According to tribal legend, the name of the Coushatta Tribe means "lost tribe", and originated when a wandering band of tribesmen encountered a group of white men.  Asked who they were, the Indians misunderstood the question and replied "koashatt", meaning they were lost.  This answer was translated by the white men into a word that eventually came to be "Coushatta".  It is, however, accepted among tribal members that the ancient and traditional name of Koasati is the original and correct version.

Some Coushattas also believe that the name originally meant "white reed-brake," and came from the traditional Indian craft of weaving plaited baskets from swamp cane.  Modern Coushattas still practice this art, but the craft for which they are best known today is the creation of coiled pine needle baskets from the vast resource of long leaf pine surrounding the Indian community.  Coiled by dexterous Indian hands, the pine needles are bound with raffia to fashion unbelievable effigies of animals and a variety of other decorative and useful forms.  Nationally recognized, the Coushatta pine needle basketry, native medicinal practices, and the tribal languages have also been preserved, and are still practiced by tribespeople.  The language especially is considered unique by linguistic experts because it has survived in its purest form.
 
Language analysis indicates that the Coushattas, long before the period of recorded history, were once an intergral part of a unitary Moskogean stock.  After this linguistic family split into tribes - The Muskogee proper, Coushattas, Alabamas, Hitchiti, Miccosukees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws - the Coushattas developed unique linguistic traits which have persisted to this day.

Although the tribal basketry, medicine, and language have survived, many aspects of the ancient Indian culture have been lost during the hardship and repeated migration of the last 200 years.  Seeking to revive its proud heritage, the Tribe has developed a strong cultural program to teach the children and others the traditional ways.

Making bows and arrows, using blowguns, cooking traditional Indian dishes, performing ancient chants and dances, and recounting tribal legends are a major part of the culture program recently implemented by the Tribe.  These activities. in an undiluted form unique to the Coushatta Tribe, are being revived through the talents of older members of the Tribe.  Just as Coushatta daughters now learn the art of pine needle basketry from their mothers, tribal elders are encouraged by the strong culture program to pass on remaining tribal traditions within their families.  Programs are now in place to record these traditions for future generations.

The family unit remains the most important social tie in the Coushatta community.  In early Coushatta culture, at least ten clans - each symbolized a particular animal or element - were influential in the social organization.  Seven large families, or "clans" are represented today.  The political organization, however, was based not on family but on an elected Chief chosen for his oratorical abilities.  Known as "micco", the Chief appointed a Town Chief, or "micco apocka", and a Warrior Chief who was responsible for all aspects of warfare.

As members of the Creek Confederacy, The Coushatta ancestors of today's Louisiana tribe were basically peace-loving town dwellers with an agricultural economy.  Tribal life centered around the town square, where Coushatta leaders gathered to discuss preparation of war, arrangements for religious ceremonies, and the state of the tribal economy.  The pre-migration Coushatta economy focused primarily on agriculture, hunting, fishing and trade, but the real basis was agriculture.

Planting maize (corn) as the staple crop, Coushattas also grew peas, beans, squash, pumpkins, melons, potatoes and rice.  Tribal leaders allotted specific areas to individual clans, with each allotment carefully demarcated by an artificial boundary.  a fixed portion of each harvest was donated to the public granary to protect the tribe against poor harvests and war emergencies, as well as to permit travelers and the needy to be fed at the expense of the entire community.

Hunting supplemented agriculture.  Favoring a bow made of black locust or hickory, and arrows of cane, the Coushattas were slow to accept use of the white man's gun.  Eventually, however, the Indians became as adept at using firearms as they were with blowguns and bows and arrows.  Early Coushatta fishermen also made use of bows and arrows and blowguns, as well as hooks and lines, spears, traps, and hand nets.

Trade, too, was an important factor in the economy.  Although trade routes with other Indians were established well before the coming of the Europeans, white traders had far-reaching effects on the Indians and their economy.  In fact, early migrations of the Coushattas often resulted as much from the desire for better trade conditions as for unsettled land.

While the "Koasatis" in the river country of Alabama were primarily agriculturalists, the Indians of early migrations put more emphasis on hunting, fishing, and trading.  Agriculture remained a major part of the economy, of course, usually influencing the location of settlements and ensuring, to a degree, the economic independence of the Tribe.

When the Tribe eventually settled for good in Louisiana, the coming of the rice farmer shattered this idyllic economic pattern.  The Coushattas were no longer the subsistence farmers, hunters, and fishermen of earlier days, but worked in the field of the Acadian farmer or logged in the timber industry.  Women of the Tribe continued working with the arts and crafts as a supplement to the family income.

Those Coushattas remaining in Louisiana have continued the role of wage earner to this day, many turning to industry within the surrounding areas.  Some of these Coushatta wage earners are now involved in tribal government and programs, while others work in the Tribe's flourishing aquaculture industry.  The Tribe has 70 acres of land devoted to rice and crawfish farming.  As the Coushattas reach their goal of tribal self-determination, more and more jobs are being created out of functioning tribal programs.

Coushatta men who once worked as loggers have turned their skills to construction of new tribal housing.  Coushatta women who once sold their pine needle baskets haphazardly are now displaying and marketing their artistry in the newly constructed gift shop located in the reservation's retail complex.  This complex also includes a convenience store and restaurant, and is owned and operated by the Coushatta Tribe and its members.  Coushatta people who survived the last decade on welfare or by working menial jobs are finding fulfillment in a growing number of similarly useful, important tribal job programs.

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