SLS 22RS-1962 ORIGINAL
2022 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 54
BY SENATOR FESI
INDIAN AFFAIRS. Reaffirms recognition of the Bayou Lafourche Band of Biloxi-
Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees, the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-
Chitimacha-Choctaw, the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation, and the Pointe-au-Chien Indian
Tribe.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To reaffirm recognition of the Bayou Lafourche Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation
3 of Muskogees, the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, the
4 Jean Charles Choctaw Nation, and the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe.
5 WHEREAS, the Native Americans of the Bayou Lafourche Band of
6 Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees, the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of
7 Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation (formerly known as the "Isle
8 de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha"), and the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe,
9 hereinafter referred to as the tribes, have lived in Louisiana for centuries and have been
10 integral to our Louisiana culture and economy for generations, especially in Terrebonne and
11 Lafourche Parishes; and
12 WHEREAS, the Indian ancestry of these tribes is indisputable and has been affirmed
13 most recently by Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 105 of the 2004 Regular Session of the
14 Legislature; and
15 WHEREAS, the governor's office of Indian affairs likewise lists these tribes as state-
16 recognized tribes; and
17 WHEREAS, R.S. 46:2305 provides these tribes the right to appoint a member to the
18 governor's Native American Commission and places the tribes on equal footing with other
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SLS 22RS-1962 ORIGINAL
1 state and federally-recognized tribes; and
2 WHEREAS, the Constitution and laws of the state of Louisiana provide for only one
3 level of state recognition; and
4 WHEREAS, lack of clarity in the existing Resolution recognizing the Bayou
5 Lafourche Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees, the Grand
6 Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation, and
7 the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe inhibited the delivery of life-saving aid during Hurricane
8 Ida; and
9 WHEREAS, reaffirmation of the state recognition of the Bayou Lafourche Band of
10 Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees, the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of
11 Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation, and the Pointe-au-Chien
12 Indian Tribe is necessary for rebuilding these communities and enhancing their chances of
13 receiving federal recognition and its associated investments.
14 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
15 formally reaffirm its recognition of the Bayou Lafourche Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha
16 Confederation of Muskogees, the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw,
17 the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation, and the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe as Indian Tribes of
18 the state.
19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Legislature of Louisiana that the Congress of
20 the United States and the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs are hereby memorialized,
21 requested, and urged to take such steps as are necessary to effect, in the near future, formal
22 recognition of the Bayou Lafourche Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of
23 Muskogees, the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, the Jean Charles
24 Choctaw Nation, and the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe and to acknowledge that the rights
25 of the Bayou Lafourche Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees, the Grand
26 Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation, and
27 the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe are no less, if not indeed greater, than those of other Indian
28 tribes in the United States, and, therefore, to take such executive or congressional action as
29 may be appropriate.
30 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
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SLS 22RS-1962 ORIGINAL
1 president of the United States, the presiding officers of the Senate and the House of
2 Representatives of the Congress of the United States, each member of the Louisiana
3 delegation to the United States Congress, the director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, United
4 States Department of the Interior, and to the leadership of the Bayou Lafourche Band of
5 Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees, the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of
6 Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation, and the Pointe-au-Chien
7 Indian Tribe.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Alan Miller.
DIGEST
SCR 54 Original 2022 Regular Session Fesi
Reaffirms recognition of the Bayou Lafourche Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of
Muskogees, the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, the Jean Charles
Choctaw Nation, and the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe.
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