Racial and Ethnic Groups in the Gulf of Mexico Region

May 2013 Research Report #120 Racial and Ethnic Groups in the Gulf of Mexico Region Introduction These eight groups emerged as American Indian history, migra- significant through the existing lit- tion and culture is fragmented, this As part of a larger project that erature that details their unique in- group had substantial effects on the examines demographic and com- fluences in building the culture, eco- economy, culture and history of the munity-level changes in the Gulf of nomic stability and political climate southeastern United States. Mexico region, we reviewed racial in the region, as well as their ties to and ethnicity literature for eight key Native Americansthe oil and gas industry operating in Origins and History groups with significant influence the Gulf of Mexico. For each group, Researching Native Americans in part, or all, of the region. The we have focused our review on com- Scholars face a myriad of issues Gulf of Mexico region is incredibly mon elements such as the culture, when studying Native American his- diverse, with more than 13.5 million history, immigration, ties to the tory. The primary issue is that many residents who trace their origins to oil and gas industry and economic of the existing records about Native scores of places in Europe, Africa, standing. In addition to these com- American history are incomplete, Asia and Latin America (see Table 1). mon elements, we examined other leaving scholars to try to make sense Of these various groups, we have prominent themes that emerged of what archaeological, ethno- focused our reviews on eight specific for particular groups. For instance, graphic and historical fragments we racial, ethnic and ancestry groups: the effects of Hurricane Katrina on do have. Not only are these sources African-Americans, Cajuns, Creoles, the Vietnamese fishermen living in fragmented, they also are often Croatians, Latinos, Native Ameri- southern Louisiana were widely dis- unreliable because they were typi- cans, Vietnamese and Other Asians cussed by scholars and thus became cally written by “outsiders” such (not Vietnamese). Although some a prominent discussion in our review as European settlers, which leaves of these groups many be small in of the literature on Vietnamese liv- Native American documents and number, their effects on the region ing in the region. experiences open to misinterpreta- have been substantial (see Table 2). tion (Wilson 1996, Mihesuah 1998, This is the sixth in a series of For instance, although only about Perdue and Green 2001). reviews. This review discusses the 0.64 percent of the residents in the experiences of Native Americans It was not until the 19th century region identify as Native American, in the region – a group that was that a small, elite group of Native this group was the foundation of the foundation of the southeastern the culture, economy and history of United States long before European 1 the region, and many Southerners This group has been referred to as Native American, Ameri- or Spanish colonization1. Although can Indian and Indian throughout the existing literature. can trace their ancestry to Native much of the documentation about For the purposes of this paper, all three terms should be American roots. considered interchangeable. Table 1. Diversity in the Gulf of Mexico Region Table 2. Groups of Interest in the Gulf of Mexico Region Percentage Percentage of Racial/Ancestry Group Number Ancestry Category of Total Number Total Population Population African-American 19.14% 2,568,703 British 15.36% 2,147,789 Cajun 7.81% 1,092,377 French 7.81% 1,092,377 Croatian 0.05% 6,422 German 8.71% 1,218,236 Latino 29.72% 3,988,491 Middle Eastern 0.49% 68,544 Native American 0.64% 85,455 Northern/Eastern European 5.24% 733,424 Other Asian 2.95% 396,007 Southern European 3.09% 432,724 Vietnamese 1.15% 154,669 Subsaharan African/West Indian 1.22% 170,670 White 63.72% 8,912,239 Total Population: 13,985,914 Data from ACS Five-Year Estimates and 2010 Decennial Census. Numbers do not add to 100 percent because individuals can indicate more than one race, ethnicity Data from ACS Five-Year Estimates. or ancestry group. “Other Asian” refers to Asian groups other than Vietnamese. LSU AgCenter Research Report #120 Racial and Ethnic Groups in the Gulf of Mexico Region: Native Americans 1 American people began document- and heritage. These issues of official tive American life in Louisiana and ing their own experiences, and by recognition and terminology have its neighboring states. The second then, their culture had changed only created more barriers for schol- book we found to be particularly dramatically and much of their ars hoping to critically examine thorough is The Columbia Guide to history had been lost. This pattern and document the lives of Native American Indians of the Southeast, continued into the 20th century, Americans. which was written by Theda Perdue and, according to the historian and Michael D. Green in 2001. With- Donald L. Fixco, as of 1996, “More Origins in this vast work, Perdue and Green than 30,000 manuscripts had been Most scientists accept the Bering cover Native American culture and published about American Indians Strait theory of Native American history prior to colonization, the and more than 90 percent of that origin that suggests Native Ameri- effects of European diseases on literature was written by non-Indi- cans migrated from Asia across the Native American life, political and ans” (1996). As new methods and Bering Strait land bridge between economic instability brought on data sources have emerged in the 25,000 and 14,000 years ago seek- by colonization, the role of Native past 50 years, however, research on ing food. Many Native Americans Americans in struggles for control the Native Americans living in the challenge this theory, however, over the region, the removal of the region has shifted. Scholars are now suggesting instead that they have al- “Five Civilized” tribes, challenges challenging the previous portrayals ways inhabited the Americas. Each Native Americans faced in the post- of Native Americans and are pre- tribe typically has their own origin removal cotton era and the persis- senting the Native American culture myth that details how they came to tence of those who chose to remain and history as far more complex and inhabit the earth (Gatschet 1893, in the Gulf of Mexico region. nuanced than previously articulat- Bushnell 1910, Soule 1995, Curtin ed. This analysis aims to bring some 2004, Perdue and Green 2001). In addition to those two key works, there are a number of other of the existing literature together to History give readers a glimpse into Native books and articles we came across Scholars have written extensively that also described and elaborated American life in the region both about Native American history, historically and today. on Native American life in the both in the Americas and specifi- Gulf of Mexico region, covering a Terminology cally in the Gulf of Mexico region. variety of topics both historically The name “Indian” was first ap- The documents cover topics such as and currently. A few of the works plied to the Native Americans when Indian life before colonization, the focused on Native America life prior Columbus arrived. In his journal, effects of European colonization, to colonization. Robert Neuman Columbus referred to the inhabit- several significant wars and legisla- detailed the major archaeological ants of the land he had “discovered” tion, such as the Indian Removal excavations and findings that speak as “the people of god” or in Span- Act, that interrupted Native Ameri- to the historic presence of Louisi- ish, “in dios,” which later became can life. Since the scope of these ana Indians both prior to and after the word “Indian” (Soule 1995). works is too broad to adequately European arrival (1984). David An- According to the U.S. census, the cover here, we will briefly outline derson and Christopher Gillam used term “American Indian” refers to a few of the books and articles we archaeological data to examine the 2 a person who is either enrolled in found particularly useful. arrival and the dispersal of Native a recognized Indian tribe or recog- There are two books that thor- Americans throughout North Amer- nized as an “Indian” by the com- oughly document Native American ica (2000), and William M. Denevan munity (GSRI 1973, Norris et al. history specifically in the south- edited a volume that examines the 2012). This definition is problematic eastern United States. The first is Native American population just because tribes often have great dif- Louisiana’s Native Americans: A prior to European contact and the ficulty gaining official recognition Mournful Memory, Written in Blood, devastating effects of colonization and individuals often have difficulty which was written by Margot Soule (1992). proving their “right” to membership in 1995. Within this book, Soule within a tribe (see section on recog- Other works focused on the effects documents Native American life pri- of Spanish, French and British colo- nition). In Louisiana, this definition or to colonization but also covers the is particularly problematic because nization in the region. For instance, effects of European colonization, The Cultural Life of the American Native American groups often removal, war and legislation on Na- intermarried with others, includ- Colonies is a book edited by Louis ing Cajuns, adding complexity to 2 For more information, refer either to the original sources or Booker Wright that surveyed more issues of Native American identity to the supplemental document that summarizes these works than 150 years of colonial history more thoroughly. 2 LSU AgCenter Research Report #120 Racial and Ethnic Groups in the Gulf of Mexico Region: Native Americans in the Americas from 1607-1763 book, Sharon O’Brien detailed the and cultures in the Gulf of Mexico and details how Native Americans Native American struggle for sover- region.

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