The Indians of Louisiana

When the French arrived in Louisiana at the beginning of the 18th century, some 13,000 Indians were divided into 6 groups of tribes -- the Caddo, Tunica, Natchez, Atakapa, Muskogee, and Chitimacha.

A native of Michigan, Fred B. Kniffen was born in 1900 and grew up in the upper Midwest. He studied at the University of California at Berkeley under cultural geographer Carl Sauren and anthropologist Alfred Kroeber, and did his doctoral work on a combination of geography and anthropology. The work he accomplished for his doctoral degree provided the basis for his interest and expertise in folk geography. Mr. Kniffen joined the teaching staff at Louisiana State University in 1929, and lectured on geography and anthropology. Later in his career at LSU he obtained the title of Boyd Professor Emeritus. Today LSU has commemorated a laboratory in his name, the Fred B. Kniffen Cultural Resources Laboratory. In his many years at LSU, Mr. Kniffen was a pioneer in what he called Folk Buildings, old buildings that are a unique part of a regionís landscape. A Folk Buildingís type, form, and structure can be used to trace a peopleís cultural origins. He was regarded as Louisianaís foremost authority on the subject of indigenous cultures and is considered the founder of American folk geography. Mr. Kniffen passed away in 1993. In his long, distinguished career, he managed to write some 125 articles and books, all covering his exceptional range of interests. Two of his articles were published in the Louisiana History journal. He received an honorary presidency to the Association of American Geography, the same group that presented him with an Honors Award in 1978. The Pioneer America Society presents a book award in his honor, the Fred B. Kniffen Book Award. The award is given to the best new book published about the North American cultural landscape. The various subjects of his writing include folk houses, covered bridges, outdoor folk ovens, log construction, and other items of traditional material culture. In his book The Indians of Louisiana, Mr. Kniffen follows the journeys of the first Indians to come to Louisiana and the cultural impact they had on the region.