A memorial service honoring the life of Ernest Sickey, former chairman of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana and prominent Indian-affairs advocate, will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 27 at Trinity Baptist Church, 1800 Country Club Road, in Lake Charles.

Doors will open at 9 a.m.

Governor John Bel Edwards, Dr. Denise E. Bates, dean of University College and profession of History at Tufts University and Rev. Don Barrett of Kinder Bible Church will be the speakers.

Sickey died May 17 at the age of 80.

Sickey served as chairman of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana from 1973 to 1985 and was a trailblazer in the evolution of Indian affairs in the southeastern United States.

He held leadership roles for the Coushatta Tribe for nearly three decades. He led his own community from legal obscurity to becoming the first tribe to be recognized by the state in 1972, one of the only tribes in the nation to be recognized by the Department of Interior through administrative channels in 1973.

He also laid the foundation for multiple economic ventures that have since placed the Coushatta Tribe among the state’s top private employers.

In addition to his efforts in advocating for his own community, Sickey lobbied the Louisiana legislature to create an Office of Indian Affairs, which he served as the first executive director. He was also among the founders of the Louisiana Inter-Tribal Council and Institute for the Indiana Development.

A key player in the broader regional movement in promoting indigenous rights, Sickey was among the original members of the United Southern and Eastern Tribes. He testified before Congress, led efforts in establishing legal precedents around land claims and tribal jurisdiction and spoke before United Nations panels.