By Dr. Kent Peacock, director of the Creole Heritage Center, Northwestern State University
NATCHITOCHES – The Creole Heritage Center at Northwestern State University is proud to acknowledge October as Creole Heritage Month in the state of Louisiana.
To mark the occasion, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has issued a Commendation recognizing the month as a time “to honor and encourage statewide recognition of the Creole heritage and the contributions of Creole people to Louisiana and the nation.” Sen. Louie Bernard of District 31 also issued a resolution from the Louisiana Senate to recognize this designation and how Creole “peoples and their descendants persevered and passed down Creole culture from generation to generation, even through long periods of discrimination and disenfranchisement.” Both pronouncements are currently on display at the Creole Heritage Center and will be formally presented to Dr. Kent Peacock, director of the Center, at its upcoming “Cheers to 25 Years” Kickoff Soiree on Thursday, Oct. 12. Peacock will also accept a similar pronouncement from the City of Natchitoches at its Oct. 9 City Council meeting.
This year’s commemoration of Creole Heritage Month is particularly exciting as it is the 25th anniversary of the Center opening its doors on the campus of Northwestern State. The Center will mark this milestone with two events in October, the aforementioned “Cheers to 25 Years” Kickoff Soiree at the Orville J. Hanchey Gallery at NSU on Thursday, Oct. 12 and an open house at the Center on Friday, October 13. Organizations in Natchitoches and throughout the state will host a variety of other Creole-connected events throughout the month to acknowledge Creole Heritage Month. Many of these events are being publicized through the Center’s social media.
The Louisiana Legislature first designated October as Creole Heritage Month during its Regular Session in 2005 via a Concurrent Resolution brought forward by Rep. T. Taylor Townsend. Beginning in 1991, Louisiana, as well as other states in the nation, had proclaimed January 22 as Creole Heritage Day, a date chosen to coincide with the birthday of Nicholas Augustin Metoyer, a patriarch of much of the Creole heritage and community in Natchitoches Parish. The Center then worked to gain recognition of an entire month to honor Creole heritage and peoples just like other groups with a shared culture and history already had and because “Creole heritage is rarely acknowledged in spite of its uniqueness,” but “worthy and deserving of recognition so that this important part of the American experience will not be lost” as the 2005 Concurrent Resolution stated.
The Creole Heritage Center at NSU has a mission to preserve, educate and advocate the value and significance of the vibrant Louisiana Creole people and is part of NSU’s School of Social Sciences and Applied Programs. For more information on its events and the Center, and links to its social media visit the Center’s website at www.nsula.edu/creole or connect with the Center at creolecenter@nsula.edu or (318) 357-6685.
