SLS 19RS-213 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 9
BY SENATOR LONG
INDIAN AFFAIRS. Recognizes the Apalachee Indians' Talimali Band as a tribe in the state
of Louisiana.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To recognize the Talimali Band of the Apalachee Indians of Louisiana as an Indian tribe of
3 the state and to urge and request the federal government to provide for formal
4 re-recognition or recognition of the tribe.
5 WHEREAS, in the early sixteenth century, the Apalachee Indians comprised one of
6 the largest and most powerful Native American chiefdoms whose traditional lands were
7 situated between what are today known as the Aucilla and Ochlockonee Rivers on the
8 modern Florida panhandle; and
9 WHEREAS, the various colonial governments of Louisiana always regarded the
10 Apalachee Indians as a distinct tribal entity, even when remnants of the tribe—the Talimali
11 Band—fled westward from their traditional homelands in 1704 to seek protection from the
12 French in Mobile, Alabama; and
13 WHEREAS, the Talimali Band of the Apalachee Indians of Louisiana have always
14 maintained close ties to the state after moving to the Red River in 1763, living first in the
15 vicinity of Boyce, Louisiana, and later moving to the Bayou Cypre and Sang Pour Sang area
16 (now known as Emmanuel), located south of Natchitoches where many tribal members
17 reside even today; and
18 WHEREAS, it is noted that the Apalachee Indians have maintained much of their
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SLS 19RS-213 ORIGINAL
1 traditional culture that dictates that decisions of the tribe be made by the Chief Councilman
2 and Councilmen; this custom of leader and council has been maintained among the
3 Apalachee Indians; and
4 WHEREAS, in 1995, the Apalachee Indians incorporated themselves into the
5 Talimali Band of the Apalachee Indians of Louisiana, a legal corporation formed under the
6 laws of the state of Louisiana and Rapides Parish; and
7 WHEREAS, the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs,
8 provides for procedures for establishing that an Indian group exists as a federally
9 re-recognized or recognized Indian tribe; and
10 WHEREAS, re-recognition or recognition by the United States Department of the
11 Interior also means that a tribe is entitled to immunities and privileges available to other
12 federally re-recognized or recognized Indian tribes by virtue of their
13 government-to-government relationship with the United States, as well as the
14 responsibilities, powers, limitations, and obligations of such tribes; and
15 WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana supports the tribal aspirations of Indian tribes
16 within its borders and seeks to preserve their cultural heritage, to improve their economic
17 condition, and to assist them in the achievement of their just rights.
18 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of Louisiana that the state of
19 Louisiana formally recognizes the Talimali Band of the Apalachee Indians of Louisiana as
20 an Indian tribe of the state.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge
22 and request appropriate federal officials to do whatever is necessary to effectuate the formal
23 re-recognition or recognition of the Talimali Band of the Apalachee Indians of Louisiana
24 acknowledging that the rights of the Apalachee Indians are not less than the rights of other
25 tribes in the United States.
26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution shall be transmitted
27 to the governor of the state of Louisiana, the president of the United States, the presiding
28 officers of the Senate and House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States, the
29 assistant secretary of the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the United States Department of the
30 Interior, and to each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation.
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SLS 19RS-213 ORIGINAL
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by James Benton.
DIGEST
SCR 9 Original 2019 Regular Session Long
Recognizes the Apalachee Indians of Louisiana (also known as the Talimali Band of the
Apalachee Indians of Louisiana) as an Indian tribe of the state.
Further, urges and requests appropriate federal officials to take necessary action to effectuate
formal federal re-recognition or recognition of the Apalachee Indians of Louisiana.
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