Atakapas

Atakapa
Ishak

An Attakapas, by Alexandre De Batz, 1735
Total population
450
Regions with significant populations
United States ( Louisiana,  Texas)
Languages
English, historically Atakapa
Religion
Christianity, historically traditional tribal religion
Related ethnic groups
isolate language group, intermarried with Caddo and Koasati

The Atakapa /əˈtɑːkəpə/ are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, who spoke the Atakapa language and historically lived along the Gulf of Mexico. Europeans adopted this name from the competing Choctaw people, whom they first encountered. The Atakapan people, made up of several bands, called themselves the Ishak, pronounced "ee-SHAK", which translates as "The People." Within the tribe the Ishak identified as "The Sunrise People" and "The Sunset People". Although the people were decimated by infectious disease after European contact and declined as a tribe, survivors joined other tribes and their descendants still live in Louisiana and Texas. People identifying as Atakapa-Ishak had a gathering in 2006.

Their name was also spelled Attakapa, Attakapas, or Attacapa. It was the name by which the Choctaw people referred to them, meaning "man eater", for their practice of ritual cannibalism. Europeans encountered the Choctaw first during their exploration, and adopted their name for this people to the west. The peoples lived in river valleys, along lake shores, and coasts from Galveston Bay, Texas to Vermilion Bay, Louisiana.

After 1762, when Louisiana was transferred to Spain following French defeat in the Seven Years' War, little was written about the Atakapa as a tribe. Due to a high rate of deaths from infectious disease epidemics of the late 18th century, they ceased to function as a tribe. Survivors generally joined the Caddo, Koasati, and other surrounding tribes, although they kept some traditions. Some culturally distinct Atakapan people survived into the 20th century.