The Jena Band of Choctaw Indians are one of three federally-recognized Choctaw

Choctaw

The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...

 groups in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. They are based in La Salle

La Salle Parish, Louisiana

La Salle Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of 2000, the population was 14,282. The parish seat is Jena.-Geography:The parish has a total area of , of which is land and is water....

 and Catahoula

Catahoula Parish, Louisiana

Catahoula Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its seat is Harrisonburg, located on the Ouachita River, which forms the eastern boundary of the parish. In 2000, the population of the parish was 10,920.-Prehistory:...

 Parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

. The Jena Band received federal recognition in 1995. Tribal membership totals 241.

Government

The tribe is headquartered in Jena, Louisiana

Jena, Louisiana

Jena is a town in and the parish seat of La Salle Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,971 at the 2000 census.In September 2006, Jena became the focus of national news stories in the United States for a racial controversy involving its school system and a group of students known...

. Their current Principal Chief of the Jena Band is Christine M. Norris.

Culture

Choctaw culture has greatly evolved over the centuries combining mostly European-American influences; however, interaction with Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, and England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 greatly shaped it as well. They were known for their rapid incorporation of modernity, developing a written language, transitioning to yeoman

Yeoman

Yeoman refers chiefly to a free man owning his own farm, especially from the Elizabethan era to the 17th century. Work requiring a great deal of effort or labor, such as would be done by a yeoman farmer, came to be described as "yeoman's work"...

 farming methods, and accepting European-American and African-Americans into their society.

External links

• Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, official website