CREOLE CULTURAL NEWSFLASH: BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND; MY ANSWER TO THE QUESTION: Is Louisianas Culture REALLY an Acadian-based Culture? -Updated by John La Fleur II, 2014 In response/reaction to my recently published FACEBOOK post: Louisianas French Creole & Metis Culture: 500 Years of Culture by John laFleur II, 2014 I was asked the following question, to which I happily share with all of you, lest you should miss the point and purpose of my work and that of many other brilliant scholars of whose work, I am simply a humble teacher & student. John, I find your assertion that the Acadian descendants assimilated to the older Creole culture to be interesting. Are you saying that the Acadian culture made no contribution at all to the complex mix in Southwest Louisiana? My honest response to this honest scholars question, is as follows below: David, I am also a descendant of the very first Acadian arrivals in the Territory of Orleans -namely, of Francois Pitre, the bel ami of Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil. That there were some notable Acadian contributors to Louisianas already established pre-Acadian culture, such as that of the Moutons and my ancestor, Francois Pitre is not at issue. Francois Pitres family, for example, introduced horse racing into southwest Louisiana; the Moutons (who intermarried into prominent Creole families), would also identify as Creole and in the person of their patriarch, Alexandre Mouton, rise to become a governor. In any case, these families, including Joseph Broussards son Amand, all very quickly assimilated the prevalent Louisiana Creole planters lifestyle, and the evidence for this is seen in both their surviving architectural and linguistic traditions. Moreover, the earliest Acadians-according to no lesser Louisiana Acadian scholar, as Dr. Carl Brasseaux -the Acadians remained a largely closed community, and refused participation in larger American & Creole society. That being said, however, they certainly adopted and ultimately, assimilated both the Louisiana Creole French & Choctaw patois, the food culture and the Louisiana multi-ethnic creole social traditions, which he admits occurred chiefly in the areas designated Acadiana since 1971; the former Creole Parishes according to history and Dr. Joseph Tregle, late Professor Emeritus of History of UNO. And, yet Dr. Brasseaux remains among the Cajunists writers who insist upon an Acadian-based culture. Tulane professor, Thomas Klinger has continued to search for the Acadian in the Cajun and has yet, to find the Acadian cultural influences which would justify this myth of an Acadian-based culture across the French speaking triangle, which at the time of the arrival of grand total 3000 Acadians, was a historical Creole bastion -in the words of Brasseaux, himself. But, in terms of producing what has been an over-generalized Acadian-based culture, the evidence for this assertion is more ideological, than it is historical and factual. The truth is, that apart from the few progressive Acadian descendants who embraced their new Louisiana identity, the Acadians as a class did not significantly impact Louisianas long established and prevalent metis-creole culture; they adopted it. What is perceived and marketed as Cajun culture in and around Acadiana (mythic Acadian settlement area created by legislation sponsored by discredited historian Sen. Dudley Hadacol LeBlanc and his protege (then, young Louisiana Gov., Edwin Edwards who, incidentally, has Avoyelles Parish French Creole roots), is in fact, nothing more than old Louisiana Country Creole & metis food ways with Old World French traditions of pralines and pain-perdu. Both, Lefcadio Hearns La Creole Cuisine of 1885 and the earliest New Orleans Picayune Creole Cookbook series attest to this pre-existent and pre-Acadian French Creole menu of Louisiana fame, even as Andre Penicaut testified to our viande boucanee tradition of smoked meat existed as early as the founding of Mobile among the metis & creole children of the first Euro-French soldiers and their Indians wives and/or concubines. Both Dr. Brasseaux and his co-author and cousin, Chef Marcelle Bienvenus culinary history, Stir The Pot: A History of Cajun Cuisine admit these facts; sometimes, a bit begrudgingly. Lefacadio Hearns book though unacknowledged in their books manuscript, does appear-ironically-in the books bibliography. It was Chef K-Paul Prudhomme, a St. Landry Parish Creole, who was to unfortunately, stamp the newly manufactured Cajun label to our historic country Creole & metis culinary tradition in 1972; while another famous St. Landry Parish, Louisiana (white) Creole, Tony Chachere (of world-famous CREOLE SEASONINGS of Opelousas), remains an embarrassing exception to this movement of the 1970s. He refused to go along with the new cultural revolution-Cajunization, by name. His family proudly maintains their historical and ethnic Creole cultural identity on every canister of Tony Chacheres Famous CREOLE Seasonings. The fact of an intercultural association and intermarriage which produced a simplified culinary tradition distinctive from that of New Orleans later glamorized Creole culture (as created and propagated by 19th century French ex-pat chefs in their New Orleans temples of CREOLE cuisine which does taste different from ours), has been a source of confusion for many people who dont realize that before 1968, there was only one significant identity and culture for white French Creoles and Creoles of color, alike; whether they were of metis, Canadian, Continental French, Austrian-Swiss (Germanic), African, Spanish and even later descendants of the Acadians. All Louisiana French-speaking people identified as creole -meaning native-born and/or sharing the unique Louisiana French cultural heritage of gumbo and fais-do-do, before Cajunization relabeled and split our common culture into white and black boxes. The most comprehensive scholarship on Creole culture and history since Virginia Dominguez famous work, is now found in Bernt Ostendorfs extensive and exhaustive work (a portion of which is featured in Dr. John Lowes Louisiana Culture From ...to Katrina, LSU 2008), and is not surprisingly, consistent with what is revealed in Louisianas historical documents from our parish courthouse records of the French and Spanish periods. People of very diverse ethnic backgrounds were equally labeled as Creole (locally born) because Creole was never a racial qualifier to begin with. It has always been a generic for locally born in contrast to foreign-born, and can refer to people, animals, plants and almost any product(s) cultivated in the French and Spanish colonies before Americas takeover. Creole also refers to the locally-born versions of the mother language mixed with local or native cultures, too; e.g. Creole French/French Creole. This suggestion and idea of Creole as being limited to any one race did come about-wrongly-first, from white elitist Charles Gayarre of New Orleans after the American takeover of Louisiana and still later by confusion of the generations of free people of color. who did not wish to be confused with former black slaves. But, the worst of this misunderstanding of Creole as representing only black francophone creoles is largely due to news and commercial mass-marketed misinformation and stereotyping out of Lafayette for the past forty-three years-Cajunization by name. This division of our historic culture into black or white camps, is a surrender to the Anglo-American racial caste system which caters to white supremacy, and after taking over French Louisiana, grouped everyone as either black or white with no middle ground as had previously been allowed in Spanish and French Louisiana. And, sadly certain leaders of Lafayettes university, tourism bureau and many of its CODOFIL leaders continue to trumpet Dudley LeBlancs Cajun cultural myth-history, to their eternal shame. Ironically, these facts are openly acknowledged by Dr. Carl Brasseaux, retired UL professor in his many books about our shared culture, yet never are such facts stated in public gatherings or on Lafayette television. In fact, when Ive appeared on Lafayettes local television stations stating these facts in interviews, Ive been told that certain Cajun authorities have called the stations in protest; some demanding what appears to be censorship! I am not at all surprised by this. Truth suppressed, is truly embarrassing when revealed to the long mislead, but grateful public. Racial qualifiers such as mulattre (-sse) quaterone, octoroon, griffe etc. were some of the terms used under the later period of Spanish rule for race but, never Creole. But, Creole was the word the Spanish used to label the metis and/or creole children of the French and diverse Europeans, regardless of whether they were white or black, after arriving in New Orleans. These Criollos were not quite French or European, and they were a diverse mixed-race bunch of any possible combinations, but who nonetheless, identified strongly and proudly as French. And, indeed, they were before America. They were a new breed and along with their food ways and linguistic traditions, unique among Frances several already-established metis & creole world cultures. The nearest cultural parallel to this group was seen at Saint-Domingue and across the French Antilles; previously, long-established centers of French Creole commerce and culture upon which colonies Bienville depended upon to support Louisiana-even before the founding of New Orleans. Yet, later Saint-Domingue Creole immigrants themselves noted this kindred, but distinct Louisiana Creole culture, as seen in Gabriel Debien Thomas Fiehrer, and Rene LeGardeurs writings in the splendid anthology, The Road To Louisiana: The Saint Domingue Refugees 1792-1809 edited and annotated by Dr. Carl Brasseaux and translated by the beloved Dr. David Cheramie of Lafayettes Vermilionville. The later PERCEPTION of Creole as limited to people of color, was largely due to the Lafayette Tourist Bureau and a certain international marketing agencys creation of a racial stereotype which divided Louisianas historic culture along racial lines; quite consistent with the Anglo-American racial caste system of black or white -a sort of Cajun-Creole Siamese twin! The Lafayette regional media, following the post-1968 mythic Cajunization script, would portray only, and all white francophones as Cajun and began referring to the centuries old Louisiana French musical traditions of fiddle and accordion as if these were unique gifts of the Acadians, when in fact, the German Creoles had long previously introduced the accordion, even as the French and metis (French & Indian born children) culture long had and enjoy the fiddle to this day as still seen in Canada. I recall quite well noticing this new trend in my own life as a young teenage boy. Ironically, it seemed to be after that very year that people in Ville Platte, Louisiana and across Evangeline Parish stopped speaking our Louisiana French in public and began talking about Cajun. Some, such as Jules Ashlock, the great Winston DeVille and Revon Reed loudly rejected this new label. Others, nurtured on Lafayette regional TV, and indoctrinated at the university, gradually accepted this labeling which helped differentiate them from creoles de couleur (Creoles of color). Strangely, but in the same breath, some acknowledged that they were not really true Cadjins but, really French people or Creole-indoors! Perhaps, the most powerful local and regional, and later national and international catalyst for adoption of all things Cajun across the upper northwest French-speaking triangle was seen in the rise of world-famous and now closed Floyds Record Shop in Ville Platte, which from 1971 until 2013 made a fortune in promoting the new commercialized cultural label of Cajun music. And, of course, Creole became the new label for black musical representation (and people), even if it was essentially, the same type of old French music on steroids! Zydeco is, and does reflect the unique musical genre of the Louisiana black and Country Creole sharecroppers experience; particularly, of Reconstruction and Civil Rights-era Creoles of color. But, it also reflects the feelings and experiences of poor white Creoles and real Acadian-Cajuns of that period, also. Adding to their sins of misinformation, the same Lafayette media and the universitys leaders were to repeatedly broadcast and portray only black francophones as Creole in their new preference for Cajun as the new and assuredly, white reference. In all press and books being printed in this newly hatched tourism this new vocabulary help complete a local, national and ultimately, an international perception of a two-headed black and white Cajun & Creole cultural Siamese twin. But, not everyone accepted this new vocabulary among true Acadians and certainly not among white Creoles; both of which groups rejected Cajun (a misspelled version off the historically offensive and American-abused cadjin -which denoted white trash!), for different reasons. Most older and well-informed White Creoles saw this as a clear insult and dismissal of them and their historical culture as much as the Acadian-Creoles saw this as an insulting presumption of a few politicians and a few young radicals, who for all their good intentions, ignored these cultural sensibilities and whose Acadian families loved their long-held and shared Louisiana-based identity and culture as Creoles! And, predictably, the largely illiterate public of white francophones felt compelled to identify as Cajun embracing the newly rehabilitated, but previously degrading term Cadjin as an ethnic sheepskin of guaranteed whiteness; albeit, in its misspelled form Cajun. And, of course, wed be amiss in failing to acknowledge that the unforeseen economic success from this political fiat certainly helped soften the offense as did the positive television and press portrayals of Cajun far apart from its still embarrassing and historic meaning of ignorant white trash. Likewise, misinformed black francophones also succumbed to their newly manufactured label of creole -many continuing to believe ardently, that it is a uniquely black ethnic qualifier, while non-Creole blacks continued, and continue to resent true Creoles of color as they are too white to be black... and ...too black to be white. -from the traditional white viewpoint. With the introduction of television into many homes after the 1950s, a new window for cultural conditioning was opened to strengthen Anglo-American racial views, both political and sociological; views which were now deeply inculcated into the white Creole psyche which facilitated the younger generations susceptibility to this new cajun cultural and regional identity. And, with the unprecedented economic success and platform of commerce from which many became so wealthy, few could resist jumping upon the band wagon. Poverty and need saw their opportunity. Ignorance justified their actions and greed insures that the label will remain. Now, education and a renewed pride have turned the tide to a re-awakening and celebration of our historic and shared Louisiana culture-and all of the diverse people who created it. Race-based stereotypes were also a prominent feature of both local and Hollywood-generated attitudes seen on television. Creoles were all black as seen among the starving masses of Haiti, for example! And, of course Cadjins and white Creoles were long portrayed in the worst way imaginable as seen in the recent controversial comments of the now-unemployed Mississippi sports writer. And, of course, with the rise of CODOFIL in 1968, the perception that white francophone Louisianas long-established culture and francophonic tradition as expressed in Dudley Hadacol LeBlancs now discredited fairytale of the Acadians (The Acadian Miracle), became gospel truth -even if it was, uh, not quite true. Its from this myth (LeBlancs myth), that Longfellows fable of Evangeline -the Acadian heroine-takes on new life, and which inspired Paulin Fontenot, (Evangeline Parishs founder), to choose this as our parish namesake in 1910. This book (Acadian Miracle), provided both CODOFIL and Lafayettes media and tourist bureau with a ready-made script crediting and focusing upon Acadian Canada as Louisianas cultural mother source. And, it continues, in spite of Lafayettes forced, but condescending accommodation of the Creole component, with no regard for the confusing fact that Acadie cannot and never has been able to provide any cultural parallels to Louisianas age-old culture, apart from an old French language tradition; a tradition common to all of Frances former colonies. And, of course with Edwin Edwards-sponsored legislation creating Acadiana in 1971, the myth seemed to take on renewed life and helped foster the adoption of this new Cajun regional identity-officially. And, thus the new regional cultural identity (for whites) was now going where it had never gone before in the previous years where it was careful and content to sit quietly beside the historic Creole culture as seen in the Cajun/Creole cookbooks of pre-1968 popularity. Chef Marcelle Bienvenus family, in fact, published a small culinary booklet promoting their hot sauce product prior to 1968s official Louisiana cultural relabeling, or revolution. Significantly, it was called Evangelines CREOLE Recipes (until after Prudhommes cajunization label spread like wild fire), and of course, features nothing of Acadian culinary origin such as fricot, soupe a la toussaint, poutines rapees and tourtieres. Gumbo and fricassee never were Acadian food traditions, even to this day! Here below, I attach a facsimile of this embarrassing artifact which attests to the truth of my statement and which inadvertently, acknowledges the creolization of the earliest generations of the Louisiana-born Acadians. Some of you may remember this recipe booklet and the tiny bottle of Evangelines Hot Sauce out of St. Martinville. And, according to the model set by K-Paul Prudhomme, all area cookbooks (along with any manner of products and businesses), have embraced the mantra of Cajun cuisine, culture, seasonings, meats and paraphernalia of all kinds imaginable, since and beyond. In striving to remarry historical reality to our shared Louisiana contemporary cultural reality, I do not mean to be offensive nor do I mean to deprecate the true Acadian people of whom I too, am a true descendant on the Francois Pitre line. The fact remains that Louisianas historic francophone & creolophone culture has never really changed-however, people choose to identity in terms of ethnic heritage. In other words, whether you identify as Cajun or Creole the culture is the same LOUISIANA-born Creole culture which ties us culturally to the very old French Creole world. And, yet we are unique; not because of the fictitious Acadian influence which remains unknown across Louisiana but, because of our unique colonial French & Choctaw language tradition, to which was added the West African, Germanic and Spanish assimilations-a true creolization of cultures. Our language of Louisiana Creole French and its sister tongue of Louisiana Kreyole both reflect the Mobilian-Choctaw patois which was unknown to the Acadians, and remains unknown among the many former French Creole colonies of the world. Ouragan, boucanee, sassacoua, boucanee, ouaouaron, chaoui, plakemine, patasa, pacane, soco and pirogue and many more are not, and never were FRENCH words. They are from the Mobilian-Choctaw Indian trade language learned by our French and Canadian coureurs des bois ancestors (French/Canadian woodsmen and hunters who traveled across the Louisiana Purchase territory, then known as la Nouvelle France learning Indian languages and customs to survive). The United States of America back then, was made up of only the thirteen states New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Vermont, Rhode Island, North & South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Georgia. Louisiana was a foreign country; first, French then Spanish and lastly, American. These words are part of our French coureurs de bois ancestors bridge language or pidgin which became part of the everyday speech of their Lower or south Louisiana descendants; their children (white and colored), of both French-Indian, and French-African, and Indian-African and later Spanish, Irish and Italian marriages were very common across the Louisiana Purchase Territory from the Great Lakes regions to Illinois to Alabama and finally, to the the territory of Orleans or the American State of Louisiana, as we know it after 1803. Thus, it is intellectually dishonest and certainly, historically impossible to give credit for the origin of Louisianas 500 year old multi-ethnic, pre-Acadian culture and people to the small group of 2500-3,000 Acadians-as compared to the 30,000+ diverse Creole & metis population present at the time of this groups arrival in Spanish Louisiana. Some scholars give us a population of over 43,000 in 1788, two years after the largest influx of Acadians who were rather late arrivals and who did not contribute significantly (as a class), to the origin and development of our long-established and historic culture, food and language of Lower Louisiana! (See H.E. Sterkx, The Free Negro In Ante-Bellum Louisiana, 1972) The idea of an Acadian-based culture for our neck of the woods is nothing more than a politically, sociologically and economically-motivated myth, as is the very descriptor, Cajun. Clearly, the children of the first Acadians adopted and assimilated the culture of Louisiana as their own, as did every other ethnicity born in the colony. They, too became and proudly claimed to be Creole. And, notwithstanding the popularity of Cajun among the younger University of Lafayette crowd, who are remarkably unaware of our States larger history, beyond the Grand Derangement of our cousins the Acadians, many older Creole-Acadians continue to so identity. This paradox has also been noted by outside scholars who see the bigger picture of pre-Acadian Louisiana history such as Dr. Joseph Tregle, who noticed the historical and cultural myopia of students of Acadian history affiliated with the University of Lafayettes Louisiana Studies department. And, of course, many well-educated and honest men and women scholars, genealogists and ordinary Joes -whose senior memories have never faded-such as Winston DeVille, Roland Hypolite Hebert, Jules Ashlock and very contemporary and intelligent men such as Dr. Charles Fontenot, M.D., Gene Buller, outdoors writer for Bonnes Nouvelles magazine, pharmacist Blake Vidrine and many more besides, two young and scholarly priests; Fr. Jason Vidrine and Fr. Brad Guillory, both of whom have publicly taken their stand on the side of truth, history and principle. Dr. Cecyle Trepagniers work regarding this Cajun regional identity is now well-known among scholars-outside of Acadiana to be sure, and more recently (and much to his lasting honor), Dr. David Cheramie of Vermilionville, and long-time past president of CODOFIL has dared to expose this forty year fiction in Acadiana Profile magazine of last year and more recently, re-issued in Bonnes Nouvelles magazine. More progressive young scholars, who are more concerned with historical reality, than commercial myth-histories, offer new studies and research which expose the on the ground motivations behind this aggrandizement of the minority Acadian descendants which wrongly gives them sole for the creation of Louisianas historic culture and the survival of our Louisiana Creole French language tradition. Along with a tremendous body of early European and American scholarship little or unknown in Lafayettes air space, I can highly recommend, Dr. Gwendolyn Midlo-Halls renown work, Africans in Colonial Louisiana..., Dr. Germain Bienvenus splendid essay, The Beginnings of Louisiana Literature: The French Domination of 1682-1763 and Bernt Ostendorts remarkable Creole cultural studies found in Dr. John Lowes Louisiana Culture From The Colonial Era To Katrina, Independent scholar, Brian Costellos numerous works, and soon to be, Dr. Christophe Landrys work and research, as I can also recommend the work of Dr. Rain Gomez and that of soon to be, Dr. Ian Moone, in addition to Dr. Brasseaux works. Dr. James H. Dormons, The People Called Cajuns: Introduction to an Ethno-history; Dr. Corinne Sauciers, A History of Avoyelles Parish Louisiana concerning use/knowledge of Cajun. Additionally, my works-written for everyday people-and that of Louisiana independent scholar, Brian Costello-well and solidly illustrate these facts. Dr. Shannon Lee Dawdys work, Building the Devils Empire; French Colonial Louisiana and the works of Dr. Carl Ekberg also help scholars and interested cultural afficionados to see the bigger picture of the pre-Acadian world of La Nouvelle France and her creole & metis culture-which remains the true historical-cultural base of Louisianas historic colonial and contemporary Creole and now so-called Cajun culture. Only the old people and scholars knew the truth, but the media wasnt listening. The money began flowing in, and its influence effected the production of a new regional identity and fictional heritage which runs against history, logic and scholarship. But, this myth has assured an economic success never before imagined or known within Acadiana. And, thats really the dollars and cents of the matter, cher. Soyez fier encore detre Creoles, cher!
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 21:36:18 +0000
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