Spirit of a Culture: Cane River Creoles
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- In a story that pre-dates America, the multi-ethnic French Creoles of Cane River in Northwest Louisiana identify themselves as somewhere between white or black racial lines. This program recounts the Cane River Creole struggle: from colonial French Louisiana to today's Creole led multicultural renaissance-against the notion of race as a deciding feature of a population. The program is a collaboration between Emmy award-winning filmmaker Bill Rodman and Executive Producer Flo R. Ulmer.
I grew up in Chicago in the 1960s and went to Catholic schools in the so called "inner city". My school was all black, and we were taught by mostly Irish and German nuns and priests. In 1966 a bunch of new kids showed up at Holy Angels School. All were from Louisiana and had left that state after Hurricane Betsy. These Creole families brought with them Mardi Gras celebrations that we really enjoyed. Holy Angels was never the same again! I have very fond memories of the Creole families who settled in Chicago and brought their unique culture with them.
Hmm Hurricane Betsy was before I was born but growing up in & around New Orleans in the late 70's and 80's the damaged houses & camps people left behind were still all over, Hurricane Katrina in 05 finished them off.. That's a very interesting story now I'am curious about any information about Creoles that relocated back then.
The marxist fear truth.
My GGrandpa Lundford was a creole who migrated 🎉to the chi…you have me wondering if he too was displaced by the hurricane or was there before 🤔 ….anyhow he and his brother and another man I founded a church in the Go. It’s still there 😁🙏🏾🫶🥰
I love the culture of Louisiana. You could study it forever and never scratch the surface
I'm a proud Creole woman with relatives from the 9th Ward in NOLA! Thank you so much for this documentary -- it was exactly what my soul needed. The people remind me of my family and that makes my heart so happy. 🖤💜🧿
My mama is Hawaiian I am born and raised Hawaii with family on every island . My mama always told us of the beautiful Creoles of Louisiana I’m 73 and my mama has passed on how she knew of the Creoles I can’t say but she always said you were a beautiful people
This is my family. We had our family reunion in this church years ago. My grandmother grew up in Cane River. Thank you for posting this video.
Thankyou for sharing! I'm so glad to hear there are communities out there outside of the black/white debate. If you don't mind me asking though, has there been pressure for darker skinned Creoles to join the BLM movement?
Peace..who ya ppl'nem? Lol...Im from there but live in New Orleans
I'm so glad I saw this. My dad was born and raised on Cane River before he came to Harlem in his teens. My great grandfather was a Remo but possibly decended from a Raymond Metoyer. I'm glad I finally know how to pronounce it the way they would. My dad made an effort to bring my brother and I to his home to see where we come from. I'm so glad he did that. We couldn't get to where the actual house was on Cane River because it's a fancy gated community now. That was sad. But we were on the road where he walked to get the school bus. There was an old general store there and a mill I think owned by the Lambre's. I recognized a lot of the surnames from the film. Many are on my still growing family tree.
A branch of the Metoyer family traveled up to Omaha, Nebraska which at that time offered employment opportunities with the railroads and the packing houses. The Metoyers were entrepreneurs by nature and they opened several successful businesses in the food and the entertainment business sectors. They went to Catholic schools and were very active in the local Civil Rights movement. I attended grade school and high school with a Raymond Metoyer Jr.
💛💯
@@williamwoods3277 I am from Omaha, Nebraska, and when I was a little girl, I remember seeing Mr. Victor Metoyer occasionally near his family owned barbecue business. he was older than my stepfather, whose father’s family were all Louisiana creole , but they were casual friends. Later, when I was a little older, I remember seeing Raymond Metoyer SR. In the kitchen of their barbecue business. And I remember Raymond Jr. When I was in high school, and he was attending a parochial high school. He played basketball.
@bxthoroughbred are you talking about my great uncle Raymond J Metoyer the son of Joe Ben. If so his oldest sister is my great grandmother Roberta
@@creolegod8589 Not sure if it’s the same person but it could be.
My family has been in Virginia and South Carolina since the 1700s. My DNA is more than 97% West African. I'm proud of my heritage.
Same
are you geechie
@@jayk7149 authentic gullah not just saying it on the internet 😆
Me too proud of who God made me but I’d like to also say I’m creole it’s a culture and I am a black woman!!!!!
@@sandybanks2865 planning to take a trip to return home to Sierra Leone soon I finally found them 🙌🏾 used 23 and me
This was absolutely amazing and necessary! My grandmother was a Chevalier from Cane River, St. Augustine Parish ...That was her church...I grew up making summer trips down to Cane River...Thank you for this Documentary!
Always continue to speak and teach your language and culture. Never assimilate. “They” will always keep you separate, you yourselves are not the only people that can tell. The ordeal of race in America wants no one to be in between. Stay Proud and continue to determine your identities for yourselves. So much has been irretrievably lost and that can happen quickly. We passed and assimilated but lost our languages and most of our distinctive culture. You are important and wonderful, and whether “they” realize it or not: we need everyone
You are absolutely right about being separate. Like the white man tried to take the Indian out of the Natives and make them white Christians. Many of the traditions of the different Nations have also been lost.
You are absolutely right...
My ancestors on my mother's side were free people of color in Louisiana. They came from the creoles of Madisonville near Lake Pontchartrain. This was an interesting documentary, but I do disagree with the man @44:16 who stated that all the contributions in La. from building infrastructure to carpentry, masonry, and iron-working was all done by creoles. African slaves came to La. knowing how to forge iron and work in masonry, and made a lot of contributions. Creoles were not the only ones who did this.
Thank you for letting us know about the important contributions of our African ancestors. I was born in Statesboro, Georgia (1 hour NE of Savannah), live in Cincinnati. Mostly all of my ancestors and current relatives are from Statesboro. In the 1940s, they migrated from GA to Ohio for better opportunities. As did many AAs from the south during that period. I pray that the younger generation realizes the importance of history - all history. History is who we ARE.
Especially how to work bronze, which needed a certain percentage of tin and copper mixed in the right proportion. I'm an Igbo woman from south east Nigeria and my people who were taken into slavery went with their metal working skills amongst other skills. Great documentary 💯
Yes. The present day Creoles, smh. My family is Creole but of all shades of the beauty of what brown can be including white passing. Yet we are not biased and have not closed ourselves off.
The US wants everyone to belive that all Africans, including west Africans were ignorant fools who only knew to run around partially barren lands. That is far from the truth. The reason laws were made that forbade enslaved to teach their own people was to appropriate the skillset that each African person had and to not allow their own people to find independence with the knowledge and skills they inherited.
When the enslaved began to learn English and drag plantation owners into court for wins the laws were updated to forbid the teaching of any black or African how to read, write, or navigate the English language correctly. The enslaved actually learned English from the poor uneducated English field hands from. Without professional language education the enslaved were forced to sound uneducated but also were some of the most intelligent, creative, skilled, clever, and wise people who could swiftly learn and navigate most things that came their way. Find any video of a European English person who grew up poor without schooling in those older communities and is over the age of 70yrs or 80yrs now and hear their phrasing.
@@missjade2940 From the source thank you. Because many foundational black Americans and Creoles, even if they refuse to acknowledge it, have Igbo ancestry. I'm Creole and my family has a 400 year history in Louisiana but along generations we have added so many cultures to what has blessed me to be me as far as DNA is concerned. My earliest admixture is Native American and three Anglo cultures; earliest ancestry and lowest percentages, then all through the Asian communities down through Cambodia, except for Japan, and Korea; for some reason no one talks about the Chinese of Louisiana, and East and West Africa. I am a reflection of each of them. Including a lot of my personal interest. I was always told that I didn't act as the abridegement of black. Meaning I did not have the interest of the US forced stereotype portrayed in film. But once I learned the depths of my ancestry my passions were explained, including ancestral ways of the Igbo culture.
Lived in new Orleans as a girl. People were so different in that state. All people. I like the creole food so much. Also the gypsies were interesting. Cajun, food great, too:) I am white irish italian. Loved learning about all different types of people in N.O. Never forgot it. It was soo interesting. I love being me and learning about other fascinating people. When I hear creole I smile with good memories.
I, like the cousin in the film, am a direct descendant of Thomas Claude Metoyer and Marie Therese "Coincoin" and have family along Cane River. Some of us Creoles migrated from Louisiana to California. I'm the family historian and loved seeing this film. My generation is the first fully English only speaking generation. My grandparents spoke Creole French. I'd like to get the language back.
Oui, Couzin💜🙏🏽
I have some Metoyers in my Ancestry matches. 4th cousins at that. I'd be interested in comparing information if you are down. I'd like to get the language back & make some greater connections to my people as well.
The reality of the post-civil war living for Creoles in Louisiana, sans their special status and the slaves to support it, saw an increased resentment toward the Black sector of society to which they had now been relegated. Those who could, passed for white. Those who could not, endeavored to maintain their special status by engaging in a peculiar form of prejudice. Sadly the resultant "Colorism" survives today. 🤔
Yes, it is so much ingrained in many cultures WORLDWIDE, I don't see human beings overcoming colorism. But there is always hope. Thank you for that bit of history.
Proud to be a Creole person by ethnicity and Black by race.
It's only the "White Supreme Racists" that made race to be a bad... Race!!
@@jossdionne9810 The only race is the human race.Everything is nationality.Racism was invented by american government mistreatment of people based upon color.
Absolutely, Sir!
@@razorsharplifestyle101hard9 Probably one of the most ignorant comment I’ve ever read. Racism and slavery existed long before Americans existed.
Do blacks accept non blacks? Do Mexicans accept non Mexicans? Do jews accept non jews? Do orientals accept non orientals?
You are a hypocrite bigot racist.
@@jossdionne9810 you really believe that?
Its how youve been programmed to think..
If you hate someone for their skin color .. thats racism.. Each race thinks they are Gods gift to the world.. racism and slavery existed since biblical times.. so how did Americans invent it?
My mother spoke French and was from Lousiana. My grandmother told me she was Creole andSo fun and sweet.
I descend from these people, Im from Texas, I first became aware when I was student teaching and the teacher asked me after class if I was from LA, and I asked why and he said my last name was from a big family in LA, but it was spelled the "French Way" and I was like "I don't know, I always thought it was Spanish". Then I took a DNA test and was matched to Creole/Cajun people still living in LA then my brother began to dig into Geneology, we found matches to these Cane River Creoles. Im so happy as an ADOS to have an identity to such and amazing and beautiful culture, I find myself wishing I were back with my people on the Cane River speaking LA Creole. Ive never felt such a love and admiration for a people Ive never met. My goal is to visit them and reconnect.
What did company did you buy your DNA Kit from?
Thanks for all your research and work. We are a beautiful culture that has diminished because of people not standing strong as a Creole community. People left because of the hate they face to live a better life. But us who are still here are getting bounded with discrimination and other things. Thanks for the show.
Wonderful show and explanation of the Creole people. Enjoyed and was educated at the same time. Thank you
We are all God's children and all of us bleed red. I think that it is beautiful when we have joy with the way we are made.
I’m born and Raised in Natchitoches La . I’m part of the Cane River people. I’m also part of the Natchitoches Indians. My French Creole side founded Natchitoches
My mother was born in Natchitoches.
@@thatonegirlelaine who is your mama
@@ashleybartels6457 She was a Hampton/Hamilton. My grandparents didn't live there long. They moved to Alexandria and my mom ended up living in Colfax with a relative.
@@thatonegirlelaine oh wow my Grandfather Tom Smith was from Colfax and Dad was Dr. Thomas Smith Sr. They had the old big white home in the middle of the Colfax
Was there an African side?
I've been Blessed to visit various parts of LA. I fell in love with the culture, the food and the Beautiful people. Took a tour of Cane River and saw one of the largest personal collection of paintings by the Incomparable Clementine Hunter.
I’m not creole but I love this culture I find it so interesting. There’s really nothing like it. This program does a great job of explaining things. Other videos I’ve seen basically just have very general information. This shows an in depth, day to day version of their lives
Yes it is,this is my family.If you're ever down in New Orleans,touch base..Ill show you some great places
@@OloRishaCreole504 that would be awesome! Thank you for the offer
So proud to be a Creole and of my people. Taught my child about our culture and he is teaching his children. Hope we will never be forgotten people again.❤
Proud to be of Cane River Descent- Natchitoches is a dear, lovely, epoch of a hometown!
Good job! From a Cajun. Thanks , Amy Gauthier
I have some Gauthiers not too far back in my line. Would you happen to have a family tree? I'm wondering if we might be relatives.
I am a descendant of the Goudeau family so I have connections going back to Cane River. There was a migration of some Louisiana Creoles to Oklahoma so there are a lot of us descendants here in Oklahoma. This is great info that I am learning from this broadcast!
Emma Goudeau was my great grandmothers name from this area,She was married to a Darbonne
Hello Cuz! My kids are anyways....Goudeaus, Metoyer, Dupre, LeComte, LaCour, etc. Many in Phoenix area as well! Hope to visit Okmulgee and Tulsa in the not too far future.
Went to school with them
Some of my people are also in OK and AR. Now that explain it.
@@rachelstegman2916 Rachals too
What a well done documentary of a wonderful people. Beautiful!
Many thanks!
Sounds like my story. I am a Crimean Tatar but The Republic of Turkey want me to identify as a Turk or be Turkish, I as a Crimean Tatar, like the Creole, am multi-ethnic with Balkan, Slavic and Central Asian emphasis with some Greek, Sardinian, Caucuses, Armenian blends.
I myself am a descendant of Louisiana free people of color very similar to the Cane River creoles of color
Me too! ❤️❤️
I happy to know that there were free people of color, I have a question, would you people qualify for reparations? So you people are not descendants of America slavery? Please answer if possible, I am learning so many things I didn't know about, and my family has been here since slavery lol.
@@sandrastafford658 no black people will qualify for reparations... So the ambiguous ones have no need to worry.
@@TheRealist1.
Because "Black" actually means: Wan, Colorless, Void Of Color, Albino, and Pale. For the melanin-enriched inhabitants, it's only a SOCIAL CONSTRUCT, but for the odd group of mountain people, it's their true identity.
The so-called Negroes are the Indigenous Indians of America -- not to confuse that with the "Natives" who became known as Natives after our grandparents marched for their Civil Rights. But for that, they were known as Mongolians.
These "Creoles" are a watered-down version of the original French dark-skinned people who moved down south during the 1700s.
@@sandrastafford658
who were the so-called: "Free People Of Color?" See, in Europe (which is named after a dark-skinned Princess named Europa) considered themselves to be Tawny while the other half were Swarthy. These are the "People Of Color" who had arrived here to conquer us.
This video has a phenomenal message. Keep and share pure cultures "For the World" ! Imagine the richness w would have if so many cultures were/are not downtrodden but rather embraced/ preserved
They are not downtrodden,,, and they are preserved… Americans are mixed,…almost all of us have native lines. But others teach they are all on a reservation somewhere …. No they are not,,, We are all Americans…
@@beverlybalius9303 🙏📿💕 🤗
So grateful we have an outlet to share our identity
I love being a creole ive been to Cane River twice to visit my great grandmother Erniestine Brosset we all flew out there to give her a 100 years birthday bash in 1987 my first visit to Cane river at 15 the summer of 1975 in Cloutchiville I was used to Los Angeles the only place to go in that town was a place called the white elephant a pool hall I have fond memories of that trip there I loved nachitous it was so quaint.
The book Cane River by Lalita Tademy is amazing!! Philomene was everything to me in that book. My family is from Convent, Louisiana. This state is like a different country.
the tademys are my blood line lalita is my 3rd cousin, her grandfather and my 2nd great grandfather are brothers.
@@cjturner9688 do you get down home? That book… I’ve read and re-read it. I haven’t looked at the others she wrote yet but Cane River… there’s something about those women… idk it’s deep. I am a huge fan!!! Lol!!
This is my family! ❤️
I literally have 2 aunt's In this video
I just learned my kids are deep in these exact families. So exciting. I'm learning so much. Their tree and DNA matches have all the surnames! They are descendants of the "First Families" and Coincoin and Claude Thomas Pierre Metoyer.....and Dominique.
I have some Metoyers in my line as well. Not too distant either.
Such BEAUTIFUL people…..wow.
Hi, my name is Beverly Jean Stanford my mother is from Baton Rouge, LA and my father is from Eufaula, AL I am a decent of the Native African American Indian French Creole and Spanish Creola of South Louisiana, and Native African American Indian Mexican Mulatto on my father side of South Alabama. A mixed people of race, who believe that they cannot except or express one side of their mixed culture without excepting their. I am Creole Mulatto Black because of my parents.
Say it loud, I'm Creole and I'm proud!!!!!
Say it loud, I'm Creole and I'm proud.
I’m creole and proud!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'M CREOLE AND I'M PROUD!!!!
Yes Louisiana Creole and proud!
Wanna hear something funny in like 1974 in high school they had black history month someone who was not creole made some gumbo for the potluck lunch it had bologna in it I went home and told my parents about it we laughed so hard my mom was a great creole cook and cook in general she had the bends she laughed so hard I remember it like it was yesterday I sure miss my parents….
I've always wondered about The Creole people. I heard they were the Black & French mix & the Cajuns were the white French & Spanish. What I heard 🙂 I still didn't know. Just heard those Creole could really cook 🙂 & were a kind Spirited people. I see the African, French, Spanish & maybe even Native American. & I respect that 🙂 Beautiful Documentary & Beautiful People ❤
This is a wonderful explanation of our culture. I’m from South Louisiana and of Creole culture and it has always been a struggle to define myself to others. I was always asked if I was Hispanic or Italian. I have lived in many places in the world and none compare to my culture from creole south Louisiana. It’s not what i look like, its who i am in my heart and soul. My culture defines me. I miss my culture everyday of my life and would love to be able to live out my elder years immersed in the culture that nourished my spirit and soul.
@@curlycocoa2239 hi Curly, Yes, there is no place like our beautiful Louisiana with all of its rich cultures. I guess I’m blessed to have grown up in a very large family (the creole way) and have first and second generation relatives that were from other cultures including French, Italian, AA, German, Hispanic and Syrian. Friends often comment that it must have been interesting on holidays and thinking back, they were right. It was interesting and loving. We gathered at my maternal grandma’s house on sundays and all of the accents and shades were just family and normal, until I was much older I thought everyone was like us.
Don’t get me wrong there were hardships. We were poor people but we got along and family helped family. We fished and hunted and grew food on top of jobs. Care of children for working families, care of the infirmed , sick and elderly was a family responsibility. Believe me, I would mutter under my breath about being the live-in babysitter, house cleaner and lawn mower, you know, normal immature teenage thinking, hahaha. As I look back I realize what a gift I was given and wouldn’t trade it for anything.
@@curlycocoa2239 Portugal is only considered part of the Mediterranean for diplomatic reasons, it is actually part of the Iberian Peninsula.
I get the same thing. The worst is when others try to tell me what Creole is as if I don't know who I am. We're the most misunderstood culture in America.
I have hard time identifying my race just like creole people don't want to be just black or just white I'm from south Louisiana to from great grandparents of Irish Italian French German Dutch! I do not to be Caucasian I m from 5 different countries five different cultures
@@lancesudberry209 yeah ya right. I'm probably the "weirdest" looking creole you can find. born & raised in N. O., male With Long, Naturally Blonde Hair, Blue-Green Eyes & I Have Tan Lines....But I'm "suppose" to Say I'm "black".
Great documentary.
Multigenerational mixed people have always been set apart in white dominant societies and used globally through out history to maintain white dominance. North America is the only place that went by a one drop rule. I lived in Louisiana for several years and knew of a small Creole community where everyone had intermarried so much they were genetic and cognitive issues prominent there. I knew a woman who was adopted (she was biracial) to bring in new blood in the community. Her adopted parent's were cousins. She said many families did this especially in the 40s, 50s and 60s when white women gave up biracial children for adoption. I dated a woman whose creole father was basically disowned for marrying her black mother.
I totally believe you. Thank you for the history.
disowned - stuff happens- also when U say cousins- are u implying- close? FAMILIES WITH WEALTH AND PROPERTY-married cousins throughout history- example the Rockefeller's and the Roosevelts - married fifth and sixth cousins- goggle it-. your statements are not OF substance REGARDING COGNITIVE ISSUES. tHANK U
Not the 1950 etc. anymore- Is there some IRRATION from u now? Respectfully- Please Be More ACCEPTING- Note the tendency for successful Bruhs - to marry white women and Creoles- and some sisters to have blond extensions and adopt French names(trending-CURRENTLY)-- the
YOU TUBE has again deleted much of my posts- To summarize- I express the fact that the world is more tolerant and that live and let live - I will and just chill and be mmore accepting- I will be what and whom I want to be- regardless of color- let us see if the erase this- haha
This was very well done. Informative and educational. I have family living on Cane River about a mile from the Catholic
Church. Though we are of Irish decent we have many creole friends. I think they are fascinating people. And I hold them in high regard.
Only so called Blacks, many of who were Indians, are said to be slaves? There were white slaves, called indentured.
The vast majority were Africans
@@d.d.sarason8749 the vast majority were Haitian which this documentary doesn’t mention at all, & also Native American. This is why we don’t like caucasians telling our stories. They omit & gloss over everything to appease a certain audience.
Haiti is made up of 95% African descendants
I have heard a lot of people criticize The way history is told by Caucasians. ( I myself have done this and I am A proud African American) but our ancestors didn’t have an alphabet before colonialism. Native Americans or West African. Our history is told mainly by stories. This happened after the invention of the printing press and media. I know that white folks have bent history, but somethings are pretty accurate
Such beautiful people and my friends 😇
What I see here is a denial of their African ancestry or to push it back as far as they can , they seem to be very proud of their French ancestry. Who cares if Creole built things, progressed, black skinned people did to. So you see how the race reminded these so creoles, mix race that the creole basically started from an African race. Keep saying they were French and totally neglecting African. I’m never going to my neglect my African ancestry, never and I’m 1/4 white, so glad the majority of my DNA is African. African what a great ancestry, what a great history.
Sad.....yes that black blood is beautiful
agreed
Those people only have French and Spanish ancestors because of slavery which means slaves did not consent. They were property and were used at the discretion of the owners. So what they are glorifying is rape. The lighter skinned creole were taught that they were better then the darker African slaves that they came from. Smh. I was raised in the 90's most creole identified as black.
Sigh!! The desire to be white is real........
It's not true that they started as African. Mu family started out as "white."
I too, am a proud Creole.⚜️💕💋
Creole approved... multiple ethnic heritage...😎✔️💥💯🎶🌎🇺🇲
Wonderful history of ancestors 🙏⚕️🌟🕊
I am a Virginia native with dozens of Creole cousins and some go back to Va. I visited summer 2024 and can’t wait to go back 2025
Being from Texas , though { we are from Texas on the Texas, Louisiana, border ) I myself are not creole, my best friends are Cajuns ...they taught me about their heritage food , and the love for Zeideco, creole music ...NO THEY , ARE not forgotten ..we will never forget what we have learned ...they will never ever be forgotten..lol plus the fact I was taught cooking from them , and I will teach this to my daughter and grandchildren also .
DALE. A very healthy, sane attitude. Accept the other person as an individual and learn from him or her
Golden Triangle?
Zydeco music?
Really insightful doc. For some time I've wanted to know more about. Cheers!
I never really got into this ( my) culture until I moved to Houston, Tx and I always had some “explaining” to do. They thought I was from the Caribbean because of my enunciation of some words. Also how I always referred to myself as dark skinned. It wasn’t until then that I realized that the creole culture is really segmented from the rest of the country.
Did you get people asking you if you were from "the islands?" I got that a lot when I was a child.
@@thegrandmasabrina yep… I still get asked that..
@@GlorytalkswithAmberJ It happens to my parents and especially my grandparents a lot. I'm like the interpreter.
When I was in Houston I told them I was Creole also. I’m white. They were confused. Apparently they are unaware that Creole is not a race or ancestry and that there are white Creoles, mixed race creoles and black Creoles in Louisiana. They were unaware that Creole in Louisiana means to be Louisiana born of old world race (Europe OR Africa OR Asia OR any combination of any of these) for people, or grown in Louisiana for produce (such as Creole tomato), or made in Louisiana for food cuisine and culture.
I'am a descendant of Cane River Creoles, I also share a great grandfather with Marie Theresa Coincoin. Lt.Remi Poissot the man who raised her was her grandfather.
My mom is doing ancestry and I also think she said she’s related to her also, this is interesting history at its finest
What the man said from abt 13:20 to 14:00 minutes in was a profound statement that needs to be heard in the times we live in today. We'll said.
As a biracial person, I take particular interest in communities made of people of multiracial origins. This was very interesting and I hope to visit New Orleans one day
I am African American. My ancestors worked hard for everything they got. They had no advantages. I am proud of them and the descendants they made possible. I understand that Creole people want to b e recognized. They have my permission to be separate from African Americans.
African or "American"? There must be something more, A+!
There is documentation in Spain and other parts of the world that classified their African slaves as Creole and they were not of mixed race which is why you have blacks that also call themselves Creole. Some Haitian people call themselves Creole too.
@@iwazarlayahrevelationprodu4860 You are correct.... Original meaning Raised/Bred .. anyone born in Louisiana. Transitioned to mixed race French and African... Then cast/status. Has nothing to do with skin color or eye color
They don't need it.
Those SAME people are our ancestors too we just have several. Why is that hard to understand?
My grand father was from Louisiana he looked like a white man to me. My mother told us he was Creole. He left Louisiana for Chicago and never really told them about his family in Louisiana and never looked back. My grandmother was dark skinned and she looked like Diahann Carrol and he made sure she never allowed their kids to say “good hair” or “faire skin”. I always wondered why he never discussed his culture. We can’t even find our relatives.
a lot of my grandmothers people moved to Chicago, theyre Balthazars and she was born in Cloutierville. I wouldve never known if i didn’t ask my mom its sad how some things are just lost to us this way
@@mariemcmuscles im related to Balthazar/Baltazars from Cloutierville aswell..Rachal,LaCour Metoyer...if u ever come down to New Orleans..hmu Coo'za
I'm sorry 😢
That you can't find your relatives
Good Evening to ALL ! I teach in the Monroe, La area.I am searching for a great Air B and B or bread and breakfast for December 8th-10th. My family plans to attend the Natchitoches Christmas Lights Festival, gospel and zydeco concerts, lighted boat parade, tour of homes, etc. Please share any leads. I sure would appreciate it. Monica P. Poole
For those in here critiquing and wondering why Creoles don’t want to relegate themselves to the “black” label, why do you care? If you feel they’re selling outs then let that be it and move on lol. Live your life already, jeesh. It’s almost like y’all want validation.
Here’s the thing, the term “black” is a very vague yet confining designation. What exactly is black? What is it to be “black?” Really, what does that mean?? That term and what it connotes takes away from the diversity within what some would term “black” as a collective. Those in that designation are not all the same.
Creoles are not just their variety of skin colors. There is a there there in terms of cultural and social distinctions compared to other groups. I’m descended from Creoles myself, namely on my mother’s side whom most are cradle Catholic and the whole nine. Heard the french growing up and all that. If I showed some my old family photos quite a few would t believe I’m blood related to them lol. Creoles come in many skin tones. Shoot, a Creole family photo can easily look like an U.N. meeting lol. All that said, I don’t get caught up in the identity politics.
At the end of the day joust know that God made us all and we will all have to account to Him. He’s not a respect or of persons so culture and skin tone won’t save you. Remember that. God bless & peace.
Black isn’t a vague term. It is designated for people with West and Central African ancestry. A man said that they predate colonialism which is not true. Some feel that the”creole “ people were at a higher caste because of their lighter features than other African descendants. The culture is perceived to be exclusive by darker people wether that is a fair description or not. Their is a far smaller group of fair skinned African descendants in southern Maryland with names like “Proctors” that are rumored to even procreate with relatives to keep their features light to avoid being place in the darker caste. A man made concept is a facetious statement, all concepts are man made.
"Relegate" "validation"... Dark slimmed Creole people aren't really about all of that you're talking about. People are just calling it like it is. I've got some who pass, but they don't act like they don't know why black people tell them to be real about who they are.
The people in this video seem to be now concerned with culture than anything else.
We are White, here in Louisiana & America since 1600's & we MISS THE CREOLE CULTURE & are sickened to see it disappear. Its up to the Creoles to maintain their culture. WE LOVE OUR CREOLES, they are just like us only different. Really, though, here in New Orleans the Creoles were such a beautiful people & not 'separate' but distinct & rich & true. Folks not from here may not understand that it was all 'who' we were & one's character was relished. Ya know, its as though the colors enhanced the magical difference, but there was more to it all. Such a pretty people too these New Orleans Creoles. Its important to recognize one's cultural lineage. We Whites are losing ours too, as we have French, Flemish, Irish, German cultural tweaks that we're losing fast. Lots of New Orleans Creoles have Irish.
And I'd like for y'all to know, when we were small children we all had flip-dolls, one White one Creole, fabric with colorful skirts. The dolls were ours with names, we carried with us. Just flip & another friend is here. Creole, White. Tell ya what we all were, however which isn't necessarily true today, WE CHILDREN WERE WELL BEHAVED. The divide in children, as we see it, is a character difference from their homes. Poor character at home produces poor character in children, thats all there is to it.
We miss the Creoles as prominent aspiration. And these days, those delicious Creole restaurants are replaced by unidentifiable immigrants who get funding, while local White, Creole people do not! So we don't dine there. We support our own cultures & people... unfortunately, very few Creole eateries & restaurants... & all those who worked there. Now they call themselves Black or African American & have almost no class. Creoles had class & class is ones character, nothing to do with all that bling & distasteful, even vulgar manner. WE MISS OUR CREOLES & all their shades & cuteness & gracious manner.
My family is also mixed mainly from alabama though. We had an uncle trace our ancestry and located a relative of spanish ancestry who proves we are all connected, brothers and sisters if you will. My immediate family is also mixed and on my paternal grandfathers side and also mothers side " plenty of cherokee, blackfoot and one more i believe crow not certain but positive of " african amer." and So very proud of All my ancestry which i was told included perhaps polynesian.
The French owned parts of Alabama that were once part of the Louisiana Colony (La Louisiane) and Mobile holds a special place in that. In Mobile, there were white Creoles, mixed race Creoles and black Creoles just like other parts of French Alabama. When the British took over Mobile, a huge migration of Mobile Creoles (whites and blacks and mixed race) migrated to Louisiana. I’m a white Louisiana Creole from the New Orleans area and many of us have some ancestry from those French Mobile migrants including myself. Mobile and New Orleans are deeply connected all throughout history in the 1700’s and 1800’s and share culture, cuisine and blood.
My grandmother and one great uncle migrated in the 1940s. My great grand parents migrated in the late 1950s early 1960s. RIP My great grands lived to 94 and 100 years and my grand and great uncle who migrated lived see 95 and 96 years of life with both grand mother living to meet five generations of their lives.
This was amazing! South Louisiana resident here also of French creole descent… the passion and wholeheartedness of this just made my heart smile!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Are you French Creole or Creole of Color or Afro-Creole? French Creoles are white people of French descent, Creoles of Color are mixed race people of European and African descent and Afro-Creoles are black people. Which are you?
@@IslenoGutierrez both! My mothers side of the family’s descendants are from Quebec. On my fathers side of the family his father is from Haiti and my grandmothers father & mother both had a Native American parent…
My is from natchitoches, Louisiana #CANERIVER
Wonderful!
Creoles are a wonderfully culturally rich people. Very welcoming and very warm. While stationed in New Orleans in the Navy I had the privilege of being invited into their lives with open arms. Love the bayou and their music. I, for one, am a northerner from the North Coast of Ohio of Italian, Scott-Irish and Cherokee Indian heritage.
That is because you are WHITE. They wouldn't spit on a black non-Creole person even if they were on fire. Nice try though.
@@Villanelle2k24 What are you talking about? I know many creoles married to American blacks and I’ve met creoles of all colors and ethnic backgrounds especially since I’m a creole myself with two racially mixed parents. You sound jealous
Well thank you very much. I’m a white Louisiana Creole (white Louisianian of Creole heritage) and I take your compliment as an honor.
Some came out of SC, like one of my lines. In SC they were labeled Redbones, Portuguese, Turks, Brass Ankles, Buckheads. There is even a community called 'Creeltown', in SC, who identity as Native Indigenous. Some of these SC families migrated to Louisiana as well. Same bloodlines, different labels depending on the area. Some labels were derogatory and were created by some whites.
Not the same at all. Without the Cajun French heritage you're not a creole.
@@melissarobi. I have French heritage, but I'm not Creole. Let me clarify by saying similar bloodlines or mix.
@@melissarobi
Creoles in South East Louisiana dont have Cajun heritage
@@curlycocoa2239
You completely misunderstood me.
I responded to Life As a Cajun Princess saying "without Cajun French heritage you're not a Creole".
That's what's wrong!
Most Creoles in South East Louisiana dont have Cajun heritage because in River Parishes their mix was mainly German not French but they all spoke French amd the Crwoles in New Orleans were mostly directly from France not Canada. Maybe in Plaquemines amd St. Bernard they have more Canadian heritage, Im not sure.
So my point was that what she said wasn't true not that no SELA Creoles didnt have Cajun heritage.
@@curlycocoa2239
Whats the cultural differences between African Americans of New Orleans and Creoles?
Very interesting. Greetings from the Netherlands (Europe).
Looks like a beautiful and interesting culture.
beautiful and informative program. unfortunately, from some of the comments , haters abound.
Cajun/nior from Acadia/Mi'maw our rez is in Maine. 266 years & still being treated as 2nd class citizen within North America. Denied entry into Nova Scotia this spring time to amend the Canadian Bill of Rights to include Cajun...merci Quebec pour benvenue moi!!
My father is from cane river, Torbert to be exact. I love my creole!!❤️🎉
Here learning my heritage
I'm from east Texas and luckily I can travel to the cane River area with just a 3 or 4 hour drive. I go every cpl years. If you get the opportunity, I highly suggest a vist.
I've learned more than I could've learned through conventional means.
I love the differences in these peopleI love to learn this
🤗❤️💯I love this video! Shared 🙏🏼
I’m blessed with it and I love it
In Spanish we say Criollo, used to mean people of European descent born in the Spanish colonies. Later definition change to include people of any race born and fully simulated into the colony's culture. Over time and with constant imigration from Spain and Southern Europe it became the culture of the colonies who were in it's majority a culture of 500 years of generationally mixed race people who go back to the early colonies. My racial mix according to dna is 54% European, 25% Black west African and 21% Indigenous Taino from Puerto Rico. Very common mix in PR. But bottom line is we are all 100% human and we all originated in the African continent.
Cane river is one of my favorite books
Ashley, finished it, rereading now. Odd this post comes up.
Me too! I loved the whole series.
My grandma was Louisiana creole and Filipino and black and Native American Portuguese and French before she died last year she was proud of it❤
And that is wear my Father was born in North Louisiana
Louisiana's Creoles are obviously very different Creoles, My Maternal Granny was from Northeast Louisiana what is Indian Territory. She often spoke of the mixture amongst people in the northern part of the state as well. It seem to be a strong connection to Catholicism for many of the Creoles in Southern Louisiana now according to a number of historical documents the word Creole refers to anyone born in the colony of Louisiana.
I love fishing Cane River...real fine people along its banks...
It’s really sad people don’t want to be Black when they come from BLACK BLOOD !
It’s the Black Community that accept you people , NEVER the White / Spanish community.
The history is not forgotten, it’s just not important enough to baton.
Creole is no different from what’s considered a “ghetto”.
There’s a cult in the hood as far as food , lingo , fashion , dos/donts etc etc
No one is parading “I’m ghetto”
Just like blacks, whites , mexicans can all live in a ghetto but that doesn’t change their race.
Nor does it change their heritage.
However the creole cult was founded by Blacks , who were a variety of shades.
Stop thinking bc you’re lighter in shade you’re more superior.
You have the same struggles, you choose to ignore that.
Lastly , how can you say you creole but all interviewed have different stories ?
Make it make sense …
Blacks, we KNOW our people ; including the “wannabes”.
💯
Oh please 🙄 Not everyone has to be either black or white, mixed race people are the future. Stop poking your head in our business
I remember a Creole Lady from New Orleans,,, her name was Barbara,,,i was a little girl,,ms Barbara was a beautiful lady,,,, so tiny, with Blue/Black wavy shiny hair,,, she had about 13 kids,,, I always wonder where she is today …that was the 60’s,,,,
Important information for Public Historians whose expertise is the years 1750 ff.
Cool, so, like the Métis! Wish Louisiana and the States at large had a similar policy to Canada with regard to the Métis Nation and the Mitchif language. Great documentary, and I wish good vibes!
Genre, facque c'est comme les métis ! Hâte de voire l'implementation par la Louisiane pis le reste des États-Unis des politiques similaires aux telles canadiennes visant la nation métisse et la langue mitchif. Excellent reportage, pis bon courage dans l'avenir de votre culture !
edit : Bien sur pas exactement le même que les Métis. Les circonstances étaient ben trop différent là. Of course not exactly like the Métis. Their situations were/are totally different (juste, la similarité est striking)
I looked lovingly at a photo of my beloved late grandmother and creole immediately jumped to mind🙄💖💖 However, I was shot down quickly by my mother who said, "Oh no, she was not creole." I looked at her expecting an explanation but got none. Puzzles me to this day. I KNOW what I saw, and I saw creole.
You mean mixed race.
Angela - if not Creole, then what??? Gosh I want to know. I'm White & love & miss my Creoles & their culture, fading, being displaced by Spanish Latino too. We have got to keep our French on! French was spoken because it was a universal language, as English is now. So rich, beautiful French, old French too. Do you think her definition of Creole was different? You gotta get answers. Don't stop until you do. KEEP YA CREOLE ON, dawlin!
Is there no one who wishes to admit they are of African descent? French people? C'mon! You're not JUST french.
lol, let them claim French, and Indian,
At first glance it is seen that they have a racial mix. But precisely that means that they do not identify themselves as black or as white because they are neither one nor the other. If they want to be recognized as Creoles and it is fair to them, no one should bother. They make use of their freedom.
Similar to the Hispanic community who only want to be identified by their language. Spanish & the various cultures regardless of phenotype.The Creole want the same. No mixed race person irespective of racial admixture wants to be only identified as Black even if they are descended from a persons who were enslaved & black. They are mixed race people. Proud of their European & ancestry.
Thomas Jefferson purchased Louisiana & expanded the nation westward. Louisiana & other states, like Illinois were no longer French territories but became part of the USA. The people living in those areas are no longer French but American. It seems odd to want to claim, Frenchness, when those people where born outside of France & no longer in a French territory. The French, creole language & history can be preserved but at the end of the day, they are American like blacks & whites. They just dont want to accept their African ancestry regardless of how dark or light their complexion or if their facial phenotype resembles closely to afrocentric. They would rather say, I'm not Black, I'm french, yes I'm descended from an enslaved ancestor & have only 25% euro french or spanish ancestry but I'm not black.
Im Creole and as dark as an African. We are a rainbow people and we love to claim all of us, especially our African roots. Creoles, like the Gullah Geechee, are the only Black cultures in the US that connects back to Africa. To this day my people are still in French quarter beating to our ancestors drums in the Congo Square. We still practice and Give deep reverence to our African Orishas of Voodoo. We still cook African cuisines like Gumbo and Fried Okra. And our Creole language has African roots.
Another thing, we are only passionate about our Amerindian and European ancestry because of our awareness of our ancestors. We know our Amerindian and European ancestors by name, in some cases face, even their sub-ethnicities; including our Africa heritage. Many of us can pinpoint where our ancestors came from, either here or there.
🕊🌎🕊🕊sharing🦋THANK🦋YOU🦋
So, most of the Creoles won't be getting any Reparations in California if or when it is a done deal?
I very much enjoyed this documentary. Quite honestly, I love culture, and I really did not totally understand the diversity of the Creole people.
Being Creole is similar to the Melungeons of Tennessee/Virginia/Carolina/Kentucky they are a mix of African/Native American/European. Many had European features with dark skin. Some have had DNA tests tracing genealogy back to the White Lion ship of 1619 in Virginia.
Respect- but no similarity
The Creoles would probably be known mostly in Latin America as mulatos (the Spanish term for "mulattoes") because that's what they are for the most part: not entirely white and not entirely black. But Anglo Americans were always opposed to the mixture of races, which was considered to be illegal until recent times in the US.
Creole is not a race or ancestry. The term Creole in Latin America is known as Criollo and it also describes white Latin Americans as well as mixed ones and black ones. It’s the same in Louisiana, there are white creoles, black Creoles and mixed race Creoles. There are two types of mixed race Creoles in Louisiana, the mulatre (mulato) and métis (mestizo). Creole in Louisiana means to be a local Louisiana person. A Louisiana Creole is a person born in Louisiana of any old world race (Europe OR Africa OR Asia OR any combination of any of those). I’m a white Louisiana Creole. My ancestors were part of the Louisiana colony and I’m not mixed race at all. I’m white. What makes me Creole is my Louisiana birth and my old world lineage, not my race. Creole is not a race or ancestry.
I am extremely proud to be creole
4:28 well said she's exactly right
Creole comes from the Spanish word Criollo= Mixed, Creoles seems in USA are White and Black Mixes which could also be called Mulattos or Métis.The Manitoba Métis are French-Canadian Voyageurs or Coureurs de Bois mixed with mostly Algonquin Natives. In Haiti Blacks speak French Créole it has nothing in common with Cajun or Acadien/Québecois accents.
Jurg Bangerter - Also, until not that long ago, French was a universal language used globally. Now its English. So the same applies, as just because we speak English doesn't mean we're English, any more than speaking French means one is French.
And was just reading on Algonquin near Roanoke claim they're descendants are European.
Yes, the French in the New World used Créole as a copied term from the Spanish in the New World that used Criollo for their white Spanish descendants born in the new world. The French used it for their white descendants born in the new world. In the French New World areas, mixed race people and black people also were included as Creoles the same as whites. Creole in Louisiana means to be a Louisiana born person of old world race (Europe OR Africa OR Asia OR any combination of any of these). To be a Louisiana Creole if any race, one must be born in Louisiana, that’s the prerequisite. Creole in Louisiana has always been a synonym for “local”.
I've been to Louisiana very nice and historic city.
My grandmothers parents are listed as mulattos from Bossier City Louisiana. My great grandmother’s birthplace says San Salvador. Even more relatives are listed as mulatto from Northern Louisiana. Roquemore is my mother’s maiden name, she was born in Texas, about an hour and a half from Shreveport/Bossier. Would my great grandparents being listed as mulatto in the census mean they were Creoles?
IAM A WOMAN OF COLOR AND PROUD OF IT