The Tunica-Biloxi: Two Thousand Years in Avoyelles Parish

The Marksville Prehistoric Indian Site — a horseshoe-shaped embankment enclosing burial mounds dating to 50 B.C. — marks the beginning of a continuous indigenous story in Avoyelles Parish. The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana has called this land home for centuries, surviving colonization, displacement, and federal recognition battles. Today the tribe operates the Paragon Casino Resort and maintains the Tunica-Biloxi Cultural & Educational Resources Center. In 2022, stewardship of the Marksville site transferred to the tribe. It is one of the most complete examples of indigenous continuity anywhere in the lower Mississippi Valley.