SHREVEPORT – Chiefs from two Louisiana tribes will present their historical perspectives and cultural significance Monday in the LSUS University Center.
Chief Lora Ann Chaisson of the United Houma Nation and Chief Len Wiggins of the Four Winds Cherokee Nation will discuss their history in Louisiana.
The event, which runs from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., will also analyze the movie, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which details what happened to the Osage Nation when oil was discovered on their tribal land in the 1920s.
“Being from the South and being in Louisiana, these groups have experienced hardship and accomplishment,” said Dr. Kenna Franklin, assistant vice provost for diversity, inclusion, and community engagement at LSUS. “There’ll be demonstrations about different aspects of their daily life.
“We’ll discuss issues and interests from the Native American perspective.”
The LSUS DICE office organized the event.
Chaisson, a resident of Point aux Chene south of Houma, is active in the National Congress of American Indians as an alternate delegate and alternate vice president for the southeast region to the NCAI Executive Committee.
As vice president of Tribal Solutions Group, she’s involved in a variety of areas such as education, gaming, medical care access and broadband/communications for tribal nations, entities and enterprises.
The United Houma Nation is largely centered in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.
Wiggins has been instrumental in organizing tribes from across Central Louisiana.
He’s encouraged more open tribal communication about the needs within each tribe and assisted tribes in lobbying the state and federal governments for better representation of Native American’s collective interests.
The Four Winds Cherokee Nation is situated in Vernon and Beauregard parishes.
As part of the event, the Robinson Film Center hosted a free viewing of “Killer of the Flower Moon” this past Sunday.
The movie, which was directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, did contain input from the Osage Nation.
But there has been criticism that the movie’s Native American characters aren’t as developed as their white counterparts.
“We wanted perspectives that were truly authentic,” Franklin said.
