East Texas Quarterly Magazine Summer 2014 | Page 19

Alabama-Coushatta tribe.
The Alabama-Coushatta roamed the
Big Thicket area for food, because of
poor farming land. During certain
seasons hunting was prohibited and
disease and malnutrition lowered
the
population
to
less
than
200 members.
In 1928, poor-living conditions
were brought to the attention
of both the state and federal governments.
An
additional
3,171
acres
adjoining
the
existing
reservation were purchased and
two and four bedroom homes were
built to replace meager log cabins.
The need for medical and educational
services was also recognized.

was completed in 1977 and offers an ideal location
for picnics, camping and swimming. In the late 1970’s,
70 new brick houses were built on the reservation
In 1957, a kindergarten was established to prepare through the Mutual Help Housing Project
the children for public schools, and this program has administered by federal Housing and Urban
become the Alabama-Coushatta Head Start Program. Development (HUD) and the Tribal Council.
Today, the Head Start Program serves 100 children
consisting of Native Americans, Hispanic, African, and After years of being under the auspices of the state of
Anglo Americans throughout Polk County.
Texas, the tribe began to seek to become a federally
recognized tribe. On Aug. 18, 1987, President
A tourism complex was built in 1963 which consisted Ronald Reagan signed Public Law 100-89 reinstating the
of a museum, gift shop, and a restaurant. A 26-acre lake Alabama-Coushatta as a federally recognized tribe.

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