Capt. Chad Billiot is a member of the United Houma Nation, a Native American tribe that counts more than 10,000 Americans among its members, according to the most-recent census.
The Houma tribe is thought by historians to have been part of the Choctaw association of tribes, and as such were Muskogean speakers.
The tribe apparently split at some point in history, establishing separate communities in the lower Lafourche-Terrebonne region and the Felicianas. French explorers first encountered tribal members at the site of present-day Angola.
The tribe’s war emblem was a red crawfish, and it’s still used in the United Houma Nation flag today.
R.J. Molinere Jr. and Jay Paul Molinere, stars of the History Channel hit series Swamp People, are also members of the Houma Nation.