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Bayougoula Indians

The Bayougoula Indians were some of the first Native Americans the French met in Louisiana. As Iberville and Bienville made their way up the Mississippi River, they came to a Bayougoula village here they were offered a three-foot-long calumet or peace pipe decorated with colored feathers. The Bayougoula served as guides during explorations around the Mississippi, showing the French the dividing line between their hunting grounds and those of the Houma - a location Iberville named Baton Rouge. The Bayougoula guides also pointed out a crescent in the river that would make a good settlement for the French. Bienville agreed it was a good location because there were natural levees around the high ground, and the river was deep enough for large ships to dock. After years of  negotiations with the Bayougoula and surveys of the land, Bienville finally broke ground on the New Orleans settlement in 1718. Angela chose to include a calumet in the Native American statue's hand for artistic and architectural balance. However, after much research, she still questioned if the design was historically accurate. The calumet in the model statue's hands has been lost to time. 
 

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