Louisiana Creole people

Louisiana Creoles(French:Créoles de la Louisiane,Louisiana Creole:Moun Kréyòl la Lwizyàn,Spanish:Criollos de Luisiana) are aLouisiana Frenchethnic group descended from the inhabitants of colonialLouisianabefore it became a part of theUnited Statesduring the periods ofFrenchandSpanishrule. They share cultural ties such as the traditional use of theFrench,Spanish, andCreolelanguagesand predominant practice ofCatholicism.
The termCréolewas originally used byFrench Creolesto distinguish people born in Louisiana from those born elsewhere, thus drawing a distinction between Old-World Europeans and Africans from their Creole descendants born in the New World.The word is not a racial label—people of European, African, or mixed ancestry can and have identified as Louisiana Creoles since the 18th century. After theSale of Louisiana, the term "Creole" took on a more political meaning and identity, especially for those people of Latinate culture. The Catholic Latin-Creole culture in Louisiana contrasted greatly to theAnglo-Protestant cultureofYankee Americans.
Although the termsCajunsandCreoletoday are often portrayed as separate identities, Cajuns have historically been known as Creoles.Presently, some Louisianians may identify exclusively as either Cajun or Creole, while others embrace both identities.
Creoles of French descent, including those ofQuébécoisorAcadianlineage, have historically comprised the majority of white-identified Creoles in Louisiana. In the early 19th century amid theHaitian Revolution, refugees of both whites and free people of color originally fromSaint-Dominguearrived in New Orleans with their slaves having been deported from Cuba, doubled the city's population and helped strengthen its Francophone culture.Later 19th-century immigrants to Louisiana, such asIrish,Germans, andItalians, also married into the Creole group. Most of these immigrants were Catholic.
New Orleans, in particular, has always retained a significant historical population ofCreoles of color, a group mostly consisting of free persons of multiracialEuropean,African, and Native American descent. As Creoles of color had received superior rights and education with Spain & France than their Black American counterparts, many of the United States' earliest writers, poets, and civil activists (e.g.,Victor Séjour,Rodolphe DesdunesandHomère Plessy) were Louisiana Creoles. Today, many of these Creoles of color have assimilated into (and contributed to)Black American culture, while some have retained their distinct identity as a subset within the broaderAfrican Americanethnic group.
In the twentieth century, thegens de couleur libresin Louisiana became increasingly associated with the termCreole, in part because Anglo-Americans struggled with the idea of an ethno-cultural identity not founded in race. One historian has described this period as the "Americanization of Creoles", including an acceptance of the American binary racial system that divided Creoles between white and black. (SeeCreoles of colorfor a detailed analysis of this event.) Concurrently, the number of white-identified Creoles has dwindled, with many adopting theCajunlabel instead.
While the sophisticated Creole society of New Orleans has historically received much attention, theCane Riverarea in northwest Louisiana—populated chiefly by Creoles of color—also developed its own strong Creole culture.
Today, most Creoles are found in theGreater New Orleansregion or inAcadiana. Louisiana is known as theCreole State.
Through both the French and Spanish (late 18th century) regimes, parochial and colonial governments used the term Creole for ethnic French and Spanish people born in theNew World. Parisian French was the predominant language among colonists there.
Their dialect evolved to contain local phrases and slang terms. French Creoles spoke what became known asLouisiana French. It was spoken by ethnic religious French and Spanish and the French and Romantics of Creole descent.
An estimated 7,000 European immigrants settled in Louisiana in the 18th century, one percent of the French population present at the founding of the United States. There is record of the signing of constitutional agreements in prominent French Creole Plantation Homes. Southern Louisiana attracted considerably more Frenchmen due to the presence of the Catholic Church. Most other regions were reached by Protestant missionaries instead, which may have reached other parts, including the islands.
French Creoles intermarried withAlgonquin peoplewith whom they shared French language, culture, and heritage as a tribal community. In addition, Canadian records, especially those of the Roman Catholic Church, record marriages as early as the 1520s.
There are historical links to the same groups traveling along the length of the Mississippi River to what became parts of Texas. At one pointJefferson Parishstarted in or aroundOrange County, Texas, and reach all the way to New Orleans' southernmost regions next to Barataria Island. This was also possibly the original name of Galveston.
After enduring a journey of over two months across the Atlantic Ocean, the colonists faced challenges upon reaching the Louisiana frontier. Living conditions were difficult: they had to face an often hostile environment, including a hot and humid climate and tropical diseases. Many died during the crossing or soon after arrival.
Hurricanes, which were unknown in France, occasionally struck the coast. TheMississippi Deltasuffered from periodicyellow feverepidemics. Additionally, Europeans introduced diseases likemalariaandcholera, which flourished due to mosquitoes and poor sanitation. These challenging conditions hindered the colonization efforts. Furthermore, French settlements and forts could not always provide adequate protection from enemy assaults. Isolated colonists were also at risk from attacks by indigenous peoples.
TheNatchezmassacred 250 colonists in Lower Louisiana in response to their encroachment on Natchez lands. Natchez warriors tookFort Rosalie(nowNatchez, Mississippi) by surprise, killing many settlers. During the next two years, the French attacked the Natchez in return, causing them to flee or, when captured, bedeportedas slaves toSaint-Domingue(laterHaiti).
In the colonial period, men tended to marry after becoming financially established.French settlers often married Native Americanand African women, the latter as slaves were imported. Intermarriage created a largemultiracial Creole population.
Aside from French government representatives and soldiers, colonists included mostly young men. Some labored asengagés(indentured servants); they were required to remain in Louisiana for a contracted length of service, to pay back the cost of passage and board.Engagésin Louisiana generally worked for seven years, while their masters provided them housing, food, and clothing.
Starting in 1698, French merchants were required to transport men to the colonies in proportion to the ships' cargo. Some were bound by three-year indenture contracts.UnderJohn Lawand theCompagnie du Mississippi, efforts to increase the use ofengagésin the colony were made, notably including German settlers whose contracts became defunct when the company went bankrupt in 1731.
During this time, in order to increase the colonial population, the government recruited young Frenchwomen,filles à la cassette(in English,casket girls, referring to the casket or case of belongings they brought with them), to travel to the colony and marry colonial soldiers. The king financed dowries for each girl. This practice was similar to events in 17th-century Quebec when about 800filles du roi(daughters of the king) were recruited to immigrate toNew Franceunder the financial sponsorship ofLouis XIV.
French authorities also deported some female criminals to the colony.  For example, in 1721, the shipLa Baleinebrought close to 90 women of childbearing age from the prison ofLa Salpêtrièrein Paris to Louisiana. Most found husbands among the male residents. These women, known asThe Baleine Bridesmany of whom were likely felons or prostitutes,were suspected of having sexually transmitted diseases.Such events inspiredManon Lescaut(1731), a novel written by theAbbé Prévost, which was later adapted as an opera.
Historian Joan Martin claimed that little documentation describes casket girls (considered among the ancestors of French Creoles) who were transported to Louisiana. (TheUrsulineorder of nuns, who were said to chaperone the girls until they married, denied the casket girl myth.) The system ofplaçagethat continued into the 19th century resulted in many young white men having women of color as partners and mothers to their children, often before or even after their marriages to white women.French Louisiana also included communities of Swiss and German settlers; however, royal authorities did not refer to "Louisianans" but described the colonial population as "French" citizens.
New France wished to make Native Americans subjects of the king and good Christians, but the distance from Metropolitan France and the sparseness of French settlement intervened. In officialrhetoric, the Native Americans were regarded as subjects of theViceroyalty of New France, but in reality, they were largely autonomous due to their numerical superiority. The colonial authorities (governors, officers) did not have the human resources to establish French law and customs, and instead often compromised with the locals.
Indian tribes offered essential support for the French: they ensured the survival of New France's colonists, participated with them in the fur trade, and acted as expedition guides.
The French/Indian alliance provided mutual protection from hostilenon-allied tribesand incursions on French and Indian land from enemyEuropean powers. The alliance proved invaluable during the laterFrench and Indian Waragainst theNew England coloniesin 1753.
The French and Indians influenced each other in many areas. The French settlers learned the languages of the natives, such asMobilian Jargon, which was aMuscogee-based pidgin or trade language closely connected to western Muscogean languages likeChoctawandChickasaw. This language served as alingua francaamong the French and Indian tribes in the region.The Indians bought European goods (fabric, alcohol, firearms, etc.), learned French, and sometimes adopted their religion.
Thecoureurs des boisand soldiers borrowed canoes and moccasins. Many ate native food, such as wild rice, bears, and dogs. The colonists were often dependent on Native Americans for food.Creole cuisineis the heir of these mutual influences: thus,sagamité, for example, is a mix of corn pulp, bear fat, and bacon. Today "jambalaya" refers to a number of different of recipes calling for spicy meat and rice. Sometimesmedicine mensucceeded in curing colonists thanks to traditional remedies, such as the application of fir tree gum on wounds andRoyal Fernon rattlesnake bites.
Many French colonists both admired and feared the indigenous peoples' military power. At the same time, some French governors looked down on their culture and sought to keep a clear divide between the white settlers and Indians.In 1735, interracial marriages were prohibited in Louisiana without the authorities' approval. However, by the 1750s in New France, the Native Americans came under the myth of theNoble Savage, holding that Indians were spiritually pure and played an important role in the New World's natural purity. Indian women were consistently considered to be good wives to foster trade and help create offspring. Their intermarriage created a largemétis(mixed French Indian) population.
In spite of disagreements (some Indians killed farmers' pigs, which devastated corn fields) and sometimes violent confrontations (Fox Wars, Natchez uprisings, andChickasaw Wars), the relationship with Native Americans was relatively good in Louisiana. French imperialism was expressed through wars and the enslavement of some Native Americans. But most of the time, the relationship was based on dialogue and negotiation.
Labor shortages were the most pressing issue in Louisiana. In 1717,John Law, the French Comptroller General of Finances, decided to import African slaves there. His objective was to develop theplantation economyof Lower Louisiana. TheRoyal Indies Companyheld a monopoly over theslave tradein the area. The colonists turned tosub-Saharan African slaves. The biggest year was 1716, in which several trading ships appeared with slaves in a one-year span.
During theFrench periodabout two-thirds of the enslaved Africans brought to Louisiana came from the area that is nowSenegambia(which are the modern states ofSenegal,Gambia,Mali,  andGuinea,Guinea BissauandMauritania) . This original population creolized, mixing their African cultures with elements of the French and Spanish colonial society and quickly establishing a Creole culture that influenced every aspect of the new colony.
Most enslaved Africans imported to Louisiana were from modern dayAngola,Congo,Mali, andSenegal. The highest number were ofBakongoandMbundudescent fromAngola,representing 35.4% of all people with African heritage in Louisiana.They were followed by theMandinka peopleat 10.9% and Mina (believed to represent theEweandAkan peoplesofGhana) at 7.4%.Other ethnic groups imported during this period included members of theBambara,Wolof,Igbo people,Chamba people,Bamileke,Tikar, andNago people, aYorubasubgroup.
While about two-thirds of enslaved Africans brought to Louisiana duringFrench periodwere from theSenegambianregion, the majority of enslaved Africans brought to Louisiana were from present-day Angola.The termCongobecame synonymous with "African" in Louisiana because many enslaved Africans came from theCongo Basin.Renowned for their work as agriculturalists, theBakongoandMbundupeoples of theKingdom of Kongo,Kingdom of Ndongo, and theKingdom of Loangowere preferred by slave traders for theirslash-and-burn technique,miningandironworkexpertise, mastery of fishing, and theirbushcraft skills.
Elements of Kongo and Mbundu culture survive in Louisiana.Congo Square, a historic place where the enslaved Africans would set up a market, sing, worship, dance, and play music, it was named after the Kongo people.it’s the birthplace ofjazz music. Today,HoodooandLouisiana Voodoopractitioners still gather at the Square for rituals and to honor their ancestors.
The AfricanBambara Empirewas known forcapturing slavesby raiding neighboring regions and forcibly assimilating young men into slave soldiers, known asTon. The empire relied on captives to replenish and increase its numbers.
By 1719, the French began to import Africans slaves into Louisiana fromSenegal. Most of the people living in the Senegambia area, with the exception of the Bambara, were converted toIslamunder theMaliand thenSonghai Empire. Since Islamic law prohibited Muslim enslavement of other Muslims, the Bambara who resisted religious conversion were highly represented among those sold into slavery.Gwendolyn Halldocuments that Africans of Bambara origins predominated among those enslaved in French Louisiana during the American colonial period. The commonMande culturethat the Bambara people brought to French Louisiana would later influence the development of theLouisiana Creole culture.
Slave traders sometimes identified their slaves asBambarain hopes of securing a higher price, as Bambara slaves were stereotyped as more passive.
The French slavery law,Code Noir,required that slaves receive baptism and Christian education, although many continued to practiceanimismand often combined the two faiths.
TheCode Noirconferredaffranchis(ex-slaves) full citizenship and complete civil equality with other French subjects.
Louisiana slave society generated its own Afro-Creole culture that affected religious beliefs andLouisiana Creole.The slaves brought with them their cultural practices, languages, and religious beliefs rooted in spirit andancestor worship, as well as Catholic Christianity—all of which were key elements ofLouisiana Voodoo.In the early 1800s, many Creoles from Saint-Domingue also settled in Louisiana, both free people of color and slaves, following theHaitian RevolutiononSaint-Domingue, contributing to the state's Voodoo tradition.
In the final stages of theFrench and Indian Warwith the British colonies,New FrancecededLouisianato Spain in the secretTreaty of Fontainebleau (1762). The Spanish were reluctant to occupy the colony, however, and did not do so until 1769. That year, Spain abolished Native American slavery. In addition, Spanish liberalmanumissionpolicies contributed to the population growth of Creoles of color, particularly in New Orleans. Nearly all of the surviving 18th-century architecture of the Vieux Carré (French Quarter) dates from the Spanish period (the Ursuline Convent is an exception). These buildings were designed by French architects, as no Spanish architects had come to Louisiana.
Spanish Louisiana's Creole descendants, who includedaffranchis(ex-slaves), free-born blacks, and mixed-race people, known asCreoles of color(gens de couleur libres), were influenced by French Catholic culture. By the end of the 18th century, many Creoles of color were educated and worked in artisanal or skilled trades; many were property owners. Many Creoles of color were free-born, and their descendants enjoyed many of the same privileges as whites while under Spanish rule, including property ownership, formal education, and service in the militia. Indeed, Creoles of color had been members of the militia for decades under both French and Spanish control. For example, around 80 Creoles of color were recruited into the militia that participated in theBattle of Baton Rougein 1779.
Throughout the Spanish period, most Creoles continued to speak French and remained connected to French colonial culture.However, the sizeableSpanish Creole communitiesofSaint Bernard ParishandGalveztownspoke Spanish. The Malagueños ofNew Iberiaspoke Spanish as well. (Since the mid-20th century, the number of Spanish-speaking Creoles declined in favor of English speakers. Even today, however, theIsleñosofSt. Bernard Parishmaintained cultural traditions from theCanary Islands.)
In 1765, during Spanish rule, several thousandAcadiansfrom the French colony ofAcadia(nowNova Scotia, New Brunswick, andPrince Edward Island) made their way to Louisiana after they wereexpelledfrom Acadia by the British government after the French and Indian War. They settled chiefly in the southwestern Louisiana region now calledAcadiana. The governorLuis de Unzaga y Amézaga,eager to gain more settlers, welcomed the Acadians, who became the ancestors of Louisiana'sCajuns.
Spanish Canary Islanders, calledIsleños, emigrated from theCanary Islandsto Louisiana 1778 and 1783. In 1800, France'sNapoleon Bonapartereacquired Louisiana from Spain in theTreaty of San Ildefonso, an arrangement kept secret for two years.
Spain ceded Louisiana back to France in 1800 through theThird Treaty of San Ildefonso, although it remained under nominal Spanish control until 1803. Weeks after reasserting control over the territory,Napoleonsold Louisianato the United States in the wake of the defeat of his forces inSaint-Domingue. Napoleon had been trying to regain control ofSaint-Dominguefollowing its rebellion and subsequentHaitian Revolution. After the sale, many Anglo-Americans migrated to Louisiana. Later European immigrants included Irish, Germans, and Italians.
In the early 19th century, floods of Creole refugees fledSaint-Domingueand poured intoNew Orleanswith more than half of the refugee population of Saint-Domingue settling in Louisiana. Thousands of refugees, bothwhiteandCreole of color, arrived in New Orleans, sometimes bringingslaveswith them. While GovernorClaiborneand other Anglo-American officials wanted to keep out additionalfree blackmen, Louisiana Creoles wanted to increase the French-speaking Creole population. As more refugees entered, those who had first gone to Cuba also arrived.Officials in Cuba deported many of these refugees in retaliation forBonapartistschemes in Spain.
In the summer of 1809, a fleet of ships from the Spanish colony of Cuba landed in New Orleans with more than 9,000 refugees from Saint-Domingue aboard, having been expelled by the island's governor,Marqués de Someruelos.These immigrants nearly doubled the population of New Orleans, and renewed its Francophone character.Altogether, more than 10,000 refugees, consisting of whites, free people of color, and slaves in almost equal numbers, fled to the city in a period of about six months, 90 percent of them remaining in the city.The city's population was now 63 percent black.Historians generally have written that the 1809 deportation from Cuba of former residents of Saint-Domingue brought 2,731 whites, 3,102 Creoles of color and 3,226 slaves, although a decree in 1793 had abolished slavery in Saint-Domingue, and in 1794 abolition had been ratified by the French National Convention.
The Saint-Domingue Creole specialized population raised Louisiana's level of culture and industry, and was one of the reasons why Louisiana was able to gain statehood so quickly. A quote from a Louisiana Creole who remarked on the rapid development of his homeland:
American authorities initially forbade access of slaves intoLouisiana. However, some concessions were made to fleeing refugees, especially after the1804 Haiti Massacre. In 1804,Jean-Jacques Dessalinesdecreed that all Creoles of color and freed slaves deemed traitors to theHaitian Empireshould be put to death.He ordered that allwhitesin Haiti should also be exterminated, with few exceptions.The refugees had many slaves who came willingly as they feared the bloodshed, murder, pillaging, lawlessness, and economic collapse in the Haiti.Here is a letter from a fleeing refugee about his petition for asylum to the American government on behalf of his servants in Saint-Domingue:
When the refugees arrived with slaves, they often followed the Creole custom,liberté des savanes(savannah liberty), where the owner allowed their slaves to be free to find work at their own convenience in exchange for a flat weekly or monthly rate. They often became domestics, cooks, wigmakers, and coachmen.
Although they remained concentrated inNew Orleans, about 10% of them scattered into surrounding parishes. There, manual labor for agriculture was in greatest demand. The scarcity of slaves made Creole planters turn topetits habitants(Creolepeasants), andengagésto supply manual labor; they complimented paid labor with slave labor. On many plantations,free people of colorandwhitestoiled side-by-side with slaves. This multi-class state of affairs led many to support theabolition of slavery.
The large, rich families of Saint-Domingue were almost nowhere to be found inLouisiana. Indeed, the majority of Saint-Domingue refugees who made a mark on 19th century Louisiana and Louisiana Creole culture came from the lower classes of Saint-Domingue, such asLouis Moreau Gottschalk's andRodolphe Desdunes' family.
Anglo-Americanswere hostile towards the refugees from Saint-Domingue, identifying them with theSaint-Domingue's Rebellion. Some refugees did attempt to perpetuate French Revolutionary ideas on their arrival into Louisiana.
American fears were eventually confirmed; in 1805, Grandjean, a white Creole from Saint-Domingue, and his compatriot accomplices attempted to incite a slave rebellion aimed at overthrowing the American government in Louisiana. The plan was foiled by a New OrleanianCreole of colorwho revealed the plot to American authorities. The Americans sentenced Grandjean and his accomplices to work on a chain-gang for the rest of their lives.
The transfer of the French colony to the United States and the arrival of Anglo Americans from New England and the South created a cultural confrontation. Some Americans were reportedly shocked by aspects of the territory's culture: the predominance of the French language and Roman Catholicism, the class of freeCreoles of colorand the slaves' African traditions. They pressured the United States' first governor of theLouisiana Territory,W.C.C. Claiborne, to change it.
Anglo-Americans classified society into white and black people (the latter associated strongly with slaves). Since the late 17th century, children in British colonies took the status of their mothers at birth; therefore, children of enslaved mothers were born into slavery, regardless of their father's race or status; many mixed-race slaves were born in the American South.
In the South,free Black peopleoften did not hold the same rights and freedoms as CatholicCreoles of colorduring French and Spanish rule, including holding office. 353 Creoles of color were recruited into the militia that fought in theBattle of New Orleansin 1812.Some descendants of Creole of color veterans, such asCaesar Antoine, fought in theAmerican Civil War.
When Claiborne made English the territory's official language, the French Creoles of New Orleans were outraged, and reportedly protested in the streets. They rejected the Americans' effort to transform them. Upper-class French Creoles thought that many of the arriving Americans were uncouth, especially the Kentucky boatmen (Kaintucks) who regularly visited, steering flatboats down theMississippi Riverfilled with goods for market.
Realizing that he needed local support, Claiborne restored French as an official language. In government, public forums, and in theCatholic Church, French continued to be used. Most importantly,Louisiana Frenchand Louisiana Creole remained the languages of the majority of the population, leaving English and Spanish behind.
Louisiana's development and growth was rapid after its admission as a state.
By 1850, one-third of all Creoles of color owned over $100,000 worth of property.Creoles of color became wealthy businessmen, entrepreneurs, clothiers, real estate developers, doctors, and other respected professions; they owned estates and properties.Aristocratic Creoles of color became wealthy, such as Aristide Mary who owned more than $1,500,000 of property.
Nearly all boys of wealthy Creole families were sent to France, where they received an excellent classical education.
As a French, and later Spanish colony, Louisiana maintained a society similar to other Latin American and Caribbean countries, split into three tiers:aristocracy,bourgeoisie, andpeasantry. The blending of cultures and races created a society unlike any other in America.
During theAge of Discovery, native-born colonists were referred to asCreolesto distinguish them from the new arrivals of France, Spain, and Africa.Some Native Americans, such as theChoctaw people, also intermarried with Creoles.
Like "Cajun," the term "Creole" is a popular name used to describe cultures in the Louisiana area. "Creole" can be roughly defined as "native to a region," but its precise meaning varies according to the geographic area in which it is used. Generally, however, Creoles felt the need to distinguish themselves from the influx of American and European immigrants coming into the area after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. "Creole" is still used to describe the heritage and customs of the various people who settled Louisiana during the early French colonial times. In addition to the French Canadians, the amalgamated Creole culture in southern Louisiana includes influences from theChitimacha,Houmaand other native tribes, Central and West Africans, Spanish-speakingIsleños(Canary Islanders) and French-speakingGens de couleurfrom the Caribbean.
There was also a sizable German Creole group of full German descent, which centered on the parishes of St. Charles and St. John the Baptist. (It is for these settlers that theCôte des Allemands, "The German Coast," is named.) Over time, many of these groups assimilated into the dominant francophone Creole culture, often adopting the French language and customs.
As a group, Creoles of color rapidly acquired education, skills (many in New Orleans worked as craftsmen and artisans), businesses and property. They were overwhelmingly Catholic, spokeColonial French(although some also spokeLouisiana Creole), and maintained French social customs, modified by other parts of their ancestry and Louisiana culture. The Creoles of color oftenmarried among themselvesto maintain their class and social culture.
Under the French and Spanish rulers, Louisiana developed a three-tiered society, similar to that ofSaint-Domingue(Haiti),Cuba, Brazil,Saint Lucia, Martinique,Guadeloupeand other Latin colonies. Thisthree-tiered societyof multi-racial Creoles of European, African and Native American descent included an elite group of large landowners (grands habitants); a prosperous, educated urban group (bourgeoisie); and the far larger class of indentured servants (engagés), African slaves and Creole peasants (petits habitants).
The status of Creoles of color (Gens de Couleur Libres) was one they guarded carefully. TheAmerican Uniontreated Creoles as a unique people due to the Louisiana Purchase Treaty of April 30, 1803. By law, Creoles of Color enjoyed most of the same rights and privileges as whites. They could and often did challenge the law in court and won cases against whites. They were property owners and created schools for their children.
Race did not play as central a role as it does in Anglo-American culture: oftentimes, race was not a concern, but instead, family standing and wealth were key distinguishing factors in New Orleans and beyond.The Creole civil rights activistRodolphe Desdunesexplained the difference between Creoles and Anglo-Americans, concerning the widespread belief inracialismby the latter, as follows:
After the United States acquired the area in the Louisiana Purchase, Creoles resisted American attempts to impose their binary racial culture. In other American states, slavery had been a racialized lens through which people with any African descent were considered lower in status than whites; the American binary lens stood contrary to the distinct tri-partite society of Louisiana, including white, black, and multi-racial people.
In 1863, two years into the American Civil war, the Federal government decreed theemancipation proclamation, promising rights and opportunities for slaves in Southern states. However,Creoles of color, who had long been free before the war, worried about losing their identity and social position, asAnglo-Americansdid not legally recognize Louisiana's three-tiered society. Nevertheless, Creoles of color such asThomy Lafon,Victor Séjourand others, used their position to support the emancipation effort.L'Unionand theNew Orleans Tribune, New Orleans newspapers run by Creoles of color, published work that championed the cause and that advocated for civil rights.One Creole of color, Francis E. Dumas, emancipated his slaves and organized them into a company in the Second Regiment of theFederal Louisiana Native Guards.
Alexander Dimitry, a Creole of New Orleans, was one of the few people of color to take on a leadership role within theConfederate Government.His son,John Bull Smith Dimitry, fought with theConfederate Louisiana Native Guardsto defend the Creole State.
During theU.S. invasionofFrench Louisiana, Federal soldiers came across Creoles of color, a society that they had not encountered while fighting in other Southern states.
After conqueringNew Iberiain the summer of 1863, U.S. Officer John William Deforest of the12th Connecticut Infantry Regimentreported:
The occupation was a social tragedy for Louisiana's Creoles of color; Creoles of color held positions of esteem and respect in French Louisiana, but the invading Federal soldiers soon humiliated and subjected them to racism.
New Iberia's Creole population- men, women, children of all ages, of all classes, including former slaves- were forced to work on Federal projects, digging massive earth fortifications.
A correspondent for theCincinnati Gazettereported:
An Ohio soldier reported: "As you go along the works, you can hear them talking away in their mixed French lingo, the subject being no doubt their degradation."
When Federal forces conqueredVermilionville(Lafayette) in fall of 1863, the Creole citizenry embraced them as liberators. Prior to its conquest, Vermilionville had been underTexanmilitary occupation and conscription, which Creoles opposed; many Creoles claimed to be "French neutrals" during the conflict.
The Texan forces includedTexas Germans,Tejanos, Texas Creoles. The23rd Wisconsin Regiment, aWisconsin Germanunit, reported trading insults in German withTexas Germansduring battle.
AnIowansoldier, speaking about the Creoles of Vermilionville, reported:
During the occupation, Federal soldiers looted and plundered many Creoles. Jean Baptiste Hébert of Vermilionville recalled:
One time, a Federal cavalry regiment massacred Creoles ofSt. Martinville. On a Sunday, citizens left church services and gathered at the town square to bask in the sunshine and chat. At this point, they were accustomed to the Federal soldiers' presence, and were comfortable with them. However, without any warning or provocation, Federal soldiers raised their muskets and fired into the crowd, which was filled with men, women, and children. Frightened Creoles ran in all directions; families became separated, mothers shrieked for their children, and many people were trampled in the stampede.
After only six weeks of Federal occupation, the Texan forces returned and retook Vermilionville, forcing Federal forces to retreat. Creoles of Vermilionville flew the CSA flag from every rooftop, and greeted the Texans as heroes; a band even played the "Texas Rangers" song.
In winter of 1863, the Texans retreated to protectGalvestonandHoustonin Texas, abandoning French Louisiana to Federal forces.
Just like the Texans earlier, Federal forces began conscripting Creoles to fight in the war. Attempting to circumvent conscription, some Creoles formed "jayhawker" raider bands, refusing to fight on either Confederate or Federal sides, and surviving off of the land through raiding. For the final two years of the conflict, violent jayhawker raids plagued French Louisiana, leaving widespread destruction and poverty in their wake.
The most infamous Creole raider band,Bois Mallet, was formed by Ozémé Carrière and his relative Martin Guillory, a prominent Creole of color from St. Landry Parish; Guillory acted as Carrière's chief lieutenant. In 1865 Carrière was killed in battle, leaving Guillory in charge. Guillory later accepted a Federal commission as captain, organizing his raider band into the U.S.Mallet Free Scoutsbefore the end of the war.
At this point, Louisiana was completely devastated, and its inhabitants were left with meager resources and misery. The Federal invasion and occupation of Louisiana negatively impacted Louisiana society, especially for Creoles. Prior to the war, neighbors and friends conversed openly and freely, able to disagree without being disagreeable. Afterwards, an ugly tone of hate, ostracism and hostilities set neighbor against neighbor, relative against relative, white against black, friend against friend. The Federal occupation of Louisiana left societal scars and trauma, many that remain even today.
Following the Union victory in the Civil War, the Louisiana three-tiered society was gradually overrun by more Anglo-Americans, who classified everyone by the South's binary division of "black" and "white". During theReconstruction era, Democrats regained power in the Louisiana state legislature by using paramilitary groups like theWhite Leagueto suppress black voting. The Democrats enforced white supremacy and racial segregation by passingJim Crowlaws and a constitution in 1898that effectivelydisenfranchisedmost black people and Creoles of color through discriminatory application of voter registration and electoral laws.
Some Creoles, such as the ex-Confederate generalPierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard, advocated against racism, and became proponents for black civil rights and suffrage, involving themselves in the creation of theLouisiana Unification Movementthat called for equal rights for black people, denounced discrimination, and opposed segregation. The chant of the Unification movement was "Equal Rights! One Flag! One Country! One People!"
Beauregard approached Lieutenant GovernorCaesar Antoine, who was a Creole Republican, and invited fifty leading white and fifty black New Orleanian families to join for a meeting on June 16, 1873. The fifty white sponsors were leaders of the community in business, legal and journalistic affairs, and the presidents of almost every corporation and bank in the city attended. The black sponsors were the wealthy, cultured Creoles of color, who were well-off and had been free before the war. Beauregard was the chairman of the resolutions committee; he advocated at the meeting:
The Louisiana Unification Movement advocated complete political equality for blacks, an equal division of state offices between the races, and a plan where blacks would become land owners. It denounced discrimination because of color in hiring laborers or in selecting directors of corporations, and called for the abandonment of segregation in public conveyances, public places, railroads, steams, and public schools." Beauregard argued that blacks "already had equality and the whites had to accept that hard fact".
Creoles of color had a unique legacy in regards to race; Creoles had lived in racially integrated neighborhoods for almost two centuries. They valued the colorblind inclusion of New Orleans, and thrived within its historic intracommunity privileges. Creoles of Louisiana fought the rising tide of racism in the 1890s with a distinct outlook and a strong belief in the value of an integrated society.
In 1896,Homère Plessyof New Orleans and other Creole activists came together to challenge the informal practices of racial separation that were plaguing Louisiana, such as theSeparate Car Actpassed by state legislation, which required separate accommodations for blacks and whites on Louisiana railroads.Their efforts resulted in the case ofPlessy v. Ferguson.
TheU.S. Supreme Courtmade a ruling on the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, supporting the legalization of a binary, racially separated society by law; thus theFederal governmentheld that states could implement segregation policies with "separate but equal" accommodations.
While Creoles aspired for "liberté, égalité, et fraternité" (freedom, equality, brotherhood), black and white Americans instead sought segregation and racial separation. Louisiana Creoles found themseleves caught in the middle of a great mass of white and black people fighting against each other.
To fit in the new racial system, especially after the ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson, some Creoles were forced into a position where they had to distance themselves from their black and multiracial cousins; they deliberately erased or destroyed public records, and many "passed over" fully into a white American identity.Increasingly influenced by white American society, some Creoles claimed that the term "Creole" applied to whites only. According toVirginia R. Domínguez:
Sybil Keinsuggests that, because of the white Creoles struggle for redefinition, they were particularly hostile to the exploration by the writerGeorge Washington Cableof the multi-racial Creole society in his stories and novels. She believes that inThe Grandissimes,Cable exposed white Creoles' preoccupation with covering up blood connections with Creoles of color. Kein writes:
In the 1930s, populist GovernorHuey Longsatirized such Creole claims, saying that you could feed all the "pure white" people in New Orleans with a cup of beans and a half a cup of rice, and still have food left over!The effort to impose Anglo-American binary racial classification on Creoles continued, however. In 1938, inSunseri v. Cassagne—the Louisiana Supreme Court proclaimed traceability of African ancestry to be the only requirement for definition of colored. And during her time as Registrar of the Bureau of Vital Statistics for the City of New Orleans (1949–1965),Naomi Draketried to impose these binary racial classifications. She unilaterally changed records to classify mixed-race individuals as black if she found they had any black (or African) ancestry, an application ofhypodescentrules, and did not notify people of her actions.
Among the practices Drake directed was having her workers check obituaries. They were to assess whether the obituary of a person identified as white provided clues that might help show the individual was "really" black, such as having black relatives, services at a traditionally black funeral home, or burial at a traditionally black cemetery—evidence which she would use to ensure the death certificate classified the person as black.Not everyone accepted Drake's actions, and people filed thousands of cases against the office to have racial classifications changed and to protest her withholding legal documents of vital records. This caused much embarrassment and disruption, finally causing the city to fire her in 1965.
In the wake of the "Cajun Renaissance" of the 1960s and 1970s, the (often racialized) Creole identity has traditionally received less attention than its Cajun counterpart. However, the late 2010s have seen a minor but notable resurgence of the Creole identity among linguistic activists of all races,including among white people whose parents or grandparents identify asCajunor simplyFrench.
Contemporary French-language media in Louisiana, such as Télé-Louisiane orLe Bourdon de la Louisiane, often use the termCréolein its original and most inclusive sense (i.e. without reference to race), and some English-language organizations like theHistoric New Orleans Collectionhave published articles questioning the racialized Cajun-Creole dichotomy of the mid-twentieth century.Documentaries such as Nathan Rabalais'Finding Cajunexamine the intersection and impact of Creole culture on what is commonly described asCajun,likewise questioning the validity of recent racialization.
Louisiana Creole cuisineis recognized as a unique style of cooking originating in New Orleans, starting in the early 1700s. It makes use of what is sometimes called theHoly trinity: onions, celery and green peppers. It has developed primarily from various European, African, and Native American historic culinary influences. A distinctly different style of Creole or Cajun cooking exists inAcadiana.
Gumbo(Gombôin Louisiana Creole,Gomboin Louisiana French) is a traditional Creole dish from New Orleans with French, Spanish, Native American, African, German, Italian, and Caribbean influences. It is a roux-based meat stew or soup, sometimes made with some combination of any of the following: seafood (usually shrimp, crabs, with oysters optional, or occasionally crawfish), sausage, chicken (hen or rooster), alligator, turtle, rabbit, duck, deer or wild boar. Gumbo is often seasoned withfilé, which is dried and groundsassafrasleaves. Both meat and seafood versions also include the "Holy Trinity" and are served like stew over rice. It developed from French colonists trying to makebouillabaissewith New World ingredients. Starting with aromatic seasonings, the French used onions and celery as in a traditionalmirepoix, but lacked carrots, so they substituted green bell peppers. Africans contributedokra, traditionally grown in regions of Africa, the Middle East and Spain.Gombois the Louisiana French word for okra, It most likely comes from theBambara languageof West Africa in whichGombomeans okraor also theBantuwordskilogombóorkigambó,alsoguingambóorquinbombó. "Gumbo" became the anglicized version of the word 'Gombo' after the English language became dominant in Louisiana. In Louisiana French dialects, the word "gombo" still refers to both the hybrid stew and the vegetable.
TheChoctawcontributedfilé; while theBambaraprovided okra and rice.theSpanishcontributed peppers and tomatoes; and new spices were adopted from Caribbean dishes. TheFrenchlater favored arouxfor thickening. In the 19th century, the Italians added garlic.After German immigrants arrived in large numbers, German bakers catered to the German clientele that preferred heavier, hard-crusted bread rather than the French bread preferred by the Creole population.
Jambalayais the second of the famous Louisiana Creole dishes. Today, jambalaya is commonly made with seafood (usuallyshrimp) or chicken, or a combination ofshrimpand chicken. Most versions containsmoked sausage, more commonly used instead ofhamin modern versions. However, a version of jambalaya that useshamwithshrimpmay be closer to the original Creole dish.
Jambalaya is prepared in two ways: "red" and "brown". Red is the tomato-based version native to New Orleans; it is also found in parts of Iberia and St. Martin Parishes, and generally uses shrimp or chicken stock. The red-style Creole jambalaya is the original version. The "brown" version is associated with Cajun cooking and does not include tomatoes.
Red beans and rice is a dish of Louisiana and Caribbean influence, originating in New Orleans. It contains red beans, the "holy trinity" of onion, celery, and bell pepper, and oftenandouillesmoked sausage, pickled pork, or smoked ham hocks. The beans are served over white rice. It is one of the famous dishes in Louisiana, and is associated with "washday Monday". It could be cooked all day over a low flame while the women of the house attended to washing the family's clothes.
Alphonse "Bois Sec" ArdoinZydeco(a transliteration in English of 'zaricô' (snapbeans) from the song, "Les haricots sont pas salés"), was born in black Creole communities on the prairies of southwest Louisiana in the 1920s. It is often considered the Creole music of Louisiana. Zydeco, a derivative of Cajun music, purportedly hails fromLà-là,a genre of music now defunct, and old south Louisianajurés.AsLouisiana Frenchand Louisiana Creole was thelingua francaof the prairies of southwest Louisiana, zydeco was initially sung only in Louisiana French or Creole. Later, Louisiana Creoles, such as the 20th-centuryChénierbrothers, Andrus Espree (Beau Jocque),Rosie Lédetand others began incorporating a more bluesy sound and added a new linguistic element to zydeco music: English.  Today, zydeco musicians sing in English, Louisiana Creole or Colonial Louisiana French.
Today's Zydeco often incorporates a blend ofswamp pop,blues, and/orjazzas well as "Cajun Music" (originally called Old Louisiana French Music).  An instrument unique to zydeco is a form of washboard called thefrottoiror scrub board. This is a vest made of corrugated aluminum, and played by the musician working bottle openers, bottle caps or spoons up and down the length of the vest.  Another instrument used in both Zydeco and Cajun music since the 1800s is the accordion. Zydeco music makes use of the piano or button accordion while Cajun music is played on the diatonic accordion, or Cajun accordion, often called a "squeeze box".  Cajun musicians also use the fiddle and steel guitar more often than do those playing Zydeco.
Zydeco can be traced to the music of enslaved African people from the 19th century. It is represented inSlave Songs of the United States,first published in 1867. The final seven songs in that work are printed with melody along with text in Louisiana Creole. These and many other songs were sung by slaves on plantations, especially inSt. Charles Parish, and when they gathered on Sundays atCongo Squarein New Orleans.
Among the Spanish Creole people highlights, between their varied traditional folklore, the CanarianDécimas,romances,balladsand pan-Hispanic songs date back many years, even to theMedieval Age. This folklore was carried by their ancestors from the Canary Islands to Louisiana in the 18th century. It also highlights their adaptation to theIsleñomusic to other music outside of the community (especially from the MexicanCorridos).
Louisiana Creole (Kréyol La Lwizyàn) is aFrench Creolelanguage spoken by the Louisiana Creole people and sometimes Cajuns and Anglo-residents of the state ofLouisiana. The language consists of elements of French, Spanish,African(mainly from the Senegambian region),andNative Americanroots.
Louisiana French (LF) is the regional variety of the French language spoken throughout contemporaryLouisianaby individuals who today identify ethno-racially as Creole, Cajun, or French, as well as some who identify as Spanish (particularly inNew IberiaandBaton Rouge, where the Creole people are a mix of French and Spanish and speak the French language), African-American, white, Irish or of other origins. Through innovation, adaptation, interaction, and contact, individuals and groups continuously enrich the French language spoken in Louisiana, infusing it with linguistic features that are sometimes unique to the region.
Tulane University's Department of French and Italian website prominently declares, "In Louisiana, French is not a foreign language".Figures from U.S. decennial censuses report that roughly 250,000 Louisianans claimed to use or speak French in their homes.
Among the 18 governors of Louisiana between 1803 and 1865, six were French Creoles and spoke French:Jacques Villeré,Pierre Derbigny,Armand Beauvais,Jacques Dupré,Andre B. RomanandAlexandre Mouton.
According to the historian Paul Lachance, "the addition of white immigrants to the white creole population enabled French-speakers to remain a majority of the white population [in New Orleans] until almost 1830. If a substantial proportion of Creoles of color and slaves had not also spoken French, however, the Gallic community would have become a minority of the total population as early as 1820."In the 1850s, white Francophones remained an intact and vibrant community; they maintained instruction in French in two of the city's four school districts.In 1862, the Union general Ben Butler abolished French instruction in New Orleans schools, and statewide measures in 1864 and 1868 further cemented the policy.By the end of the 19th century, French usage in the city had faded significantly.However, as late as 1902 "one-fourth of the population of the city spoke French in ordinary daily intercourse, while another two-fourths was able to understand the language perfectly."Even in 1945, there were still elderly Creole women who could not speak English.The last major French-language newspaper in New Orleans,L'Abeille de la Nouvelle-Orléans, ceased publication on December 27, 1923, after ninety-six years.Some sources claimLe Courrier de la Nouvelle Orleanswas in publication until 1955.
Today, people speak Louisiana French or Louisiana Creole, mainly in more rural areas.  Also, during the '40s and '50s, many Creoles left Louisiana to find work in Texas, mostly in Houston and East Texas.The 5th ward of Houston, initially namedFrenchtown, is known for its prevalent use of the French language and music.  There were also Zydeco clubs started in Houston, like the famed Silver Slipper owned by a Creole named Alfred Cormier that has hosted the likes ofClifton ChenierandBoozoo Chavis. In steady waves starting in the 1830s to the 1860s and onward, a sizable number of Louisana Creoles had also migrated through- or from Texas intoMexico, often by sea, with particular population concentrations in the stateVeracruz– especiallyTampico.
Spanish usage has declined significantly over the years among the Spanish Creole population. However, in the first half of the 20th century, most residents of Saint Bernard andGalveztownspoke the Spanish language in theCanarian Spanishdialect (the ancestors of these Creoles were from theCanary Islands) of the 18th century. The government of Louisiana imposed the use of English in these communities, particularly in schools such as Saint Bernard. Children who were caught speaking Spanish were fined and punished by their teachers. Now, only some people over 80 can speak Spanish in these communities, and most of the youth of Saint Bernard can only speak English.
Based onU.S. Censusdata from 2011-2015, theU.S. Department of Justicealso estimated that a little over 173,000Floridaresidents spoke French Creole, with the highest concentrations of speakers being located inPalm Beach County,Broward County, andMiami-Dade CountyinSouth Florida, accounting for both Louisiana Creoles andHaitian Creoles.PensacolaandJacksonvillein Florida also have French Creole-speaking minorities, on account ofGullah,Atlantic Creole, andHaitian Creolemigration andlanguage mixingbetweenLouisiana,South Carolina,North Carolina,Georgia, andFlorida, particularlyWest Florida.
Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday in English) inNew Orleans, Louisiana, is aCarnivalcelebration well known throughout the world. It has colonial French roots.
The New Orleans Carnival season, with roots in preparing for the start of the Christian season ofLent, starts afterTwelfth Night, onEpiphany(January 6). It is a season ofparades,balls(some of themmasquerade balls) andking cakeparties. It has traditionally been part of the winter social season; at one time "coming out" parties for young women at débutante balls were timed for this season.
Celebrations are concentrated for about two weeks before and throughFat Tuesday(Mardi Grasin French), the day beforeAsh Wednesday. Usually, there is one major parade each day (weather permitting), but there are several large parades on many days. The largest and most elaborate parades take place on the last five days of the season. In the final week of Carnival, many events, both large and small, take place throughout New Orleans and surrounding communities.
The parades in New Orleans are organized by Carnivalkrewes. Krewefloatriders tossthrowsto the crowds; the most common throws are strings of plastic colorful beads,doubloons(aluminum or wooden dollar-sized coins usually impressed with a krewe logo), decorated plasticthrow cups, and small inexpensive toys. Major krewes follow the same parade schedule and route each year.
While many tourists center their Mardi Gras season activities onBourbon Streetand theFrench Quarter, none of the major Mardi Gras parades has entered the Quarter since 1972 because of its narrow streets and overhead obstructions. Instead, major parades originate in the Uptown and Mid-City districts and follow a route alongSt. Charles AvenueandCanal Street, on the upriver side of the French Quarter.
To New Orleanians, "Mardi Gras" specifically refers to the Tuesday before Lent, the highlight of the season. The term can also be used less specifically for the whole Carnival season, sometimes as "the Mardi Gras season". The terms "Fat Tuesday" or "Mardi Gras Day" always refer only to that specific day.
The descendants of Cajuns were settlers of the French colony of Arcadia who settled in southern Louisiana. This Cajun ethnic group developed when Arcadian hunters, trappers, and fishermen intermarried with Indians and Black people.Black Louisiana Frenchmen have historically self-identified as Cajun, using the term in regards to the ethnicity of theCajun Countryand the language they speak. For example,Amédé Ardoinonly spokeCajun Frenchand, at his height, was known as the first Black Cajun recording artist.Similarly,Clifton Chenierthe King ofZydeco, routinely self-identified as a Black Cajun:of
People of the Cajun Country have historically described what the Cajun nationality means to them. Brandon Moreau, a Cajun ofBasile, Louisiana, described Cajun as an "inclusive term designating region, descent, or heritage – not race."Moreau also described an incident of where he used the termcoonasswith a good friend of his: "We were all talking in the hall, and I said I was a coonass. She said she was Cajun, but that she would never be a coonass. She's black and it offended her."
Cajun culture, due to its mixed Latin-Creole nature, had fostered more laissez-faire attitudes between black and white people in theCajun Countrythan anywhere else in the South.Roman Catholicismactively preached tolerance and condemned racism and all hate crimes; theRoman Churchthreatened toexcommunicateany of its members who would dare to break its laws.
Anglo-Americansopenly discriminated against Cajuns because they were Catholics, had a Latin Culture, and spokeCajun French.White Cajuns and White Creoles accepted advances in racial equality, and they had compassion for Black Cajuns, Black Creoles, andAfrican Americans.In the 1950s, twice as many black people in Louisiana's French-Catholic parishes registered to vote compared to black people in the Anglo-Protestant parishes.
When the United States of America began assimilating and Americanizing the parishes of the Cajun Country between the 1950s and 1970s, they imposed segregation and reorganized the inhabitants of the Cajun Country to identify racially as either "white" Cajuns or "black" Creoles.As the younger generations were made to abandon speaking French and French customs, the White or Indian Cajuns assimilated into theAnglo-Americanhost culture, and the Black Cajuns assimilated into theAfrican Americanculture.
Cajuns looked to theCivil Rights Movementand other Black liberation and empowerment movements as a guide for fostering Louisiana's French cultural renaissance. A Cajun student protester in 1968 declared "We're slaves to a system. Throw away the shackles... and be free with your brother."
While the sophisticated Creole society of New Orleans has historically received much attention, theCane River(Rivière aux Cannes) area developed its own strong Creole culture. Creole migrants fromNew Orleansand various ethnic groups, including Africans, Spanish, Frenchmen, and Native Americans, inhabited this region and mixed together in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The community is located in and aroundIsle Brevellein lowerNatchitoches Parish, Louisiana. There are many Creole communities within Natchitoches Parish, includingNatchitoches,Cloutierville,Derry, Gorum, andNatchez. Many of their historic plantations still exist.Some have been designated asNational Historic Landmarksand are noted within the Cane River National Heritage Area, as well as theCane River Creole National Historical Park. Some plantations are sites on theLouisiana African American Heritage Trail.
Isle Brevelle, the area of land between Cane River and Bayou Brevelle, encompasses approximately 18,000 acres (73 km) of land, 16,000 acres of which are still owned by descendants of the original Creole families. The Cane River as well as Avoyelles and St. Landry Creole family surnames include but are not limited to: Antee, Anty, Arceneaux, Arnaud, Balthazar, Barre', Bayonne, Beaudoin, Bellow, Bernard, Biagas, Bossier, Boyér, Brossette, Buard, Byone, Carriere, Cassine, Catalon, Chevalier, Chretien, Christophe, Cloutier, Colson, Colston, Conde, Conant, Coutée, Cyriak, Cyriaque, Damas, DeBòis, DeCuir, Deculus, DeLouche, Delphin, De Sadier, De Soto, Dubreil, Dunn, Dupré. Esprit, Fredieu, Fuselier, Gallien, Goudeau, Gravés, Guillory, Hebert, Honoré, Hughes, LaCaze, LaCour, Lambre', Landry, Laurent, LéBon, Lefìls, Lemelle, LeRoux, Le Vasseur, Llorens, Mathés, Mathis, Métoyer, Mezière, Monette, Moran, Mullone, Pantallion, Papillion, Porche, PrudHomme, Rachal, Ray, Reynaud, Roque, Sarpy, Sers, Severin, Simien, St. Romain, St. Ville, Sylvie, Sylvan, Tournoir, Tyler, Vachon, Vallot, Vercher and Versher. (Most of the surnames are of French and sometimes Spanish origin).
St. Landry Parishhas a significant population of Creoles, especially in Opelousas and its surrounding areas. The traditions and Creole heritage are prevalent in Opelousas, Port Barre, Melville, Palmetto, Lawtell, Eunice, Swords, Mallet, Frilot Cove, Plaisance, Pitreville, and many other villages, towns and communities. The Roman Catholic Church and French/Creole language are dominant features of this rich culture. Zydeco musicians host festivals all through the year.
Who are Louisiana Creole people descended from?
In present Louisiana, Creole generally means a person or people of mixed colonial French, African American and Native American ancestry. The term Black Creole refers to freed slaves from Haiti and their descendants.https://explorehouma.com› about The Difference Between Cajun & Creole | Visit Houma-Terrebonne, LA