HLS 24RS-185 ORIGINAL
2024 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 13
BY REPRESENTATIVE BAGLEY
INDIAN AFFAIRS: Recognizes the Apalachee Indians Talimali Band as an Indian tribe of
the state of Louisiana and memorializes congress relative thereto
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To 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 recognition of the tribe.
5 WHEREAS, in the early sixteenth century, the Apalachee Indians comprised one of
6the largest and most powerful Native American chiefdoms; their traditional lands were
7situated between what are today known as the Aucilla and Ochlockonee Rivers on the
8modern Florida panhandle; and
9 WHEREAS, the various colonial governments of Louisiana always regarded the
10Apalachee Indians as a distinct tribal entity, even when remnants of the tribe—the Talimali
11Band—fled westward from their traditional homelands in 1704 to seek protection from the
12French in Mobile, Alabama; and
13 WHEREAS, the Talimali Band of the Apalachee Indians of Louisiana have
14maintained close ties to the state since moving to the Red River in 1763, living first in the
15vicinity 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
17reside today; and
18 WHEREAS, it is noted that the Apalachee Indians have maintained much of their
19traditional culture, including that which dictates that decisions of the tribe be made by the
20chief councilman and councilmen; this custom of leader and council has been maintained
21among the Apalachee Indians; and
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HCR NO. 13
1 WHEREAS, in 1995, the Apalachee Indians incorporated themselves into the
2Talimali Band of the Apalachee Indians of Louisiana, a legal corporation formed under the
3laws of the state of Louisiana; and
4 WHEREAS, the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs,
5provides procedures for establishing that an Indian group exists as a federally recognized
6Indian tribe; and
7 WHEREAS, recognition by the United States Department of the Interior entitles a
8tribe to immunities and privileges available to other federally recognized Indian tribes by
9virtue of their government-to-government relationship with the United States and provides
10for the responsibilities, powers, limitations, and obligations of such tribes; and
11 WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana supports the tribal aspirations of Indian tribes
12within its borders and seeks to preserve their cultural heritage, to improve their economic
13condition, and to assist them in the achievement of their just rights.
14 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
15formally recognize the Talimali Band of the Apalachee Indians of Louisiana as an Indian
16tribe of the state.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Legislature of Louisiana hereby memorializes,
18requests, and urges the Congress of the United States and the United States Bureau of Indian
19Affairs to take such steps as are necessary to effect formal recognition of the Apalachee
20Indians Talimali Band, thereby acknowledging that the rights of the Apalachee Indians
21Talimali Band are no less than those of other Indian tribes in the United States.
22 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution shall be transmitted
23to the governor of the state of Louisiana, the presiding officers of the Senate and House of
24Representatives of the Congress of the United States, the assistant secretary of the Bureau
25of Indian Affairs of the United States Department of the Interior, each member of the
26Louisiana congressional delegation, and the leadership of the Apalachee Indians Talimali
27Band.
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HCR NO. 13
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 13 Original 2024 Regular Session Bagley
Recognizes the Apalachee Indians Talimali Band as an Indian tribe of the state.
Memorializes congress and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to take such steps as are
necessary to effect formal recognition of the Apalachee Indians Talimali Band.
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