As a proud Louisiana Creole, I enjoy the preservation and celebration of our rich heritage. Its a beautifully layered identity, that has many traditions! It is not actually a racial distinction in present times, with Creoles being of all shades and races. This is often very interesting to people living outside of Louisiana. A White person, Black person, and bi-racial person can all be ethnically Creole. It is a cultural distinction, and is foundationally built upon the cosmopolitan history of Louisiana. From Native American, Spanish, African, French influences have birthed a legacy and lifestyle. Our Louisiana Creole flag shows this with symbols and colors from Africa, Spain, and France. More layering can be seen in creole dishes like Gumbo which uses sassafras leaves from the original Native Americans of Louisiana, and okra brought to America from west Africa. Zydeco music and dance marries African and French elements to create a soulful staple of Louisiana. At the Vermillionville Historic Village near Lafayette, Creole Culture Day honored the region’s Créole heritage. Among all all the delights, we enjoyed cups of jambalaya, Creole small business tables, a Zydeco artist line-up that was phenomenal. I was too thrilled to show my 4 year old her roots!

The Vermillionville Historic Village itself was also a piece of times passed. The Lafayettetravel website states, “The mission of Vermilionville’s Living History and Folk Life Park is to give visitors a hands-on, sensory tour of life for early Acadians, Creoles, and Native Americans in South Louisiana.” The Traiteur Garden (Le Jardin du Traiteur) captured my heart as I learned about the effective herbal remedies people created with so much less to work with than current times.