Adai Caddo Indian Nation seeks federal recognition
Native Americans in NWLA traded ancient salt from Saline Bayou; now you can camp near the site
The commissioners invited the Vice Chief of the Tribal Council of the Adai Caddo Indian Nation, Debra Garret, to speak. She detailed the centuries-old history of the indigenous tribe native to northwest and central Louisiana that predates European colonization. Garret spoke about the tribe's presence during major moments of American history, from the original Spanish explorers, to the French crown, and then the English settlers. She said documentation shows the Adai were a constant, peaceful ally to the early Louisiana colony, providing food and protection since the 1700s.'
She spoke about how the buffalo, traveling from the plains through Texas over the Sabine and Red Rivers into Natchitoches, made the original natural roads of North America, which the tribe followed.
'The Adai Indians used these buffalo trails for hunting, trading, for traveling. It was on these roads that in 1549 that we met the commander of a Spanish ship. The Nunez Expedition (Narváez Expedition) that had gone really bad. There were only four survivors. We found them and we nursed them back to health. We put them on the road to Mexico City, and when Commander Alvar Núñez went back to Spain, he wrote a book about us. That was our first documentation,' Garret said.
Louisiana's first permanent European settlement was not New Orleans or Baton Rouge
The Adai tribe is headquartered in Robeline. The state of Louisiana has recognized it as a Native American tribe since 1976. However, it does not have federal recognition, which limits its access to federal resources and protections.
The Caddo Parish Commission officially passed a resolution seeking federal status, which commissioners said secures their cultural heritage, affirms their sovereign rights, and repays their efforts in helping shape the history of Caddo Parish and Louisiana.
To learn more about the Adai Indians, visit their website.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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