By considering the emergence of Houma French in its political, social, and cultural context and by avoiding mono-causal scenarios for its development, this paper demonstrates how indigenous language patterns and indigenous agency can be traced, detected and validated in Houma French. An acknowledgement of indigenous agency not only helps to deepen our understanding of both the historical and linguistic factors that led to the emergence of languages like Houma French in the colonial era, but helps as well to alert us to new possibilities for the survival of these languages in the future.