Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana

The Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana (also known as Adai Caddo Indian Nation of Louisiana) is a state-recognized tribe in Louisiana,^[1] member of the Caddo Confederacy, and federal 501(c)(3) organization in Robeline, Louisiana. The tribe is a member of the Louisiana Office of Indian Affairs Native American Commission, and the tribe's Vice Chief Deb Garrett serves as the Commission's Secretary.^[3] Its members are descendants of the Adai people. The US Census Bureau established a State Designated Tribal Statistical Area for the Adai Caddo SDTSA, which includes Natchitoches Parish.^[4]

Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana^[1]

Adai Caddo Indian Nation of Louisiana
Named after	Adai people, Caddo people
Founded at	Robeline, Louisiana^[1]
Type	state-recognized tribe, 501(c)(3) organization
Tax ID no.	Caddo Adais Indians, Inc.: EIN 76-0359749
Legal status	Active, State-Recognized Native American Tribe
Purpose	Community and economic development
Headquarters	Adai Caddo Indian Nation Cultural Center, 4460 LA-485, Robeline, LA 71469
Location	Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States
Membership (2015)	3000+
Chief	John Mark Davis^[2]
Board of directors	Debbie Garrett, Dee Niette Thompson, Charlene Conarroe, Boyd Ocon, Robert Brevelle
Staff	9
Website	https://adaination.com/
Formerly called	Natao, Hadeyes, Adais, Adayes, Aday, Adaes, Adae, Caddo, Cadeaux, Caddo Confederacy

The late Rufus Davis served as the organization's chief.^[1] The current chief is John Mark Davis.^[5][2]

State recognition

Governor Edwin Edwards created the Louisiana Office of Indian Affairs in 1972 through an executive order.^[6] In the 1990s, the office designated the Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana as a state-recognized tribe.^[1][7]

The state-recognized tribe is known by other names, including Caddo Adais Tribe ^[8] and the Adai Caddo Indian Nation.^[5]

The Louisiana State Senate passed Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 16 in honor of the Caddo Adais Indians.^[9]

The US Patent and Trademark Office issued the trademark Adai Caddo Indian Nation to the tribe.^[10]

Nonprofit organization

Caddo Adais Indians, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Robeline, Louisiana, established May 1991.^[9]

Petition for recognition

The Adai Caddo Tribe sent a letter of intent to petition for federal recognition on September 13, 1993;^[11] however, they never submitted a completed petition for federal recognition.^[12]

This group is not federally recognized as a Native American tribe.

Activity

The tribe maintains a cultural center and museum in Robeline, Louisiana. ^[13] The center is about five miles north of Los Adaes State Historic Site,^[14] an early 18th-century Spanish mission and ancestral village of the Adai indians.

The tribe hosts an annual powwow each October at its 80-acre ceremonial grounds in Robeline. Nearly 3,000 visitors attend the powwow making it the largest festival in Robeline and the surrounding area.^[15][5]

Each Mother's Day, the tribe hosts a ceremony to honor their ancestors at St. Anne's Catholic Church and cemetery in Robeline. This tradition was taken from St. Augustine Parish (Isle Brevelle) Church, which hosts a similar ceremony on All Saints Day. Historically, St. Anne's Catholic Church was part of the St. Augustine Parish. On March 11, 1856, the mission of St. Augustine at Isle Brevelle was decreed by Bishop Auguste Martin to be a parish in its own right and assigned Fr. Francois Martin to be its first resident pastor. St. Augustine Church (also known as the Isle Brevelle Church) expanded to serve four other churches in the area, St. Charles at Bermuda, St. Joseph's at Bayou Derbonne, St. Anne's on Old River, and St. Anne's at Spanish Lake serving the Adai Caddo Indians.^[16]

People

• Chief Rufus Davis, Jr., former Chief of the Adai Caddo Indian Nation and founder of Chief Solutions Inc., a technical consulting firm and industry leader based in Houston, Texas. Chief Rufus won countless awards for his entrepreneurial accomplishments and community efforts. After a mass of Christian Burial at The Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Natchitoches, Chief Rufus was laid to rest at St. Anne’s Cemetery, a history Adai cemetery.^[17]
• Chief John Mark Davis
• Vice Chief Deb Garrett
• Secretary Boyd Ocon
• Treasurer Charlene Conarroe
• Historian Dee Niette Thompson
• Tribal Registered Agent and Councilman At-Large Robert Brevelle

Notable places

• Robeline, Louisiana
• Natchitoches, Louisiana
• Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana
• Los Adaes
• Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site
• Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Natchitoches, Louisiana)
• St. Augustine Parish (Isle Brevelle) Church
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana

See also

• Adai language
• Adai people
• Anne des Cadeaux
• Caddo
• Caddo language
• Caddoan Mississippian culture
• Great Raft
• John Sibley (doctor)
• Louis Juchereau de St. Denis
• Louisiana Purchase

Notes

1. "Federal and State Tribal Contact List" (PDF). Office of the Governor. State of Louisiana. 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
2. "Federal and State-Tribal Contact Information" (PDF). Louisiana Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
3. "Louisiana Office of Indian Affairs". State of Louisiana. 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
4. "Adai Caddo SDTSA,LA". Census.gov. US Census Bureau. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
5. "Adai Caddo Indian Nation holds 25th annual Pow-wow Saturday". KTBS. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
6. Bates, Denise E. (December 13, 2022). "Native American Civil Rights Movement in Louisiana". 64 Parishes. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
7. Precht, Jay. "Native Americans in Twentieth-Century Louisiana". 64 Parishes. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
8. Owens, Maida. "Native American Organizations in Louisiana". Louisiana Voices. Louisiana Division of the Arts. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
9. "Tribal Law in Louisiana: Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana". The Law Library of Louisiana. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
10. "USPTO Registered Trademarks". USPTO. USPTO. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
11. "Indian Issues: Federal Funding for Non-Federally Recognized Tribes" (PDF). Highlights. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Accountability Office. April 2012. p. 39. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
12. "Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA)". Indian Affairs. U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
13. "Caddo Indian Nation Cultural Center". Cane River National Heritage Area. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
14. "Los Adaes". Texas Beyond History. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
15. ICT Staff (September 13, 2018). "Pow Wow Weekend Planner". ICT. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
16. "History of St. Augustine Catholic Church". St. Augustine Catholic Church. Roman Catholic Church. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
17. "Rufus Davis, Jr. Obituary". Blanchard St Denis. Funeral Home. Retrieved January 10, 2024.

External links

• Adai Caddo Indian Nation of Louisiana
• Louisiana Office of Indian Affairs Native American Commission
• "Meet the Adai Caddo Tribe", Shreveport Times