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48-568: The Alabama and closely allied Coushatta people migrated from Alabama and Mississippi to the area of Texas in the late 18th century and early 19th century, under pressure from American settlers to the east. They essentially merged and shared reservation land. Although the tribe was terminated in the 1950s, it achieved federal recognition in 1987 as the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas . Its 1,137 members have about 4,500 acres (18 km) of reservation. The Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town

96-664: A pyramidal form, particularly in their youth. Many are characterised by their needle-like, evergreen foliage and acorn -like seed cones. Some species develop flattened, spreading heads at maturity, while certain variants may manifest as shrubs, standing at less than 6 metres (20 ft). The bark of cypress trees varies, with some species having smooth surfaces, while most exhibit bark that separates into thin plates or strips, often shedding over time. Leaves of young cypress trees are spreading and awl-shaped, and are typically small, scale-like formations that tightly adhere to older branches. They are usually aromatic , with glandular pits on

144-413: A convenience store, gas station and tobacco store on U.S. Highway 190, which can sell products tax free because of the tribe's sovereign status. This business complex is slowly becoming profitable. The station generates a small profit margin and a limited number of jobs. The Tribe opened an entertainment center for tourists. The center offered casino gambling. The tribe believed it satisfied requirements of

192-475: A decoction as a face wash for nerves and insomnia. The Alabama who relocated to Texas supported Texas independence . In gratitude, Governor Sam Houston recommended that Texas purchase land for the tribe when their existing land was overtaken by settlers. The two tribes share many cultural characteristics. In a hearing before the Indian Claims Commission in 1974, Dr. Daniel Jacobson suggested that

240-417: A large grant in 1928 to purchase additional land near the reservation; it was granted to the "Alabama and Coushatta tribes". Since that time, the reservation has officially been known as "Alabama-Coushatta". Origin myths focus on the interconnectedness of the tribes. One myth states that the two tribes sprouted from either side of a cypress tree. Another legend was recorded in 1857 from Se-ko-pe-chi , one of

288-579: A minimum sentence of 108 months in prison. Because of Abramoff's cooperation with the government, his sentence was greatly reduced. He was released from prison on June 8, 2010 and completed the remaining six months of his sentence in a halfway house in Baltimore. Without the casino, the tribe has no funding for economic programs. More than 300 jobs have been lost in Polk County. The Alabama-Coushatta tribe has been trying to gain state and Federal support to re-open

336-669: A part of the "Upper Creeks". They were closely related to the Alabama Indians and often intermarried with them. Coushatta and Alabama who stayed in Alabama were part of the 1830s forcible removal to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. Today their descendants form the federally recognized Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town in Wetumka, Oklahoma . Some of the Coushatta tribe split from

384-630: A state that allows large-scale gambling operations, even if it allows only low-level operations. Also, Class III gaming is subject to agreed regulatory procedures in Tribal-State compacts , which states are required to negotiate in "good faith". Without a tribal-state compact, no tribal casino can be permitted. Tribes find fault with the provision about Tribal-State compacts , because under the Eleventh Amendment, which provides for state sovereign immunity, tribes are not able to sue any state to enforce

432-494: A strong economy. Indian gaming is considered the most powerful economic development tool available on most Indian reservations. The National Gaming Impact Study Commission has stated that "no...economic development other than gaming has been found." Tribal governments also use gaming revenues to develop other economic enterprises, such as museums, malls, and cultural centers that attract tourists and other visitors. Indian gaming can provide substantial economic benefits in states where

480-605: A strong friendship as they roamed and hunted their new land together. In the early 19th century, the Texas Congress granted each tribe two strips of land along the Trinity River . Their land was soon taken over by American settlers, leaving them homeless. Sam Houston , the governor of Texas, recommended that the state purchase 1,280 acres (5.2 km) for the Alabamas; although money was appropriated to buy 640 acres (2.6 km) for

528-518: A tribe and state work together. Coushatta people Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas 1,000 enrolled The Coushatta ( Koasati : Koasati , Kowassaati or Kowassa:ti ) are a Muskogean -speaking Native American people now living primarily in the U.S. states of Louisiana , Oklahoma , and Texas . When the Coushatta first encountered Europeans, their Coushatta homelands where in present-day Tennessee , Georgia , and Alabama . They have long been closely allied and intermarried with

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576-524: Is a federally recognized tribe , headquartered in Wetumka, Oklahoma . The Alabama language is part of the Muskogean language family. Alabama is closely related to Koasati and distantly to Hitchiti , Chickasaw and Choctaw . Also known as Alibamu, an estimated 100 speakers, primarily from Texas, still speak the language. The Alabama first encountered Europeans when Hernando de Soto arrived in 1540 and visited numerous places during his expedition . In

624-636: Is held in trust on the tribe's behalf by the United States Department of the Interior . In the 20th century, the Coushatta people in Louisiana began cultivating rice and crawfish on tribally owned farms on the reservation, where most of the current population resides. An estimated 200 people of the tribe still speak the Coushatta language . In the early 21st century, fewer young people are learning it, so

672-534: Is occasionally used for some species of fustic and for bald cypress , and it often denotes jack pine in eastern Canada . Species that are commonly known as cypresses include: Other species include: The word cypress is derived from Old French cipres , which was imported from Latin cypressus , the latinisation of the Greek κυπάρισσος ( kyparissos ). In Greek mythology , Cyparissos , Cyparissus or Kyparissos ( Ancient Greek : Κυπάρισσος, "cypress")

720-422: The sap that typically drips down the tree's trunk represents Cyparissus' tears. Consequently, the cypress emerged as a symbol of mourning, sadness, and loss in classical mythology, thereby serving an aetiological purpose in explaining its cultural significance. Due to its connection to grief, the cypress became one of the symbols of Hades and has been planted in cemeteries since the classical era . During

768-636: The 18th century, the French arrived on the Gulf Coast and built a fort at what became Mobile, Alabama . The Alibamu and Koasati tribes were part of the Creek Confederacy . They had less contact with British colonists from the Thirteen Colonies than other Creek tribes did. They were the first to migrate away when British colonists began to settle in the region by the middle of the 18th century, after

816-477: The 1992 Texas Lottery Law that permitted the state lottery, horse racing, and dog racing. The Alabama-Coushatta, a Christian community, allows no alcohol in the casino. The Tribe was successful in generating revenue and jobs. The center offered jobs to 87 Tribal members, greatly reducing unemployment from 46 percent to 14 percent. Revenues from the entertainment center provided the Tribe with funding for health services,

864-497: The Alabama and Coushatta tribes were culturally related because of intermarriage. The Handbook of Texas reports that the languages come from the same stock, even though there could be some word variance. They merged with the Coushatta to become the present-day Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas. Although long under state trusteeship because the state controlled public lands, the tribe achieved Federal recognition in 1987 by an act of Congress, rather than by administrative process of

912-522: The Alabama people, also members of the Creek Confederacy . The Koasati language is related to the Alabama language and mutually intelligible to Mikasuki language . Under pressure from European colonization after 1763 and the French defeat in the Seven Years' War , the Coushatta began to move west into Mississippi , Louisiana, and Texas, which were then under Spanish rule . They settled in these areas by

960-521: The Alabama who live there are also affiliated with the federally recognized Muscogee Creek Nation . In the tribe's earlier years in Texas, gathering, hunting, agriculture, fishing, and trading were its main economic pursuits. In more recent years, the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe has relied on the service and entertainment industry to generate revenue and jobs on the reservation. In 2002, the Tribe opened

1008-538: The Coushattas, the land was never bought. Either through marriage or special permission, many Coushatta went to live on the land given to the Alabama. Other Coushatta had stayed in an area in southern Louisiana near the Red River. Many of their descendants are enrolled members of the federally recognized Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana. By 1820, there were three main Alabama towns and three large Coushatta towns in east Texas, in

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1056-657: The Creek Confederacy and went to South Louisiana. Their descendants today make up the federally recognized Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana . Notable chiefs among the Coushatta-Alabama were Long King and his successor Colita (1838–1852). They led their people to settle in present-day Polk County, Texas , in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Colita's village was founded before the European-American settlement of Livingston, Texas . Descendants of these peoples form

1104-514: The Department of Interior. The law that restored the tribe's federal relationship prohibited such gaming as was then prohibited under state laws. The current tribal lands are in eastern Polk County, Texas . The Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation , Texas' oldest reservation, located at 30°42′50″N 94°40′26″W  /  30.714°N 94.674°W  / 30.714; -94.674 , has 18.484 km (7.137 sq mi) of land. The land purchased by

1152-617: The IGRA, tribes have the "exclusive right" to regulate gaming in Indian Territory "except when gambling is contrary to federal law or when a state completely prohibits a form of gaming." The IGRA recognizes three different classes of gaming: Class I gaming is controlled completely by the tribes. Class II gaming is regulated by the tribes with oversight by the National Indian Gaming Commission . Class III gaming may be allowed in

1200-605: The Mississippi Choctaw, and the Louisiana Coushatta. The Abramoff scandal received widespread public attention and he was prosecuted. On March 29, 2008, Jack Abramoff was sentenced to five years and ten months in prison for pleading guilty to fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy to bribe public officials. Abramoff made a deal to cooperate with investigators to provide information about his relationships with several members of Congress. Federal sentencing guidelines indicated

1248-503: The center had operated for nine months, the state brought suit against it in 1999. A Federal court ruled that the Alabama-Coushatta had to close their entertainment center. The federal courts made this determination based on the conditions of federal recognition in 1987, which banned tribes from gaming prohibited under state laws. In July 2006 the Alabama-Coushatta sued lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates for attempts to defraud

1296-553: The current Marion County, Tennessee . Later they founded a major settlement at the north end of Long Island, which is bisected by the present-day Tennessee–Alabama state line. By the time of the American Revolution , the Coushatta had moved many miles down the Tennessee River where their town is recorded as Coosada. In the 18th century, some of the Coushatta joined the emerging Muscogee (Creek) Confederacy, where they became

1344-479: The early 19th century. Some of the Coushatta and Alabama people were removed west to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) in the 1830s under Indian Removal , together with other Muscogee peoples . Today, Coushatta people are enrolled in three federally recognized tribes : The Koasati language is part of the Apalachee-Alabama-Koasati branch of the Muskogean languages . An estimated 200 people spoke

1392-410: The elderly, educational opportunities for youth, social services, and housing. Such jobs had a multiplier effect within the regional economy, with businesses' reporting an increase in sales and tax revenues. The entertainment center benefited not only the Tribe, but also the surrounding regions by creating more than 495 jobs and paying US$ 4.3 million in wages and nearly US$ 400,000 in federal taxes. After

1440-541: The entertainment center, for the economy of both the Tribe and the surrounding regions. Over the years, the Tribe has struggled to rebuild its economy in a depressed Polk County. We should be candid about the interests surrounding Indian gaming. The issue has never really been one of crime control, morality, or economic fairness...At issue is economics...Ironically, the strongest opponents of tribal authority over gaming on Indian lands are from States whose liberal gaming policies would allow them to compete on an equal basis with

1488-554: The federally recognized Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas and have a reservation near Livingston. The Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town in Wetumka, Oklahoma, achieved federal recognition in 1939, following passage of the 1936 Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act . Its people were descendants of a community that had moved as a group from their town in Alabama to Indian Territory in the 1830s. They settled together and maintained their tribal town identity. In addition, its people have dual citizenship in

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1536-466: The federally recognized Muscogee (Creek) Nation , representing descendants of the broader Creek Confederacy. It has an enrolled population of 380. In 1972, the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana achieved state-recognition as a tribe. A year later it gained federal recognition . The tribe has acquired 685 acres (2.77 km ) of reservation near its historical 18th and 19th-century homeland. This land

1584-507: The land was ceded by the French following Britain's victory in the Seven Years' War (known in the colonies as the French and Indian War ). Under pressure as well by Native American enemies, the Alabama and Coushatta tribes wanted to avoid the powerful Choctaw in present-day Mississippi . They moved into territories of future states, first into Louisiana and then into Texas . Alabama and Coushatta towns were divided into "red" and "white" towns. The "white" towns were responsible for keeping

1632-544: The language in 2000, most of whom lived in Louisiana. The language is written in the Latin script . The Coushatta were historically farmers, growing a variety of maize , beans, and squash, and supplementing their diet by hunting game and fish. They are known for their skill at basketry . Nearly all the Spanish expeditions (including the 1539-1543 Hernando de Soto Expedition) into the interior of Spanish Florida recorded encountering

1680-599: The leaves of sweet everlasting ( Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium ) is used for fevers. The Coushatta have historically bathed those with fevers with it. Cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the Cupressus genus of the Cupressaceae family, typically found in warm-temperate and subtropical regions of Asia , Europe , and North America . Cypress trees typically reach heights of up to 25 metres (82 ft) and exhibit

1728-562: The oldest Creeks in Indian Territory . He said that the tribes "sprang out of the ground between the Cohawba and Alabama Rivers." The symbol of the Alabama-Coushatta tribe comes from pre-contact Mississippian culture : two intertwined woodpeckers, now symbolic of the connection between the two tribes. The obtusifolium subspecies of the plant Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium is used in a compound decoction for nervousness and sleepiness, and in

1776-641: The original town of the tribe. It was believed to be located in the Tennessee River Valley . The Spanish referred to the people as Coste , with their nearby neighbors being the Chiaha , Chiska , Yuchi , Tasquiqui, and Tali. In the 17th and 18th centuries, avoiding the encroachment by European settlers, the Coushatta migrated west into present-day Alabama . Along the way they established their town at Nickajack ( Ani-Kusati-yi , or Koasati-place, in Cherokee ) in

1824-429: The outer surface, and cover the stem in opposite pairs, giving the branchlet a four-sided appearance. Cypress is any of the twelve species of ornamental and timber evergreen conifers constituting the genus Cupressus of the family Cupressaceae . Many resinous , aromatic evergreen trees called cypress belong to other genera of the same family, especially species of false cypress and cypress pine . The name cypress

1872-573: The peace and for providing refuge, while the "red" towns were responsible for conducting military campaigns. Though they had "red" and "white" towns, the Alabama-Coushattas thought of themselves as peace-loving people. In 1795, the Coushatta arrived in the Big Thicket area of East Texas. In 1805, nearly 1,000 Alabama came to Tyler County 's Peach Tree Village in East Texas. The two tribes developed

1920-467: The region known as the Big Thicket. In 1854, the Alabama were given 1,280 acres (5 km) in Polk County . The following year, 640 acres (2.6 km), also in Polk County, were given to the Coushattas. The Coushatta claim was disputed by white settlers in 1859. When the Coushatta lost the land claim, the Alabama invited them to live on their land claim. The federal government approved

1968-545: The requirement to enter into such compacts. Thus, while the IGRA gives tribes the right to have casinos, the Eleventh Amendment gives the states the right to refuse to negotiate tribal-state compacts. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act requires that gaming revenues be used only for governmental or charitable purposes. The tribal governments determine how gaming revenues are spent. They are typically used to invest in infrastructure for tribal members, such as housing, schools, and roads; to fund health care and education; and to develop

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2016-480: The state and assigned to the Alabama in 1854 was expanded by another purchase, under a federal grant in 1928. The 2000 census reported a resident population of 480 persons within the reservation. As of 2010, there are some 1000 members of the Alabama-Coushatta tribe. In Okmulgee County, Oklahoma , the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town was established and federally recognized in 1936. The descendants of

2064-464: The states, tribes often negotiate agreements with the states to share some portion of income, in recognition of their reliance on state infrastructure and other assets. In the 1990s, the Coushatta of Louisiana hired the lobbyist Jack Abramoff to assist in establishing a casino on their reservation. They were victims of his manipulations , as he charged them high fees but did not work on their behalf to gain federal or state approval of such development. He

2112-654: The tribe in seeking to defeat state legislation in 2001 that would have given them authority to run the casino. The tribe claimed the lobbyists had hidden their motives in representing the competing Coushatta of Louisiana , which ran their own casino, and mobilized Christian groups in an underhanded way. A Senate investigation in 2006 revealed that several tribes were defrauded of tens of millions of dollars by Abramoff and associates on issues associated with Indian gaming. The four tribes that Abramoff persuaded to hire him were all newly wealthy Indian gaming tribes. They included: Michigan's Saginaw Chippewa, California's Agua Caliente,

2160-568: The tribe is working on language preservation. Since the late 20th century and the rise in Indian self-determination , many Native American tribes have developed a new source of revenue by establishing gaming casino on their reservations which are sovereign territories. States, which had begun their own gaming operations and regulated private ones, and the federal government have passed legislation to control Indian gaming, which must conform to what exists by state law. While such revenues are not taxable by

2208-589: The tribes...We must not impose greater moral restraints on Indians than we do on the rest of our citizenry. - Daniel Inouye , senior United States senator from Hawaii . The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), passed by Congress in 1988 (after the act that restored federal recognition to the Alabama-Coushatta), established the framework that governs Indian gaming. The IGRA allows tribes to develop casino-style operations that could improve governmental services and economic conditions in Indian country. According to

2256-415: Was a male lover of Apollo , as well as other deities in other versions of mythology. In the most prevalent version of the story, Cyparissus receives a stag as a gift from Apollo, which he accidentally kills with a spear while hunting in the forest. Cyparissus is overwhelmed by pain and sorrow, and asks Apollo to allow his tears to flow for eternity. Apollo transforms Cyparissus into a cypress tree, and

2304-470: Was ultimately prosecuted for his actions. Since then, Louisiana Coushatta have established gaming on its reservation. It also has state tax–free sales of certain items to raise revenues. The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas achieved federal recognition in 1987. The nation acquired a 4,600-acre (19 km ) reservation near Livingston, Texas , its homeland since settling in this area in the early 19th century. It has 1,100 enrolled citizens. A decoction of

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