Coushatta - 20th Century To Present

20th Century To Present

The Coushatta language, in the Muskogean family, is still spoken by some 400 people. In the early 21st century, fewer young people are learning it.

In 1972, the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana achieved state recognition as a tribe. A year later it procured federal recognition. The tribe has acquired 685 acres (2.77 km2) of reservation, which is held in trust by the Department of Interior. In the twentieth century, the Coushatta people in Louisiana began cultivating rice and crawfish on tribally owned farms, where most of the contemporary population resides.

In the 1990s, the Coushatta of Louisiana hired the lobbyist Jack Abramoff to assist in the establishment of gambling on their reservation. They were victims of the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal. The tribe has established gaming on its reservation, as well as tax-free sales of certain items. The initiatives have raised significant revenues, but the state filed suit to stop the specific class of gaming. Litigation is underway.

Retired United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana F. A. Little, Jr., of Alexandria, Louisiana, serves as chief judge for the tribe.

The Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town in Wetumka, Oklahoma achieved federal recognition in 1939, following passage of the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936. In addition, its people have dual citizenship in the federally recognized Muscogee Creek Nation. It has an enrolled population of 370. The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas achieved federal recognition in 1987 and has a 4,600-acre (19 km2) reservation near Livingston, Texas. It has 500 enrolled members.