Documentation for Louisiana tribes' recognition petitions

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

I am seeking the petitions and all supporting documents provided to the Office of Federal Recognition by petitioners 56, 56a, and 56b—respectively the United Houma Nation, Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Muskogee, and Point-Aux-Chien Indian Tribe—in support of their petitions for federal tribal recognition.

All three tribal communities are located in or around Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. The Bureau of Indian Affairs released a proposed finding against the United Houma Nation's petition for recognition in 1994, and released proposed findings against the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Muskogee and Point-Aux-Chien Indian Tribes in 2008.

I am seeking all the documentation provided BY the tribes, TO the government, in the tribes' petition for recognition. This includes the petition itself and the supporting documentation provided to show the tribes' origins, histories, and genealogies.

I am aware that these records are quite extensive but I believe they should be easy to locate.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Jake Bittle

Hello Mr. Fleming,

Thank you very much for your generous advice and assistance with the processing of this request.

Per our conversation, I have identified a number of individual documents in the OFA archives, based on the bibliographies you mentioned in your letter. To make matters easier, I have attempted to confine my request to a single acknowledgement petition, that of the Pointe-Aux-Chenes Indian Tribe, petitioner 56b, and OFA files.

It would be ideal on my end if your office could send an approximate updated cost estimate in advance of the duplication of these records, so I can make sure it's feasible for me to provide payment, and narrow the request further if necessary.

Thank you so much once more for your help and I look forward to continuing to work together.

The documents I am requesting are as follows:

Bellanger, Loney
12/24/1931 Affidavit, in Louisiana Land and Exploration Company v. Cheramie et al., U.S.
District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana.

Billiot, Forest
6/16/1995 Deposition, in Louisiana Land and Exploration Company v. Verdin et al., 17th Judicial
District Court, Parish of Lafourche. PACIT exhibit

Billiot, Jean Naquin, and Georgiana Billiot Verdin
1/14/1994 Affidavit, in Louisiana Land and Exploration Company v. Verdin, U.S. District Court,
Eastern District of Louisiana. PACIT exhibit

Carlton, Hugh Y.
1/26/1932 Affidavit, in Louisiana Land and Exploration Company v. Cheramie et al., U.S.
District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. PACIT exhibit.

Chasson, Pierre, et al.
1/11/1933 Answer, in Louisiana Land and Exploration Company v. Cheramie et al., U.S. District
Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. PACIT exhibit.

Cheramie, Steve W.
1/–/1994 Affidavit, in Louisiana Land and Exploration Company v. Verdin, U.S. District Court,
Eastern District of Louisiana. PACIT exhibit.

Dardar, Thomas, et al.
1/6/1932 Answer, in Louisiana Land and Exploration Company v. Cheramie et al., U.S. District
Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. PACIT exhibit.

Duet, Felecien
1/23/1932 Affidavit, in Louisiana Land and Exploration Company v. Cheramie et al., U.S.
District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. PACIT exhibit.

12/15/1932 Supplemental bill of complaint, in Louisiana Land and Exploration Company v.
Cheramie et al., U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. PACIT exhibit.

Naquin, Joseph, and Aida Verdin Naquin
5/28/1958 Agreement with Louisiana Land and Exploration Company. PACIT exhibit.

1/15/1999 Meeting minutes. PACIT exhibit.

2/20/1999 Meeting minutes. PACIT exhibit.

3/20/1999 Meeting minutes. PACIT exhibit.

11/23/1933 Decree for Permanent Injunction, in Louisiana Land and Exploration Company v.
Cheramie et al. PACIT exhibit.

Verdin, Sidney Gary
10/25/1994 Deposition (condensed transcript), in Louisiana Land and Exploration Company v.
Verdin et al., 17th Judicial District Court, Parish of Lafourche. PACIT exhibit.

2/16/2005b Letter from Director R. Lee Fleming to Charles Verdin. OFA files.

11/23/2005 Letter from Director R. Lee Fleming to Brenda Dardar. OFA files.

2/3/2006b Letter from Director R. Lee Fleming to Charles Verdin. OFA files.

5/3/2006b Letter from Director R. Lee Fleming to Charles Verdin. OFA files.

5/26/2006b Letter from Director R. Lee Fleming to Charles Verdin. OFA files.

1/25/2007b Letter from Director R. Lee Fleming to Charles Verdin. OFA files.

6/1/2007b Letter from Director R. Lee Fleming to Charles Verdin. OFA files.

11/27/2007b Letter from Director R. Lee Fleming to Charles Verdin. OFA files.

1/28/2008b Letter from Director R. Lee Fleming to Charles Verdin. OFA files.

2/27/2008b Letter from Director R. Lee Fleming to Charles Verdin. OFA files.

3/26/2008b Letter from Director R. Lee Fleming to Charles Verdin. OFA files.