The Ouachita Basin, an early history

Abstract

The Ouachita River Basin is an area which played an important but as yet unheralded part in early American history. Once the home of thousands of Indians, the Basin witnessed the arrival of Hernando de Soto as early as 1542. The area was then explored and developed by the Spanish, French and Americans. The incursion of the Europeans brought about significant changes in the Indian population. It is clear then that a study of the Ouachita River Basin is actually a complex endeavor involving archaeology, European history and early American history. In the Ouachita Basin, comprising portions of Louisiana and Arkansas, Spanish and then French contacts with the resident Indian tribes preceded Anglo entry into the region by several hundred years. The written records of these contacts provide a unique account of the impact and interaction of the European and Indian cultures with each other. The history of this era supplements and clarifies the archaeological record, and defines the character of the frontier at the time of American occupation. The Spanish and the French, together or singly, had "tamed" or certainly altered the nature of much of the American west, and the character of those Indians who inhabited it, before the American appeared. This pre-condition then, is important in understanding the American colonial and western history. The dominant role of the French and Spanish in the area demonstrates that American history cannot be viewed exclusively from the English perspective. Also, the history of the native Indian cultures depicted in the journals of the many explorers and travelers in the area sharpen the archaeologist's view of pre-historic Indian culture. Moreover, the history of the Ouachita Basin provides a unique perspective for understanding contemporary international events, as well as those transpiring in the Basin itself. A major focus of this work involves the Indian cultures of the region. It is no coincidence that the decline of many Ouachita Indian cultures coincides with the appearance of Europeans in the area...