Basket Diplomacy: Leadership, Alliance-Building, and Resilience among the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, 1884-1984

The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana struggled to overcome poverty and legal marginalization before becoming one of the state's top private employers. They forged friendships with neighbors, sparked local tourism, and struck strategic alliances with civic and business leaders, aid groups, legislators, and other tribes. They also engaged the public with stories about their culture, history, and economic interests. Despite facing hurdles, they achieved tribal recognition in 1972 and acquired land and built infrastructure. Basket Diplomacy showcases how the community worked together and leveraged opportunities to achieve success.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 354 pages
Publication date: 03 April 2023
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

Before the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana emerged as one of the state's top private employers, with its vast landholdings and economic enterprises, they lived in abject poverty and lacked any clear legal status. After settling near Bayou Blue in 1884, the tribe forged strong friendships with their neighbors, sparked local tourism, and established strategic alliances with civic and business leaders, aid groups, legislators, and other tribes. The Coushattas also actively engaged the public with stories about their culture, history, and economic interests, which intersected with the larger community, while combating legal marginalization exacerbated by inconsistent government reports regarding their citizenship, treaty status, and eligibility for federal Indian services.

Well into the twentieth century, the tribe had to overcome numerous significant challenges, including lobbying the Louisiana legislature to pass the state's first tribal recognition resolution (1972), convincing the Department of the Interior to formally acknowledge the Coushatta Tribe through administrative channels (1973), and engaging in an effort to acquire land and build infrastructure.

Basket Diplomacy showcases how the Coushatta community worked together, each generation building upon the foundations laid by the previous one, and how they strategically leveraged opportunities to ensure that existing and newly acquired knowledge, timing, and skill worked in harmony.

The Coushatta Tribe's journey from poverty to prosperity is a testament to their resilience, determination, and collaborative spirit. Their story serves as an inspiration to other indigenous communities across the United States, highlighting the importance of cultural preservation, economic development, and political advocacy in achieving social and economic equality.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781496234711