Why is Lake Calcasieu

[Pat Babaz]

Here is a paragraph and a link to the website of a guy who claims to be an atakapa indian desendant. I can't vouch for any of this info, but he answers the question Salty asked:
Prien Lake can be reached off I-210, Lake Street exit. The Atakapa-Ishak Indians called it Yukiti Tul ("Indian Lake"). In 1885 the Smithsonian recorded the Atakapa Language at a village site that sat on Yukiti Tul. A small park at the lake's edge is convenient for the tourist. It has been reported that in 1924 the last Indian dwellers around Yukiti Tul were chased off their ancestral lake by Lake Charles' powers. A third lake is Calcasieu Lake. It lies about 12 miles south of Yukiti Tul on the Calcasieu River's southward flow. It is prominent in the lives of the Atakapa-Ishak Indians in the Lake Charles City Area. The Indians' name for it was Tul Hets. That means "Big Lake." Descendants of the Atakapa-Ishaks living in Lake Charles still tend to call that lake "Big Lake" instead of Calcasieu Lake. Diggings show that Tul Hets' shore line was heavily inhabited by the Atakapa Ishak Indians
Link: http://www.beau.org/~velmer/local/drivingtour.html