By Belinda Brooks
Butte Tribe member and tribal pastor Tim Stampley met with Shady Grove kindergarten students on Feb. 6 in Monroe. The invitation was extended to him by his sister, Samantha Murphy, and Faith Wilhite, both teachers at Shady Grove School. This annual event to speak on the tribal customs and traditions of Louisiana Native Americans is part of the school’s Native American Heritage Month.
Stampley’s presentation centered around the history of the Butte Tribe of Bayou Bourbeaux, which is located on the east side of the Red River across from Natchitoches. Butte Tribe’s historical Caddoan ancestors are included in each of the three Red River Caddo confederates (Natchitoches, Hasini, Kadohadacho.)
Students learned about the tribe’s historical culture and traditions. Stampley’s show-and-tell display included two black bear skins, a native warbonnet, and a leather war shirt. Stampley provided a PowerPoint presentation for the students. They learned facts about the Louisiana black bear. Butte Tribe’s totem is a black bear named Kojak that protects the tribe’s burial ground on Butte Hill.
Stampley told stories about Butte Tribe’s first recorded chief, White Smoke, and his wife, Two Moons, both buried on Butte Hill.
Other discussion topics were the area waterways, Indian mounds, grass hut homes, and foods of the indigenous people of Natchitoches Parish. At the end of the event, students were given a Butte Tribe activity color book.
Butte Tribe would like to extend a special thanks and appreciation to The Red Button Antique Store, owned and operated by Blane and Sharon Littlefield in Oak Grove for the loan of the black bear skins.
If you want to learn more about the history of the Butte Tribe, go to ButteTribe.org.
