Proceedings of the 2010 Delta Symposium August 19-21 Northwestern State University Culture Change & Continuity in the Delta Region A scholarly conversation between researchers and members of the folk communities in the Mississippi River Delta Region Edited by Pete Gregory, Shane Rasmussen, and Sheila Richmond Introduction by Pete Gregory Designed by James Christopher Callahan and Sheila Richmond Transcriptions by Sheila Richmond ©2011 Louisiana Folklife Center Publications Funded by: National Park Service’s Delta Initiative, the Cane River Creole National Historical Park, and Northwestern State University of Louisiana. The views and conclusions contained in this document/event are those of the authors/participants and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. government. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. government. Map courtesy of National Park Service Lower Mississippi Region Delta Initiative Delta Symposium Introduction Dr. Pete Gregory In 2010 we decided to invite people of anger, disappointment, and cries for help. from the Delta Regions to a series of conver- One young man asked elders for advice on sations about the people and place. We dis- how to keep his language, Creole French, cussed a deliberate effort to bring community working for him because college had not people together with a minimal group of re- helped! Others inquired about how American lated scholars. This was intended as a sample Indian people were trying to ―re-connect‖ the of Delta culture, in hopes it would open elders and the youth. Answers sometimes other, more specific conversations. It would were careful, people walking softly through serve as a compass for future research, com- the multi-cultural experiences of the Delta munity action, and preservation efforts. Region. Trying to say what needed saying We hoped that all these folks would without the anger, disappointment and frus- talk about who and what they were. It sort of trations stopping the conversation. worked. Panels of people: American Indians, Through it all comes some flashing African Americans, Creoles, Mississippi insights into what people did or did not know River Atchafalaya communities, and the about the diversified lifestyles of the Missis- ―new‖ populations: East Indians, Latinos, and sippi Delta. Chinese all came. People from the National We have transcribed these discus- Park Service, State Folklife program office, sions, sometimes in English, others scattered universities, and local communities joined in. with at least three American Indian languages Funding for travel from the Delta Ini- and Cajun French. We feel these transcrip- tiative of the National Park Service helped tions express better than any edited scholar- with peoples‘ ability to show up and to talk. ship the range of emotions felt currently by We set no problems, no tasks, and saw our the folks in the Delta, as well as give insights jobs as just people to introduce the panels, into the many cultural variations that people perhaps asking questions, perhaps not. It was live in the Delta. Reading these conversations informal, and the participants went in direc- will leave the Delta on your mind for a good tions we often had not anticipated. while. We invited musicians to play or dance This meeting took place on the heels – by informances to give musicality a chance of two terrible hurricanes that left awful eco- – another mode of sharing. nomic conditions in the states and regions, It is hoped that the reader can some- and while people were anticipating the worst how participate, albeit serendipitously, in the from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. moment of this gathering. Welcome to the Some conversations went straight to Delta! those issues. What was being lost – e.g. the state supported folklife apprenticeships, the Perspectives lower coastal fisheries – while others were The Choctaw, Jena Band of Choctaw, more optimistic. The wealth accumulating Chitimacha, Alabama-Coushatta and Tunica- from American Indian casinos is building Biloxi Communities are among the more museums, funding language programs, and prosperous, optimistic communities in the opening tribal activism re-cultural heritage. Delta. Casinos, or the hopes for a casino, of- Sometimes we waxed a bit nostalgic, remi- fer them options they have not had since the niscing about different times, memories European invasion. After generations of pov- mostly. These discussions also saw flashes erty and losses of land and resources, it is heartening to see not only increased prosper- miss the point a lot. Creole — more than the ity, but also each community diligently work- language — was, like the American Indian ing at sovereignty and the maintenance of cultures — making a run towards, not away tradition. Art, and language particularly, from, survival. Advising one young man in have been realized and appreciated, and posi- the audience who explained he had difficulty tive efforts made to keep these viable. with speaking French, Mrs. Theresa Walter Celestine pointed out that Thibodeaux advised him to ―relax, and use tribal people know best how to do tribal the language. Don‘t worry, speak it to your- things, like ways to affiliate younger people self. Just use it!‖ Creoles brought a com- with more traditional elders. John Paul Dar- plexity to the Delta from urban ―returnees,‖ den noted the Chitimacha Tribe‘s Rosetta to New Orleans urbanites, and the prairie, Stone program- using modern technology to rural, and swamp populations in South Lou- teach the harbinger of culture, language. The isiana. Their enclaves in the Red River re- youngest Native American participant, Jean gion (Cane River) were linked to Chicago, Luc Pierite, discussed getting the majority Dallas, and Los Angeles. They all partici- Americans to recognize American Indians as pated in rejuvenation of family by visiting people, not as some abstraction or stereotype. back and forth. Teaching seemed the task of In essence, stressing that they are alive and the whole community, and the Delta became well, not a lot of losers trying to make a the repository for language and tradition, a comeback. living culture pumping hard to survive and The Creoles started off entirely in adapt. their language. A moderator, Sheila Rich- The Anglo-American session led to mond, had to stop them and ask they speak vibrant discussions of the ―New South‖ com- English to those not fluent in Creole or stan- munities like Ferriday, Louisiana. Ms. Judith dard French. They really did not want to do Bingham brought the perspective of the white that — they wanted to stress their goal of sharecroppers moving to a sawmill and rail- keeping Creole French, their medium for road town. That led the cross-fertilization of maintenance and survival. The elders knew black and Creole traditions — country, blues, that language and used it daily, and younger and finally rockabilly resulted. Music is still people lamented access to it. Tracey Colson evolving in the Delta. pointed out that she, like her peers, came to Marcy Frantom brought in the music the culture inside out since she lacked the and culture of the ―hill‖ people along the language. The Thibodeauxs, Goldman and margins of the flood plains. Upland Anglo- Teresa urged younger people to let them Saxon traditions – new movements like Blue- teach, help them learn the culture. ―We‘ll grass music – again show viability attracting teach.‖ They invited people to ―come to their young musicians to their elders. Younger house‖ and speak. Goldman, a famous Cre- people lament the loss of the vast swamps ole musician, talked about music as the vehi- and whole ecosystems – all wiped out in their cle for interesting and teaching the younger lifetimes. Creoles language and culture. He noted he The African Americans, in some ways was disappointed when the young musicians more diverse than their Creole cousins, could sang words they did not understand! Sur- talk about some of the same topics. The rounded by Acadians, the older and more cul- youngest anthropologist, Rolonda Teal, turally and racially diverse Creole culture voiced anger that some communities were was and still is less often recognized publicly ―invisible.‖ Blacks, but also Hispanics, found in Louisiana, and non-Creoles seemed to themselves without acknowledgment. Dr. Joyce Jackson discussed the community of to the arts, and the irony of the Old South Fazendeville, displaced by part of Jean La- persists. Blues is a slowly changing medium, fitte National Park and re-organized only to and contrary to Zydeco and Cajun has not be shattered by Katrina. The focus of their become a youthful expression. Still, the plantation community‘s Battle Ground school experiences of Rivers are filled with Church seemed to hold them together. Now hope, even a little joy. His kids love the in the aftermath of all their troubles Dr. Jack- blues. son finds them united in efforts to survive. The ―New Populations,‖ Maida Blues musicians, like Hezekiah Early and Owens‘ term for them, were represented by ―Lil‘ Poochie,‖ the classic arts representa- people from three such populations: East In- tives from the Delta, commented on the dian, Chinese, and Latino. Dr. Rasmussen‘s changing scenes of regional life. The down- lead opened that discussion, but the panelists turn in the economy at Natchez, Mississippi, soon went in their own directions. closure of the paper mill, a Johns-Manville, Members of the Hispanic group, Irma and a tire plant left the Black community Rodriguez – a new Mexican resident – and there in economically dire straits. The music Martha Cechini Walker – a Delta plantations- venues changed. Hezekiah Early commented Bolivian plantations-Spanish-Latina – were on the shift to European ―gigs‖ and remi- soon comparing experiences. Irma Rodri- nisced about the drum and fife parades at guez brokers for a whole community of Anna Bottoms when he was younger.