Choctaw people used the term Atakapa, which was adopted by European settlers adopted the term. Today, smaller, more rural coastal communities continue this traditional practice. The Atakapan people were made up of several bands. They were called Attakapas by the Choctaw. They were a relatively passive people that lived off of small game, fish and shellfish and even larger game such as deer and buffalo on occasion. Some of our younger members have been known to go out and give speeches. Indian jewelry The people put alligator oil on exposed skin to repel mosquitoes. They are known only from Spanish documents of the eighteenth century, when they were referred to for requesting missions from the Spanish in east central Texas. Interesting Facts. Like I said, most of the people are completely unaware that this area had any Natives or what the culture was. Texas And S.W. Back then Buffalo Bayou ran crystal clear. The Atakapa called themselves the Ishak /ik/, which translates as "the people. Meat was served to my entire detachment; and during the time of about six hours that I remained with this man, I learned that he was a European; that he had been a Jesuit; and that having gone into Mexico, these people had chosen him as their chief. The Yakama tribe lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle fishing, hunting, or gathering wild plants for food. The peoples lived in river valleys, along lake shores, and coasts from present-day Vermilion Bay, Louisiana to Galveston Bay, Texas. By 1719, the Atakapan had obtained horses and were hunting bison from horseback. Atakapa means "man eaters" and Ishak means "the people". In 1803, . The practice of cannibalism likely had a religious, ritualistic basis. Louisiana became a U.S. state in 1812. The town of Mermentau is a corrupted form of the local chief Nementou. Protests to remove racist statues and iconography are part of a larger effort to reframe Texas history. Tunica ancestors were first [] Buffalo Bayou was named for the millions of buffalo fish which used to live in it. Those remaining merged with other tribes or blended into society. Who were they, Really? [9] Atakapa-speaking peoples were divided into bands which were represented by totems, such as snake, alligator, and other natural life. The Atakapa are made up of different clansthe Patiri, Akokisa, Bidai, Deadose, and Han. Before European contact in the 18th century, they lived between theAtchafalaya RiverandSabine Riverto the west of the lower Mississippi River. Tk-pa'-han-yan-ya-di, Biloxi name. The Choctaw told the French settlers about the "People of the West," who represented subdivisions or tribes. Genealogy,