773 and ordered the soldiers to return to San Antonio, many remained behind with their families. They settled in the area of Zwolle and Ebarb.[3][9]

Following the Louisiana Purchase by the United States in 1803, bands of Choctaw began moving into this area in search of new hunting grounds.[3] Additional Choctaw were moved into the area by US Indian Agent John Sibley.[10][4] Twenty-one Choctaw families were listed in the 1870 Census for the area.[10]

In the 20th century, the people mostly worked in the timber and oil industries. They lived along the east bank of the Sabine River until the states of Texas and Louisiana created a project to dam it for flood control and electricity generation. The states claimed 180,000 acres of the ancestral land to create the Toledo Bend Reservoir. The people in the area were forced to move.[11][12]

Language

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Main article: Sabine River Spanish

The tribe historically spoke a dialect of Spanish dating from the establishment of Los Adaes.[13] Due to the community's history, their dialect is derived from rural Mexican Spanish of the late 18th century, and bears little resemblance to Isleño Spanish.[14] A similar dialect has been spoken around Moral, west of Nacogdoches, on the other side of the Toledo Bend Reservoir, which also derives from the Los Adaes settlement. This dialect is very endangered; as of the 1980s, there were no more than 50 fluent speakers on either side of the Sabine River.[15]

Membership

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In 2008, the group reported they had 2,300 members living in the area and additional members in other regions.[10]

Organization

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The group formed a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1977, with the mission "to assist tribe members and obtain federal recognition. Continued to work on member documentation needed for federal recognition."[1]

State-recognition

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Louisiana state-recognized the Choctaw-Apache Community of Ebarb by legislative action in 1978 (also reported as 1977).[10][3]

Louisiana House Bill 660 established the Native American Commission in 2018 to promote Native American culture and identify needs facing that community. One member from each of the 15 recognized tribes serves on the commission.[16] The tribe's Chief, Thomas N. Rivers, serves on the board as the Chairman of the Native American Commission for the State of Louisiana.[17]

Petition for federal recognition

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On March 22, 1978, John W. Procell sent the Choctaw-Apache Community of Ebarb's letter of intent to petition for federal recognition to the US Department of the Interior.[18] Raymond L. Ebarb sent the petition for federal recognition in 1978;[19] however, they do not have a petition in process.[20]

Activities

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The group hosts a biannual powwow in mid-April and November in Noble, Louisiana.[21][22]

Further reading

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  • Abernathy, Francis (1976). "The Spanish on the Moral". The Bicentennial Commemorative History of Nacogdoches. Nacogdoches: Nacogdoches Jaycees. pp. 21–33.
  • Kniffen, Fred B.; Gregory, Hiram F.; Stokes, George A. (1987). The Historic Indian Tribes of Louisiana. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. pp. 303–305. ISBN 978-0-8071-1963-1.
  • Lipski, John M. (1987). "El dialecto español de Río Sabinas: vestigios del español mexicano en Luisiana y Texas". Nueva Revista de Filología Hispánica (in Spanish). 35 (1): 111–28. doi:10.24201/nrfh.v35i1.624. JSTOR 40298730.
  • Lipski, John M. (2008). Varieties of Spanish in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. ISBN 9781589012134.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Choctaw-Apache Community of Ebarb". Cause IQ. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  2. ^ "State Recognized Tribes". National Conference of State Legislatures. Archived from the original on 25 October 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Lee, Dayna Bowker. "Louisiana Indians In The 21st Century". Folklife in Louisiana: Louisiana's Living Traditions. Retrieved 2014-07-24.
  4. ^ a b c Kniffen, Gregory & Stokes 1987, pp. 303–305.
  5. ^ "Choctaw-Apache Tribe Enrollment". Choctaw Apache Tribe of Ebarb. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  6. ^ Prime, John. "Choctaw Apache food heritage preserved". Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Choctaw-Apache Tribe of Ebarb". Toledo-Bend.com. Archived from the original on 2022-02-08. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  8. ^ Sibley, John; Abel, Annie (1922). Indian Notes and Monographs: A report from Natchitoches in 1807. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. ISBN 9781508913740.
  9. ^ "Legacy of Los Adaes". Texas Beyond History. Retrieved 2014-07-24.
  10. ^ a b c d Welborn, Vickie (15 December 2008). "Choctaw-Apache Tribe Growing". OurTown. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  11. ^ Teal, Rolonda (October 2011). "Displaced Residents of the Sabine River". Stephen F. Austin State University. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  12. ^ Hendrix, Lindsey (24 November 2020). "Advancing A 'Strong Healing Heritage' In Nursing Education". Texas A&M Today. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  13. ^ Lipski 2008, pp. 216–217.
  14. ^ Lipski 2008, p. 216.
  15. ^ Lipski 2008, pp. 214–215.
  16. ^ Jiminez, Gabby (2023). "Louisiana tribal task force can't agree on recognition rules". Louisiana Illuminator. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  17. ^ "Louisiana Office of Indian Affairs". State of Louisiana. 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  18. ^ "List of Petitions by States (as of November 12, 2013)" (PDF). US Department of the Interior. p. 24. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  19. ^ Lovett (December 27, 1978). "Forty Indian Groups Petition For Federal Status 1As Tribes". Office of Federal Acknowledgment. US Dept. of the Interior, Indian Affairs. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  20. ^ "Petitions in Process as of Tue Jul 25, 2023". Office of Federal Acknowledgment. US Dept. of the Interior, Indian Affairs. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  21. ^ "Choctaw Apache Tribe of EBARB, 28th Annual Pow Wow". Powwows.com. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Choctaw Apache Tribal Pow-Wow". ExploreLouisiana.com. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
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