2. Culture
• Language- Luhchi Yoroni, their
language was close to Tiou,
Kora, Yazoo
• They had a Spiritual belief. The sun
was a female, thunder and fire was
spiritual forces.
• Government- Only men were leaders
and the roles were passed down
3. Culture
Roles
Women made pottery, took care of the
household and kids
Men hunted and went to war
Kids had chores as well
Both men and women told stories, farmed,
played music, and did traditional medicine
• Clothing
• Men wore
loincloth (breechclouts) and
leather legging
• Women wore short fringed
skirts woven of fiber
• Small kids were naked
• Women and men had tattoos
and wore moccasins
4. Culture
• They were big farmers. Their
crops includes: corn, squash,
beans
• Men hunted deer, wild turkey,
and buffalo
• Women collected fruits, berries,
nuts, herbs and medicine
• They also mined salt
6. Homes
• Villages had circle shaped homes
• Open area in the middle of the village
• Homes were built on cane stalks with cone shaped
roofs
• Walls were plastered with clay and roofs were
thatched
7. History/ Important events
• Records of the Tunica people start in 1541 when
Hernando Desoto went the ancestors of the Tunica which
was the Quizquiz
• Around the late 16th century, the Quizquiz moved south
Yazoo and Mississippi rivers
• 1698 some French missionaries encountered the Tunica
people
• Tunica people were very friendly to the French and
assisted in some of their battles
• 1706 attacked their Houma host to get closer to French
• 1731 after the Natchez revolt of 1729 a group of
refugees attacked them
• Louisiana purchase
• 1970 leaders Tunica and Biloxi
tribes decided to get federal recognition
• 1981 gained federal recognition the Tunica tribe and
Biloxi tribe and live in present-day Marksville, Louisiana
9. Important People
During the 1950s and 1960s, archaeologist Robert Neitzel
and Tunica Chief Joseph A. Pierite, Sr. uncovered Tunica
burials dating to the nineteenth century. It showed
Christian signs and life before civil war and after.
Earl J. Barbry Sr., was elected tribal chairman in 1978,
after which he became the main force behind an appeal to
the Bureau of Indian Affairs for acknowledgement of the
Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe.
10. Works cited
• Facts for Kids: Tunica Indians (bigorrin.org)
• PPT - Mississippi’s Native American Tribes
PowerPoint Presentation, free download -
ID:2400447 (slideserve.com)
• Tunica language, alphabet and pronunciation
(omniglot.com)
• Tunica and Koroa Indians (uark.edu)
• Tunica - Encyclopedia of Arkansas
• Tunica Tribe - 64 Parishes
