In the U.S., there are 574 federally recognized Native American tribes and Alaska Native entities, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.

As for Louisiana, the state is home to more federally recognized Indigenous tribes than any other state in the South.

This isn’t including state recognized tribes, which Louisiana also has a significant number of.

Louisiana has the most federally recognized Native American tribes in the South

Louisiana has four federally recognized Native American tribes, including the Chitimacha, Coushatta, Jena Band of Choctaw Indians and the Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe of Louisiana, according to the American Library Association.

In the case of federally recognized tribes, they have a sovereign, government-to-government relationship, which grants the tribes inherent rights, self-government, as well as eligibility for certain federal benefits and services, says the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Louisiana among states with the most state-recognized Native American tribes

The state of Louisiana recognizes 11 Indigenous tribes, in addition to the four federally recognized tribes. Louisiana’s state-recognized Indigenous tribes, not including the four federally recognized tribes, are:

• Bayou Lafourche Band
• Grand Caillou/Dulac Band
• Jean Charles Choctaw Nation
• Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe
• United Houma Nation
• Four Winds Cherokee
• Clifton Choctaw
• Louisiana Band of Choctaw
• Addai Caddo
• Choctaw-Apache
• Natchitoches Tribe

When it comes to state-recognized Native American tribes, they lack a federal relationship with the U.S. government and its associated benefits. Therefore, state-level acknowledgement does not guarantee federal funding and the tribes remain subject to state law, according to Native Nations Institute.

Why are there so many Indigenous tribes in Louisiana?

Louisiana has a number of recognized Native American tribes predominantly because of its historical background as a diverse ancestral homeland with an abundance of natural resources, which served as a refuge for various groups, including those that were displaced by European settlement, according to Louisiana State Museums.

Presley Bo Tyler is a reporter for the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team for USA Today. Find her on X @PresleyTyler02 and email at PTyler@Gannett.com

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — A new law signed by President Donald Trump could make simple tax return mistakes easier to fix.

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy authored The IRS Math Act, aiming to clear up confusion around IRS error notices. Millions of Americans receive a letter from the IRS saying, “There’s a math error” on their federal return every year.

For many, the notices are hard to understand, and even harder to fix, but the new IRS Math Act aims to change that.

“For all of you who called our office, my office, you made an honest mistake on your tax return, and now you feel the whole weight of the IRS coming after you,” said Cassidy. “It says if you make an honest mistake, you confess, you pay the difference, and all is clear,” Senator Cassidy said.

The bill requires the IRS to make the error notices on federal returns clearer and provide a path for correcting honest mistakes. It spells out how taxpayers can respond, what they owe, and how to resolve issues without escalation. The bill passed with bipartisan support.

Trump also signed another bill from Cassidy, the Support Act, which further targets the fentanyl crisis in the U.S.

“The Support Act is about preventing, treating, and delivering recovery services for Americans co-diagnosed with both addiction and mental illness,” said Cassidy. “One law enforcement officer I spoke to said, ‘You cannot arrest your way out of this epidemic of drug abuse.’ So, we’ve got to address two things at once in this bill — addiction and mental illnesses; they often go together. Now, I speak as a doctor, I know that giving the opportunity to be healed, to return to wholeness, is one of the ways we get out of this drug crisis.”

Implementation guidelines for the acts are expected from federal agencies in the coming months.

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