Trudeau Landing
Location | Tunica, Louisiana, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, USA |
---|---|
Region | West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana |
History | |
Founded | 1731 |
Abandoned | 1764 |
Cultures | Tunica people |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1970s |
Architecture | |
Architectural details |
Number of monuments: |
Trudeau Landing | |
Area | 26 acres (11 ha) |
Built | 1731 |
Architectural style | Native American village and burial site |
NRHP Reference # | 77000679[1] |
Added to NRHP | June 17, 1977 |
Responsible body: private |
The Trudeau Landing Site (16 WF 25), also known as Tunica Village and Trudeau, is an archaeological site in Tunica, unincorporated West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States. It was once occupied by the Tunica tribe.
Tunica treasure
In the 1960s, graves at the site were dug up by a local self-described treasure hunter. The Tunica, who felt he had stolen tribal heirlooms and desecrated the graves of their ancestors, were outraged.
In the 1970s, the site was excavated by archaeologists, uncovering large amounts of pottery, European trade goods, and other artifacts deposited as grave goods by the Tunica from 1731 to 1764 when they were in residence. A lawsuit, with help from the State of Louisiana, was begun by the tribe to obtain the title to the artifacts.
A decade passed in the courts, but the ruling became a landmark in Native American history, and it helped lay the groundwork for new Federal legislation, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, passed in 1990.[2] It was also used to prove the ancient heritage of the Tunica peoples, and helped them to gain state and Federal recognition.[3]
A museum to house the artifacts was built by the Tunica-Biloxi, in Marksville, Louisiana.
References
- ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- ↑ "On the Tunica Trail-Tunica Biloxi Today". Retrieved 2010-02-10.
- ↑ Jeffrey P. Brain (1990). The Tunica-Biloxi. Chelsea House Publishers. p. 93. ISBN 1-55546-731-8.