Total population | |
---|---|
1250 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
United States ( Louisiana) | |
Languages | |
English, Cajun French, Chitimacha (no speakers) | |
Religion | |
Catholicism, atheism, other |
The Chitimacha (/ˈtʃɪtᵻməˌʃɑː/, CHID-im-uh-SHAH; or /tʃɪtᵻˈmɑːʃə/, CHID-im-AH-shuh),also known as Chetimachan or the Sitimacha, are a Federally recognized tribe of Native Americans who live in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly on their reservation in St. Mary Parish near Charenton on Bayou Teche. They are the only indigenous people in the state who still control some of their original land, where they have long occupied areas of the Atchafalaya Basin, "one of the richest inland estuaries on the continent." In 2011 they numbered about 1100 people.