Butte Tribe of Bayou Bourbeaux celebrated the 107th anniversary of its historical church, Christian Harmony Baptist Church, in the Pace Community in Natchitoches Parish on Sunday, September 23rd. Pastor David Matlock graciously welcomed all those who attended. Matlock has served his church for 17 years. Guest speaker for this year’s celebration was Brother Ricky Vines from Winn Parish Numerous Butte Tribe members joined the Homecoming celebration. Those attending enjoyed a potluck lunch following the services.
Historically, at the end of the 19th century, Joseph Desadier Jr., the third Butte Tribe chief, was known by his family as Chief Hawkeye. He was a staunch Catholic, as was most of the tribe’s families.
Things began to change in the Catholic Church at the turn of the 20th century. In the surrounding communities of Bayou Bourbeaux, European settlers had been homesteading Native American land for nearly 100 years. Their influence on the Catholic Church began a segregation of races within the church. People of color were no longer allowed to sit on the first floor with whites. The church delegated people of color to the upper choir loft areas. The school systems repeated these same segregation practices. The white school was located in Campti, the black school in the Black Lake community, and the Native American school was in the Pace Community on Bayou Bourbeaux. The indigenous people of the area were either pushed off their land, swindled of ownership for pennies on the dollar, delinquent taxed property, or lawsuits.
The next generation of the tribe’s family was led by the fourth Butte Tribe chief, Adolph Felix Desadier, Chief Squarehead, and his wife, Victoria “Fee” Flores. For the Desadier family, the story was no different. They had always been spiritual people who believed in the Christian faith. But, their trust in the Catholic Church, like in the government, was lost.
One day, Adolph, Fee, and their son, Clarence, were visited by Joe Martin, a protestant preacher. He dropped by to ask permission to build a brush arbor church on the Desadier land. The Desadiers were impressed by the idea of worshipping God outside the segregation of the Catholic Church. Permission was given. That was the beginning of the Christian Harmony Baptist Church.
In 1916, a large wood-framed building was built on that very spot. Fee Desadier donated the land to the church in 1923. The founding church leadership comprised Pastor Joe Martin and board members Clarence Desadier, Albert Waters, Thomas Thompson, Louie Chelette, and Elmer Lonadier. Three additional board members, Adolph Desadier, Arthur Brown, and Tommie Lonadier, were added shortly after. The church members recorded twenty-two charter members. Note: All board members, including the pastor, and church members were of the Butte Tribe Native American bloodlines.
In 1952, the construction of a new church auditorium and four Sunday school rooms began. The building was built of acme blocks with a single roof and steeple. The following year, church members signed the Articles of Incorporation, establishing a legal corporation named “Christian Harmony Baptist Church.” In 1955, Butte Tribe’s Chief Parrian, Clarence Desadier, and his wife, Louella Waters Desadier, donated another plot of land to the church.
Throughout the years, the church has grown in membership and size. Descendants of the founding families of Desadiers, Waters, Thompsons, and Lonadiers fill the pews each Sunday morning. Chief Rodger Collum is a proud, lifetime member of the church.
Go to ButteTribe.org to learn more about the Butte Tribe of Bayou Bourbeaux.