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On Tuesday, April 9, 2024, the Terrebonne Parish School Board approved and accepted the bid from the United Houma Nation to purchase the Daigleville School Building located at 8542 Main Street in Houma. The United Houma Nation has been actively working to purchase this building for several years.
“The Committee recommends that the Board approve and accept the highest bid received, meeting all specifications, for the sale of property located at 8542 Main Street, Houma LA (Daigleville School) from United Houma Nation, 400 Monarch Drive, Houma, LA 70364, in the amount of $82,560.68, authorize the Board attorney to complete the Act of Cash Sale; and further, authorize the Board President to sign all necessary documents pertaining thereto,” reads the statement from the Terrebonne Parish School Board meeting agenda.
“I am really excited that the United Houma Nation is going to get this building, and I want to encourage them to utilize it,” said Mr. Matthew Ford on the Terrebonne Parish School Board. “Take it, put it to use, and do something to enrich that community– I am excited to visit there one day, and I would love to see this building continue to be of use in our area.”
Superintendent Bubba Orgeron thanked members of the United Houma Nation for being in attendance at the meeting, and echoed the excitement that they would be acquiring the building.
“In 1962, the first five Houma Indians were allowed to graduate high school in Terrebonne Parish at the Daigleville School,” said Mike Billiot, UHN General Counsel and Urban Planner. “So this purchase today is so important.” Billiot acknowledged Mr. Roy Parfait from the audience, one of the first five graduates at the Daigleville School, who is a proud U.S. Veteran and Terrebonne Parish resident.
The original press release from the United Houma Nation, published on March 5, 2024, expands on the history of the school. “Daigleville School, located at 8542 East Main Street in Houma, was once an all-Indian high school. The first Houma Indians to graduate from high school in Terrebonne Parish graduated from Daigleville School 140 years after the local school board had been incorporated. Due to its historic significance the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.”
The tribe’s restoration of the School is still in the planning stages but will likely include the use of historic tax credits to support the first Museum of the Houma Indians, according to UHN General Counsel and Urban Planner Michael Billiot.
“The United Houma Nation is proud to be acquiring this unique piece of local native history that means so much to our tribal citizens,” said UHN Principal Chief Lora Ann Chaisson early this March. “We would like to thank our supporters who made this possible as well as the members of the Terrebonne Parish School Board for their continued support,” Chaisson said.
ABOUT THE UNITED HOUMA NATION
The United Houma Nation (UHN) is the largest Tribe in the State of Louisiana, with the majority of our 19,000 tribal citizens residing along the coastal bayous of Southeast Louisiana. The UHN’s six-parish service area encompasses coastal Terrebonne, Lafourche, Jefferson, St. Mary, St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes. Our mission is to preserve our tribal heritage and to educate the community about our history. For more information on the United Houma Nation, visit www.unitedhoumanation.org.
