Of Louisiana’s 64 parishes, several bear American Indian tribal names-Avoyelles, Caddo, Calcasieu, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Plaquemine, Tangipahoa and Tensas. Others are named for Christian saints–St. Bernard, St. James, St. John the Baptist and St. Charles. But only one–St. Tammany–is named for an Amerindian saint.

Previous to the acquisition of the Florida Parishes by the United States, the area had at various times belonged to France, Spain and England, and was briefly the independent republic of West Florida. In 1811 the region was added to the territory acquired through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Governor William C.C. Claiborne named the area north of Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas after a well-respected and noble first American of the eastern Lenni-Lenape tribe, Chief Tamanend, in hopes that the Indians inhabiting the area would remain at peace with the new government.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Tamanend was so admired by East Coast American colonists for his personal integrity, honesty and his virtues as a sachem, that he was known as “Saint” Tamanend.

Treaty documents signed by Tamanend in 1683 with Pennsylvania founder William Penn guaranteed ideals of freedom, peace, fair treatment, tolerance and equality for all inhabitants. This was a bold agreement and an exception to the European policy of extermination, expulsion and enslavement of the American Indians, which claimed that “savages” had no more right to the lands than did the wild beasts of the forest.

Tamanend became a legend in the memory of both Indians and colonial Americans. He was respected for his ethics and the integrity of his word as the embodiment of honest virtue and a grand symbol of individual freedom, liberty, justice and equality. Much of the content of our national documents, such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, were based upon principles practiced by Amerindian nations and exemplified by Tamanend.

Tributes to Tamanend

One hundred years later, Saint Tamanend was still so highly regarded that several organizations incorporated his name. Tamanend became the patron saint of the American Revolution, and patriots gave the name St. Tamany to a festival in his honor celebrating freedom for the common man. The celebration took place annually on May 1 and featured dancing, smoking the calumet (sacred peace and amity ceremony), and orations in support of responsible government, as well as a celebration of freedom.

American author James Fenimore Cooper made the legendary Tamanend a character in one of his novels. Tamanend was also the hero in “Tamany,” one of the first American operas. Later, a New York political organization adopted the name Tamany Hall.

A statue of Tamanend entitled “Indian Trader” was created in 1790 by the internationally renowned American sculptor, William Rush. The majestic and inspirational work once graced the bow of the “William Penn,” one of America’s best-known trading merchant ships. The statue disappeared in 1803, but was discovered in a San Francisco auction house in 1985 and is now in private hands.

Another American sculptor, William Luke, also executed a bust of Tamanend, and in 1820 it was installed as a figurehead on the 74-gun USS “Delaware.” During the Civil War, the ship was burned and scuttled by the Confederates in the Norfolk Naval Yard, where it remained underwater for seven years. The sculpture then survived fifty-four years of exposure to the ravages of climate in Annapolis, Maryland. It is now restored and on display in the Visitor’s Center of the U.S. Naval Academy Museum. Plans are underway for St. Tammany Parish to obtain the statue of Tamanend for exhibit at the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum in Madisonville.

Through the efforts of the Lacombe Heritage Center, the U.S. Congress recently declared May 1 as a national day of recognition in honor of Tamanend. In addition, St. Tammany Parish has declared the last week in April as St. Tammany Heritage Exposition Week, with events planned to celebrate Tamanend’s legacy.

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