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K I N G D O M S O F WAT E R
Dr. d’Oney at Lake Itasca, source of the Mississippi River.
He’s lived all over the world, but J. Daniel d’Oney, Ph.D., has gone back to his Louisiana roots when it comes to his research. His subject of choice these days is the United Houma Nation, a group of Native Americans who now reside to the south of New Orleans. An assistant professor in the Department of Arts and Sciences, Dr. d’Oney teaches several courses on Native Americans at ACP. With the help of a Scholarship of Discovery Grant from the College for the 2007–2008 academic year, he spent the dog days of summer in his home state researching a new book, Kingdoms of Water: A History of the Houma Nation. His work will result in the first comprehensive history of the tribe. “I’ve titled the book thus for a couple of reasons,” says Dr. d’Oney.“The Houma have always lived on or near water and, just like water, they have shifted and adapted over time.” The Houma first were documented in 1682 living on the Mississippi near the mouth of the Red River. Over the years, they relocated several times, moving downstream to Bayou St. John, just outside New Orleans, and then back upstream to a site south of modern-day Baton Rouge. As a result of shifting politics and pressure from Acadians arriving from Canada, the Houma relocated once again in the late 1700s, this For his research, time southward to the isolated bayDr. d’Oney lived near ous of Lafourche and Terrebonne Houma settlements and parishes, where they live today. “I first met members of the talked to literally United Houma Nation when I was hundreds of an undergrad but really started to work with them when I did a graduHouma Indians. ate internship with the Louisiana Division of Archaeology,” explains Dr. d’Oney, who subsequently based his Ph.D. dissertation at Arizona State University on the Houma people. For his research, Dr. d’Oney lived near several Houma settle-
Below: Many trees have died as salt water infiltrates the coast of Louisiana. The Houma once lived in this area before hurricanes drove them inland. Right: Shrimp boat leaving the Houma community of Dulac, La., to head down the Mississippi.
Daniel d’Oney
ments and talked to literally hundreds of Houma Indians. His fluency in French, which replaced the Houma language in the late 1800s, and his knowledge of the hunting, trapping and fishing that were the basis of the Houma economy for many years, have gone a long way toward forging bonds with the tribe. He has also put in many hours among primary sources in French, Spanish and American archives. Water remains a huge influence on the contemporary Houma Nation. Coastal erosion is a big problem, impacting major food sources. And Hurricanes Katrina and Rita had a devastating effect on the tribe. “Rita was actually much worse for the Houma as they were on the eastern side of the hurricane, which is always the worst due to storm surge patterns,” explains Dr. d’Oney. “Water was dumped in houses that had already lost their roofs from Katrina.” Relief efforts were complicated by the fact that the Houma Nation is not officially recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and has no government representation. Dr. d’Oney’s research theme continues. His article “Watered by Tempests: Hurricanes in the Cultural Fabric of the United Houma Nation” recently has been accepted by the American Indian Culture and Research Journal and is set for publication in May 2008.