# Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana

The Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana (also known as Adai Caddo Indian Nation of Louisiana and the Adai Caddo Tribe) is a state-recognized tribe in Louisiana and 501(c)(3) organization in Robeline, Louisiana. Its members identify as descendants of the Adai people. The chief is John Mark Davis, as of 2023.

## History

The first documented contact with the Adai people happened in 1529 near the Gulf of Mexico by Spanish Explorer, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. While most of the nation was concentrated in Northern Louisiana and East Texas, their villages were located all around the Red River and Sabine River and could also be found in Oklahoma and Arkansas. Because of their spread-out nature, unlike other tribes, they had villages in both French and Spanish provinces. This not only influenced their culture, but unfortunately led to the near extermination of the tribe as they had to deal with multiple diseases and violent encounters with Spanish, French and other settlers. For years, many of the remaining tribe members lived in or around Natchitoches Parish. Today, members of the tribe are predominantly based in Louisiana and surrounding states.
Caddo Adais Indians, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Robeline, Louisiana, established May 1991. The late Rufus Davis served as the organization's chief.

## State recognition

Governor Edwin Edwards created the Louisiana Office of Indian Affairs in 1972 through an executive order. In the 1990s, the office designated the Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana as a state-recognized tribe of the Adai people.
The state-recognized tribe is known by other names, including Caddo Adais Tribe and the Adai Caddo Indian Nation.
The Louisiana State Senate passed Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 16 in honor of the Caddo Adais Indians.
Louisiana House Bill 660 established the Native American Commission in 2018 to promote Native American culture and identify needs facing that community. One member from each of the 15 recognized tribes serves on the commission. The tribe's Vice Chief Deb Garrett serves on the board as secretary of the Native American Commission.
The US Patent and Trademark Office issued the trademark Adai Caddo Indian Nation to the tribe.

## Petition for federal recognition

The Adai Caddo Tribe sent a letter of intent to petition for federal recognition on September 13, 1993; however, they never submitted a completed petition for federal recognition.
This group is not federally recognized as a Native American tribe.

## Nonprofit organizations

Caddo Adais Indians, Inc., organized as a nonprofit corporation in Robeline, Louisiana, in May 1991 and in Houston, Texas, in October 1993. Ann Davis of Houston, Texas, served as its principal officer.
The Friends of Caddo Adais Indians, Inc., a nonprofit organization in Shreveport, Louisiana on October 1, 1992. E. Craig Kennedy served as the registered agent; however the nonprofit is inactive.

## Tribal statistical area

The US Census Bureau established a State Designated Tribal Statistical Area for the Adai Caddo SDTSA, which includes Natchitoches Parish.

## Religion

The tribe is recognized by the Tekakwitha Conference of the Roman Catholic Church. The Tekakwitha Conference is an international Catholic religious 501(c)(3) organization. It is dedicated to the ongoing advocacy and evangelization on behalf of the many Indigenous Catholics across North America. The past 2 Chiefs of the Adai tribe have been members of the St. Kateri Circle of the Alexandria Diocese, and the tribe hosts Native American Prayer and Eucharistic Ceremonies at the Adai Cultural Center.
The tribe is predominantly Catholic and has close ties to nearby St. Anne's Catholic Church. In 2024, the tribe in collaboration with the Alexandria Diocese passed a resolution making Saint Anne the official patron saint of the tribe.

## Activity

The tribe maintains a cultural center and museum in Robeline, Louisiana. The center is about five miles north of Los Adaes State Historic Site, an early 18th-century Spanish mission and ancestral village of the Adai Indians. The museum houses hundreds of artifacts from the tribe's history. Among its artifacts are several gourd rattles that were carved, painted or decorated with beads and used in both prehistoric and modern ceremonies, as well as prehistoric containers for carrying food, water and herbs. Prehistoric cooking utensils, baby rattles and toys, war breastplates and traditional cradle boards are also on display. Many of the artifacts were recovered in 1995 from the Los Adaes Station and in conjunction with Northwestern State University.
The tribe hosts an annual powwow each October at its 80-acre ceremonial grounds in Robeline. Nearly 3,000 visitors attend the powwow making it the largest festival in Robeline and the surrounding area.
Each spring, the tribe participates in the El Camino Real de los Tejas "SALE ON THE TRAIL". The tribe is located in Robeline near the El Camino Real and hosts seminars on the historic route connecting the Spanish and French colonies from Mexico to Louisiana.
Each Mother's Day, the tribe hosts a ceremony to honor their ancestors at St. Anne's Catholic Church and cemetery in Robeline. This tradition was taken from St. Augustine Parish (Isle Brevelle) Church, which hosts a similar ceremony on All Saints Day. Historically, St. Anne's Catholic Church was part of the St. Augustine Parish. On March 11, 1856, the mission of St. Augustine at Isle Brevelle was decreed by Bishop Auguste Martin to be a parish in its own right and assigned Fr. Francois Martin to be its first resident pastor. St. Augustine Church (also known as the Isle Brevelle Church) expanded to serve four other churches in the area, St. Charles Chapel at Bermuda, St. Joseph's Catholic Mission at Bayou Derbonne, St. Anne Chapel at Old River, and St. Anne Church (Spanish Lake) serving the Adai Caddo Indians.

## Notable people

* Chief Rufus Davis Jr. (1939–2022), former Chief of the Adai Caddo Indian Nation and founder of Chief Solutions Inc., a technical consulting firm in Houston, Texas. After a mass of Christian Burial at the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Natchitoches, he was laid to rest at St. Anne's Cemetery, a historical Adai cemetery.
* Chief John Mark Davis
* Vice Chief Deb Garrett
* Secretary Boyd Ocon
* Treasurer Charlene Conarroe
* Historian Dee Niette Thompson
* Councilman At-Large Robert Brevelle, chairman of the Louisiana Genealogical and Historical Society, registered agent of the Adai Caddo Indian Nation, and entrepreneur and investor.

## Representation in film

* Texas Before The Alamo: Filmed at actual historic sites in Louisiana, Texas and Mexico with noted historians, professional actors and Adai Native Americans, Texas Before The Alamo is about the founding of modern Texas and the native Caddo and Adai tribes that dealt with the French and Spanish who were in the process of establishing Missions, Presidios and Trails now known as Goliad, the Alamo, San Antonio Missions & El Camino Real de los Tejas.

## Notable places

* Robeline, Louisiana
* Natchitoches, Louisiana
* Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana
* Los Adaes
* Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site
* Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Natchitoches, Louisiana)
* St. Augustine Parish (Isle Brevelle) Church
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana