Description
The Orcoquiza were an Indigenous tribe who lived on Galveston Bay and the lower Trinity and Sabine rivers in Texas, primarily in the present-day Greater Houston area. They were a band of the Atakapa Indians, closely related to the Atakapa of Lake Charles, Louisiana. In 1748–49 some of them entered San Ildefonso Mission on the San Gabriel River near the site of present Rockdale, but they left this area when the mission was abandoned in 1755. Nuestra Señora de la Luz Mission was built near the mouth of the Trinity River for the Akokisas and the Bidais in 1756–57 and lasted until 1772.
Language
Atakapan-speaking
Culture
Orcoquiza people lived in settled villages and built airy structures to cope with their warm climate. Their homes were beehive-shaped and thatched with grass or palmetto leaves. A hearth would be located in the center of the floor with a smokehole in the ceiling. During summer months, an Orcoquiza would sleep in a Chickee, a raised platform with a thatched roof and open sides. Beds were made of straw, covered with animal skins. Both men and women decorated their bodies and faces with tattoos. The Orcoquiza, like the Atakapa, practiced cannibalism, which may have been connected to their religious beliefs.