The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana was officially recognized by the Federal government in 1973 and marked a major turning point in tribal history in 1985 with the election bypopular vote of the first Coushatta tribal government. The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana owns roughly 6,000 acres of land, which is used for Coushatta-constructed tribal housing, rice and crawfish farming and development of a new cattle-raising program. In addition the Tribe owns and operates Coushatta Casino Resort, which employs more than 2,700 area residents. The Tribe has a long history of successful economic development initiatives. In 1965 Coushatta Tribe members organized Coushatta Indians of Allen Parish, Inc. and established a local trading post to sell Coushatta pine needle baskets. In 2008, the Coushatta Tribal Council established an Economic Advisory Board, made up of Tribe members, to advise the Tribal Council on economic diversification efforts and ensure a broad spectrum of Tribe member opinions would be heard. Coushatta Global Enterprises LLC was formed in 2011 to become the exclusive importer of the Aya Natural products, and the new company provides branded sale of the products through a specially designed kiosk in the Coushatta Casino Resort Gift Shop, through an e-commerce website and through sales and distribution relationships with other Tribes around the country.