These people lived about 7,000 years ago. They were also nomads, moving in small groups from campsite to campsite, but they probably moved less often than the earlier tribes that had roamed the area. If the traders came, they said, they would give up their nomadic ways and settle into villages, giving assurance that they would trade with the French instead of with the Spanish to the west. There is an old and suspect tale that the Opelousas and some neighboring tribes banded together before the coming of the white man to attack and all but destroy the fierce Attakapas tribe that had been dominant in the area. That part of the district which now forms the parish of St. Landry was allotted to the Opelousas, and went by that name until the cession of Louisiana to the United States.
Some people think that members of the tribe painted their legs a dark color.
One theory is that the Opelousas' legs were stained as they waded in stagnant waters to hunt and fish. This was the westernmost channel of the Mississippi River in prehistoric times. The waters of the lake were black because of the great number of leaves covering the bottom. The tribe that would become known as Opelousas Indians probably came to Louisiana about 2,000 years ago. By about 1,200 years ago, they had pottery, farming and other crafts, made axes and other crude tools, and smoked tobacco in pipes.