The Bonfouca Museum & Research Center held a grand opening, with Chief Warhorse serving as keynote speaker. The Tchefuncta Nation, Chahta Tribe dedicated the museum. The museum is intended to preserve Indigenous history.
Chief Warhorse personally invited the author to attend the grand opening.
The Tchefuncta Site
The Tchefuncte site is in Fontainebleau State Park near Mandeville, according to 64 Parishes.
The Tchefuncte site's dating has been revised.
Weekend Programs Require Registration
Weekend Programs Require Registration Sunday's offering followed the same registration-required format, with Local History of the Ceremony of the Dead scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. and similarly limited seating.
The announcement frames the weekend's theme as connecting the people to the history to the land.
How the Depot Became a Museum
The museum's presence inside the train depot traces back to earlier this year, when the Slidell City Council authorized Mayor Randy Fandal to provide space in the city-owned depot to the Save The St. Tammany Chahta Tribe for a museum, according to a January report from NOLA.com. The outlet reported the tribe planned to open the museum in a 1,400-square-foot section on the south side of the depot at the same Front Street address.
That report also noted the first-floor space was vacant and not directly needed for public purposes, and that the city would not collect rent under the arrangement. Under the reported agreement, the tribe would staff and operate the museum itself, which was planned to be open to both the public and special events.
