Creole or Cajun??? (New Orleans, Opelousas, Carencro: credit, movies, public schools)

[laorbust61]

Originally Posted by Rmaf623

There is a large Creole population in Natchitoches Parish in the Cane River area. Many of them have last names like Metoyer, Baudoin, and Bayonne.

Yes, and they are of French, Native American, African, European and Spanish ancestry, combined. I agree that Creoles do not receive the recognition proportionate to their cultural and economic contributions to Louisiana. As with many issues racial in my homestate, this one too, is complex.

[sailordave]

Originally Posted by laorbust61

Yes, and they are of French, Native American, African, European and Spanish ancestry, combined. I agree that Creoles do not receive the recognition proportionate to their cultural and economic contributions to Louisiana. As with many issues racial in my homestate, this one too, is complex.

And yet when the Acadians arrived in New Orleans, they were considered lower than the slaves because they were French men who were willing to do the work of slaves. They were looked down upon by the rich merchants and nobility of New Orleans. Now it's the hearty Cajun culture that is prominent and the creole culture that is hardly mentioned.

[WestbankNOLA]

Originally Posted by sailordave

And yet when the Acadians arrived in New Orleans, they were considered lower than the slaves because they were French men who were willing to do the work of slaves. They were looked down upon by the rich merchants and nobility of New Orleans. Now it's the hearty Cajun culture that is prominent and the creole culture that is hardly mentioned.

Yeah, but no. Cajun culture is basically prominent in Acadiana, like always. Creole culture is prominent around New Orleans, like always. Creole culture is on the backburner recognition wise, but is prominent in the city's "elitist" crowd. All South Louisianians should be somewhat familiar with the two. The rest of the country sees the whole state as Cajun, just like back in the day the rest of the country saw both Creoles and Acadians as equally undesirable.

You are basically right, but the class system in NOLA was much more complex than that and stayed in constant change.

[laorbust61]

Originally Posted by sailordave

And yet when the Acadians arrived in New Orleans, they were considered lower than the slaves because they were French men who were willing to do the work of slaves. They were looked down upon by the rich merchants and nobility of New Orleans. Now it's the hearty Cajun culture that is prominent and the creole culture that is hardly mentioned.

I understand what you're saying, but be fair and admit that even in N.O. creoles were never at the top of the social or economic hiearchy there, due to their African ancestry and geneaological ambiguity, and even if creoles attained any influence or affluence, they certainly did not start out that way, any more than the Acadians did. The descendants of Europeans who colonized Louisiana were probably the ones who held the higher status. I consider the creole culture to be just as hearty, given the various adversities its people have encountered and surpassed.

[WestbankNOLA]

Originally Posted by laorbust61

I understand what you're saying, but be fair and admit that even in N.O. creoles were never at the top of the social or economic hiearchy there, due to their African ancestry and geneaological ambiguity, and even if creoles attained any influence or affluence, they certainly did not start out that way, any more than the Acadians did. The descendants of Europeans who colonized Louisiana were probably the ones who held the higher status. I consider the creole culture to be just as hearty, given the various adversities its people have encountered and surpassed.

Not exactly. This was somewhat true for creoles of color, but not the white creoles of direcr European descent who ran everything.

[southbossiermtd]

Originally Posted by Bel et Intelligent

I have a tradional cajun last name (Prejean) but I have creole blood going through my vains, sometimes I feel like a big pot of gumbo lol..

man i don't know how can be aware of gumbo and not just have to have it sometimes. live in louisiana and not crave gumbo??? blasphemy.

[SacalaitWhisperer]

Originally Posted by WestbankNOLA

Not exactly. This was somewhat true for creoles of color, but not the white creoles of direcr European descent who ran everything.

White Creoles. What a joke.

That is what YOU call them, not what they were.

[pandorafan5687]

There is a sizable amount of Creoles and Cajuns in Lake Charles. But I do agree that Creoles don't get the recognition that they should. Cajuns to make up more of the "Canjun Country"/Acadian area, but creoles do it big as well. If you want to see a spot where Creoles thrive, go to opelousas.

[pandorafan5687]

There's also a significant amount of creoles in Cali, becasue many fled there during the 60s or 70s in search of jobs.

[WestbankNOLA]

Originally Posted by SacalaitWhisperer

White Creoles. What a joke.

That is what YOU call them, not what they were.

Well then, you look up the history of Creole in Louisiana.
Starting with the term Criollo

To ale d'wart

In Louisiana, Créole was first used to refer to white colonists of French descent who had been born there and were thus native to the territory, as opposed to new immigrants from the US, the West Indies, or from parts of Europe other than the colonial powers, France and Spain. In its early connotations, the word Créole was applied exclusively to white people of European descent.[2]Later, the term was also applied to enslaved African-Americans who were born in Louisiana. French Creole was then the new term reserved exclusively for white people of French descent, who usually spoke French as their primary language and practiced Catholicism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Creole_people