The
Avoyel or
Avoyelles was a small
Natchez-speaking tribe who inhabited land near the mouth of the
Red River at its confluence with the
Atchafalaya River, in the area of present-day
Marksville, Louisiana. The indigenous name for this tribe is
Tamoucougoula. The word Avoyel is of French derivation and means either "Flint People" or "the people of the rocks."