The Alabama first encountered Europeans when
Hernando de Soto arrived in 1540 and visited numerous places during
his expedition. In the 18th century, the French arrived on the
Gulf Coast and built a fort at what became
Mobile, Alabama. The
Alibamu and
Koasati tribes were part of the
Creek Confederacy. They had less contact with British colonists from the
Thirteen Colonies than other
Creek tribes did. They were the first to migrate away when British colonists began to settle in the region by the middle of the 18th century, after the land was ceded by the French following Britain's victory in the
Seven Years' War (known in the colonies as the
French and Indian War). Under pressure as well by Native American enemies, the Alabama and Coushatta tribes wanted to avoid the powerful
Choctaw in present-day
Mississippi. They moved into territories of future states, first into
Louisiana and then into
Texas. Alabama and Coushatta towns were divided into "red" and "white" towns. The "white" towns were responsible for keeping the peace and for providing refuge, while the "red" towns were responsible for conducting military campaigns. Though they had "red" and "white" towns, the Alabama-Coushattas thought of themselves as peace-loving people. In 1795, the Coushatta arrived in the Big Thicket area of East Texas. In 1805, nearly 1,000 Alabama came to
Tyler County's Peach Tree Village in East Texas. The two tribes developed a strong friendship as they roamed and hunted their new land together. In the early 19th century, the Texas Congress granted each tribe two strips of land along the
Trinity River. Their land was soon taken over by American settlers, leaving them homeless.
Sam Houston, the governor of Texas, recommended that the state purchase for the Alabamas; although money was appropriated to buy for the Coushattas, the land was never bought. Either through marriage or special permission, many Coushatta went to live on the land given to the Alabama. By 1820, the Alabama and the Coushatta each had three primary towns in the Big Thicket region of eastern Texas. In 1854, the Alabama were given 1,280 acres (5 km2) in
Polk County. The following year, 640 acres (2.6 km2), also in Polk County, were given to the Coushattas. The Coushatta claim was disputed by white settlers in 1859. When the Coushatta lost the land claim, the Alabama invited them to live on their land claim. The federal government approved a large grant in 1928 to purchase additional land near the reservation; it was granted to the "Alabama and Coushatta tribes". Since that time, the reservation has officially been known as "Alabama-Coushatta". Origin stories focus on the interconnectedness of the tribes. One
oral history states that the two tribes sprouted from either side of a
cypress tree. In 1857, Se-ko-pe-chi, one of the oldest Muscogee in
Indian Territory shared another origin story in 1857. He said that the tribes "sprang out of the ground between the Cohawba and Alabama Rivers." The emblem of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe in Texas comes from precontact
Mississippian culture: two intertwined woodpeckers, now symbolic of the connection between the two tribes. ==Cultural practices==