Washa Indians

Washa Tribe: Appearing oftenest in literature in the French form Ouacha, meaning unknown. Washa Connections. The nearest relations of the Washa were the Chawasha and both belonged to the Chitimachan branch of the Tunican linguistic family. Washa Location. Their earliest known location was on Bayou La Fourche, perhaps in the neighborhood of the present Labadieville, Assumption Parish. Washa Villages. None are known under any but the tribal name. Washa History. As stated in treating the Chawasha, this tribe and the one just mentioned may have been those which attacked Moscoso’s flotilla at the mouth of the Mississippi. Shortly after Iberville … Read more

Washa Tribe

Washa Indians. A small tribe, probably of Muskhogean stock, which, when first known to Europeans, inhabited the lower part of Bayou Lafourche, Louisiana, and hunted through the country between that river and the Mississippi. In 1699 Bienville made an unsuccessful attempt to open relations with them, but in 1718, after the close of the Chitimacha War, they were induced to settle on the Mississippi 3 leagues above New Orleans, and they appear to have remained near that place to the time of their extinction or their absorption by other tribes. They were always closely associated with another small tribe called … Read more