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Regular Session, 2013 ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 170
BY SENATOR LAFLEUR
A RESOLUTION
To commend Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana Chairman Earl Barbry Sr. on receiving the
inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from the United South and Eastern Tribes,
Incorporated.
WHEREAS, Chairman Barbry was raised on the Tunica-Biloxi Reservation in
Marksville, Louisiana, where he learned early on that he was part of a clan unique to the
area; and
WHEREAS, Chairman Barbry is descended from a long, unbroken line of Tunica-
Biloxi chiefs and learned much from his grandfather, Elijah Barbry, who was the first
activist chief in Louisiana to attempt to get a federal response to the needs of the Louisiana
Indian people; and
WHEREAS, Chairman Barbry was elected Tribal Chairman in 1978 and was
appointed as Tribal Administrator that same year and has continued to serve in those
capacities continuously since then; and
WHEREAS, under the leadership of Chairman Barbry, amazing changes have taken
place on the reservation and where once there were barren fields and wooded areas with a
few shanties scattered about, now one may see a unique and modern housing development,
Tribal Administrative Office, a Health Department and Social Services Office, Gaming
Board and Gaming Commission Office, Tribal Police, and Court Building; and
WHEREAS, under Chairman Barbry's leadership, the Tunica-Biloxi repatriated
artifacts looted from their 18
th
century cemetery near St. Francisville and court action
initiated by Tunica-Biloxi helped build the foundation for the Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act; and
WHEREAS, Chairman Barbry has carefully overseen the construction of major
housing developments, paved roads, tribal center, court complex, welfare office, as well as
a hotel-casino recreation complex and a new multi-million dollar cultural and education
center; and SR NO. 170 ENROLLED
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WHEREAS, Barbry was named the recipient of the Avoyellean of the Year Award
in 1993 by the Avoyelles Journal, the highest award given in the parish and in 1996, the
Marksville Chamber of Commerce named him Minority Businessman of the Year; and
WHEREAS, Chairman Barbry received the 2005 Leadership Award of the National
Indian Gaming Association and the next year, he was named a Louisiana Legend by
Louisiana Public Broadcasting in recognition of his cultural, educational and economic
contributions to the region and the state, the first American Indian to ever receive this high
honor; and
WHEREAS, Chairman Barbry admits that all of his accomplishments would never
have been possible without his loving wife, Gail, his two sons and his two grandchildren.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby extend its highest commendations on Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana
Chairman Earl Barbry Sr. on receiving the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from the
United South and Eastern Tribes.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Tunica-Biloxi Tribe Chairman Earl Barbry Sr.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE