Opelousa: "Black head," from 130 warriors to "nine" (St. Landry, 1715–1908)
Record: the document says itPattern: documents line upLens: our readingOpen: not yet proven
Year: 1715 · Places: Louisiana
SUMMARYOpelousa: "Black head," from 130 warriors to "nine" (St. Landry, 1715–1908) [Connections: Louisiana (deep), Nov 5, 2026]
RECORDJefferson's notes on Sibley's 1805 report record the "Appelousas [means Black head] aboriginal of their place which is 15. mi. W. from Appelousa church," about 40 men. Wikipedia, citing Swanton and others, gives estimates of about 130 men in 1715 (Bienville), about 40 in 1805, about 20 in 1814 and 9 people in 1908. It says the Opelousa are "considered extinct as a tribe, likely merged into the Atakapa," and that Andrew Jolivétte argues descendants "assimilated and intermarried with Creoles." The parish seat and the old district were named for them
PATTERNA nation whose name the colony took for a town and a district was later declared "extinct." Scholars point to its descendants inside the Creole population
LENS (WW9)The town kept the name and the people were renamed. Opelousas is still on the map, and its people became "Creoles."
OPENNeeds deep research. Trace named Opelousa families in the St. Landry sacramental records after 1805 and what color labels they were given
SOURCESNotes on John Sibley's Account (Founders Online); Opelousa (Wikipedia).