09/24/2026
Tomorrow, Friday, September 25th, we will observe Tunica-Biloxi Recognition Day, commemorating the federal recognition of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana on September 25, 1981.
Please note that all Tribal offices will be closed tomorrow in observance of Tunica-Biloxi Recognition Day. Regular office hours will resume on Monday, September 28th.
45 years ago, the United States federally recognized the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana. But our people did not begin in 1981. We were here long before a piece of paper acknowledged our existence.
Before recognition, there were generations of Tunica and Biloxi people who refused to let our identity disappear. People held onto community stories, traditions, and the knowledge of who we were, even when the world around them changed. Some carried our culture quietly. Some fought openly for our future. Many never lived to see federal recognition.
Because they endured, we are here.
September 25, 1981, was more than recognition by the federal government. It was another chapter in a story our ancestors had already been writing for generations.
Today, 45 years later, we think about those who came before us.
We think about the Elders whose voices we still hear in our stories and recordings. We think about the hands that made pottery, baskets, carvings, tools, and countless other things before ours. We think about the words of our languages that survived because someone remembered them, spoke the language, recorded it, or cared enough to teach them to another person. And we think about those we have lost along the way, people who poured pieces of themselves into ensuring that there would always be another generation to carry this work forward.
Every time one of our children learns a word in our language, hears one of our stories, puts their hands into clay, learns a traditional skill, dances, sings, visits one of our historic monuments, or simply takes an interest in learning our history, another piece of what our ancestors protected continues to live.
That is what makes this anniversary so powerful.
The Tunica-Biloxi Nation is built on the continuation of a people who refused to disappear.
We inherited their sacrifices, their knowledge, their strength, and their hopes. And now we carry the responsibility of making sure the generations to come inherit even more. As we observe Tunica-Biloxi Recognition Day, we honor those who came before us and recognize those who continue to carry our Tribe forward. May we continue to protect what was entrusted to us and help ensure that our culture, language, history, and identity continue into the generations ahead.
We wish everyone a safe and meaningful Tunica-Biloxi Federal Recognition Day.🦅
