SLS 23RS-2316 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 60
BY SENATOR HARRIS
CONDOLENCES. Expresses sincere and heartfelt condolences upon the passing of Ernest
Sickey.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To express the sincere condolences of the Legislature of Louisiana upon the passing of
3 Ernest Sickey of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana.
4 WHEREAS, for more than three decades Ernest Sickey was a trailblazing leader of
5 the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, located in southwestern Louisiana; and
6 WHEREAS, the United States recognized the Coushatta as a tribe in 1935, and the
7 United States administratively terminated the Coushatta Tribe's recognition in 1953; and
8 WHEREAS, Ernest Sickey was born on May 28, 1942, in Lafayette, Louisiana, to
9 Davis Sickey and Daisy Langley Sickey; he was raised in Elton, Louisiana speaking Koasati,
10 Choctaw, English, and French; he served in the United States Air Force from 1962 to 1968;
11 and
12 WHEREAS, Sickey successfully championed the Coushatta Tribe's state recognition
13 in 1972, marking the first time the state of Louisiana formally recognized an Indian tribe;
14 and
15 WHEREAS, Sickey led the Coushatta Tribe in efforts for re-recognition by the
16 United States which happened in June of 1973, and served as the tribe's Chairman from 1973
17 through 1985, and remained a respected leader of the tribe thereafter; and
18 WHEREAS, under Chairman Sickey's leadership, the Coushatta Tribe engaged in
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1 numerous economic development ventures; as a result of Sickey's efforts the Coushatta Tribe
2 has become one of the largest employers in the state of Louisiana, employing approximately
3 two-thirds of the residents of Allen Parish; and
4 WHEREAS, Sickey's advocacy extended beyond the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana;
5 due to his urging, the Louisiana Legislature created the Office of Indian Affairs, of which
6 Sickey served as the first director; Sickey formed the Inter-Tribal Council of Louisiana, Inc.
7 (ITCLA), which consists of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, the Chitimacha Tribe of
8 Louisiana, the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, and the
9 United Houma Nation; Sickey played a vital role in helping both the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of
10 Louisiana and the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians achieve federal recognition and staunchly
11 supported the United Houma Nation's federal recognition effort; and
12 WHEREAS, Sickey was a key leader in the Indian Civil Rights Movement that
13 culminated in the United States adopting the Indian Self-Determination and Education
14 Assistance Act of 1975, a policy of tribal self-determination which continues today; under
15 Sickey's leadership, the Coushatta Tribe became one of the first tribes to join the United
16 South and Eastern Tribes, Inc. (USET), a nonprofit inter-tribal organization that serves
17 thirty-three federally recognized tribes from Texas to Maine; Sickey also testified before the
18 United States Congress, addressed the United Nations, and helped create important
19 precedents for indigenous rights throughout the United States; and
20 WHEREAS, two of Sickey's six sons served at different times as Chairman of the
21 Coushatta Tribe; both sons continued his vision of and dedication to tribal sovereignty,
22 self-determination, and leadership; and
23 WHEREAS, after eighty years of fighting for the civil, political, and economic rights
24 of all Louisianians, Sickey passed away on May 17, 2023, only a few weeks before the 50th
25 anniversary of the federal government's re-recognition of the Sovereign Nation of the
26 Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; the people of Louisiana are grateful for and proud of Ernest
27 Sickey's life and legacy.
28 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
29 extend deepest condolences to the family and friends of Ernest Sickey and recognizes and
30 records for posterity his significant contributions to the state of Louisiana and Indian
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1 Country.
2 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
3 family of Ernest Sickey.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Dawn Romero Watson.
DIGEST
SCR 60 Original 2023 Regular Session Harris
Expresses condolences upon the passing of Ernest Sickey.
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