Creole and Cajun American Immigrants

Carving a New Life off the Bayous of Louisiana

Immigrés de Créole et d'Américain de Cajun

Découpage d'une nouvelle vie outre des bayous de la Louisiane

Creole and Cajun American immigrant assimilation creates a colorful thread of a somewhat marginalized dominant culture in sub-tropical Louisiana along the shores and bayous of the Gulf of Mexico.  The Creole and Cajun origins are quite distinct in their historical definitions.  Their early immigrant stories reveal a loyal and brave-hearted people, many expelled from their native land, who through struggle and perseverance, carve a new and endearing culture for themselves in America.  Through sources from scholars dedicated to Creole and Cajun narrative, this research hopes to illuminate perceptions regarding Louisiana Creole and Cajun definition, early immigrant experience and thoughts on the future of these unique cultural icons.

By fundamental definition, as recorded in European dictionaries over the past 200 years, Creoles of Louisiana are Caucasians of Spanish and French ancestry, born in a European settled colony.  A definition recorded from New Orleans early history from 1718 explains Creole as a child born in the colony as opposed to France.  Many Creoles were regarded as aristocratic because they were wealthy and well-educated.  Their lifestyle was abundant and family prosperity allowed them the opportunity to migrate from France to the French colonized lands in America before they became part of the United States in 1803 by the terms of the Louisiana Purchase.  The Creoles had then also included the Spanish ruling class, who actually ruled the Louisiana territories from the mid-1700s until 1800.  A secret and politically motivated transfer of power to France by Spain was incorporated three weeks prior to the Louisiana Purchase. 

The Creole immigrant experience was likely prosperous with easy access to the port of New Orleans along the Mississippi river and the lucrative fur-trading and farming of the era.  Chaplain Sidney J. Marceaux, published author, recalls the history of Francois Desgravaier Marceau, a.k.a. "l'americaine," who was nephew to the famous and well-educated French general, François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, whose ashes reside in the Panthéon.  The famous French General's nephew was one of the early immigrants to Louisiana, and links the Creole cultures unique genealogy to aristocrats in France. 

According to Jude Lawrence, who studies Louisiana history, "the Creoles spoke more formal French and could actually read French" as compared to the Cajuns, whose literacy was not as extensive (Lawrence).  The ability to read and write in French distinguishes the Creole from other immigrants, such as early British colonists who were English speaking.  Creole people regarded French as their first language and this distinction also generally includes individuals who incorporate the catholic religion and other distinguishing aspects of the culture as well, such as Creole cuisine. Their experience produced a dominant culture of wealth and successful assimilation in the New World region of Louisiana.

The term Creole by today's standards has expanded significantly, and may include ethnic and geographical differences not recognized by early historians whose definition is based on the original white aristocratic settlers of Louisiana who came directly from Europe, mainly France.  It cannot be disputed that the modern definition of Creole differs from traditional descriptions that excluded African lineage. "However, colonial era documents show that a broader usage of the term was already common by the late 18th century, with references to free Creoles of Color and even to slaves of pure African descent born in Louisiana as Creole slaves" (Wikepedia.com).  Research has revealed that the definition of Creole has a colonial French Louisiana and a modern French Louisiana elucidation.  Modern French Louisiana "shares influences with many other Native Americans, settlers, former slaves and immigrants whose cultures make up the fabric of Southern Louisiana" and this includes immigrants associated with the Cajun origin (Wikepedia.com).  In summary, "Louisiana Creoles were the indigenous colonial population for Louisiana.  Myriad ethnic groups contributed to this culture over the centuries, including those who arrived by choice and those against their will" (http://decuir.creolewest.com./).  It is important to note that many Creole's still strongly adhere to the early and original definition of Creole, who was born in colonized Louisiana and whose ancestors arrived directly from France or Spain, and not Canada. 

            The term Cajun refers to migrating French immigrants "who colonized the general area of ancient Acadia, now known as Nova Scotia, beginning in 1604"  (Daigle viii).  British colonists of North America treated these people with utter contempt and cruelty, and after the French government dispensed rule of Acadia to the British in 1755 they were forced to exile in what is known as The Great Upheaval (le Grand Dérangement) because they would not succumb to bear arms against France or renounce their Catholic religion for Protestantism.  In retaliation, the British systematically deported these denouncers and many fled to Louisiana beginning in the early 1760's.  The terms Cajun and Acadian have separate meaning in that Acadian describes all descendants of the original Nova Scotia Acadian descendents, regardless of geographical migration.  Cajun "applies only to those whose Acadian ancestors who came to Louisiana after the eviction of 1755" (Daigle ix).

            These once prosperous people were forced to sustain themselves among the prairies and bayous of Louisiana in a land where their French language and previous customs were inadequate.  According to some historians, Cajun immigrants were treated in a fashion that was similar to the manner forced African Americans were treated by colonists.  In this sense, the Cajun experience is similar to the minority experience.  Their native lands were never an option for them to return to as their homes were either burned down or invaded by British colonists.  They inhabited swamps and prairies along with Native American tribes who had originally settled on the land. In Louisiana they encountered "countless new vegetables, trees, fruits, birds fishes, wild animals they had never seen or heard of before" as well as "bayous, marshes, ponds, cypress swamps, etc. for which their French had no names" (Daigle ix).  The Cajuns were forced to reinvent themselves and sustain their families with "a new cuisine and a whole new way of life" (Daigle ix).  Assimilation was not easy for this culture, whose loyalty to France had left them penniless and ill-clad, and placed them in an unfamiliar and undeveloped territory.  They eventually adapted to their new environment and their language and perseverance reflects a culture of self-sufficiency and adaptation.  With no guidance or support, they re-named unfamiliar geography and topography and renewed their unbreakable spirits and thus the Cajun culture emerged. 

Until the early 1900s, their newfound freedom and established territories remained somewhat secluded compared to other parts of America.  Lawrence wrote of the importance of land ownership for the Cajun immigrant.  Land ownership meant consequential assimilation for Cajun immigrants, similar to early Pilgrim experiences.  With land they were able to survive and persist during tough economical times in the New World.  Mainly they planted rice crops in the fertile soil of southeastern Louisiana, and prosperity allowed future generations opportunities to attend school and learn English.  After WWII, Cajun immigrants became more ingrained in a somewhat marginalized version of dominant culture America, and future generations would learn English, migrate to industrial areas in the Golden Triangle of Texas and marry Americans who were not of Cajun descent.  However, the propensity both Creole and Cajun Americans to cling to a unique form of the French language, their cuisine, and their customs in general, marks a distinction compared to other American immigrants.  Daigle writes that, "We tend to forget that when a Cajun woman marries a non-Cajun man, their children are just as Cajun as if a Cajun man marries a non-Cajun woman.  The only difference being in the name the children bear"  (Daigle).

The recent Katrina disaster misplaced approximately 80% of New Orleans, and many other Cajun and Creole inhabited parts of Louisiana near the Gulf Coast.  This has caused social concern for fear of cultural extinction.  However, many Creoles and Cajuns plan to re-populate the only home they have ever known and are not willing to sacrifice their self-identity and culture.  This creates a scenario that places Cajuns and Creoles in a sub-culture or in-between society in contemporary America, since they cannot completely identify with the minority narrative model or with the successful unmarked immigrant model of  dominant American culture.  Their "Old World" values and distinctive customs have prevailed after many generations, and non-Acadian individuals living in southern Louisiana often adopt their way of life.  The propensity to identify more with the Cajun or Creole ethnic group than with a solely American identity generates a cultural identity gap and their non-traditional customs set their narrative apart from dominant culture America.  In closing, the colorful words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie (1847), describe the first glimpse of new promise for the anguished and heart-broken Cajun immigrant in his honor to the memory of our ancestors who survived the Great Expulsion of 1755: 

There the long-absent pastor regain his flock and his sheepfold.

Beautiful is the land, with its prairies and forests of fruit-trees;

Under the feet a garden of flowers, and the bluest of heavens

Bending above, and resting its dome on the walls of the forest.

They who dwell there have named it the Eden of Louisiana.

Là le regain long-absent de pasteur sa bande et sienne sheepfold.

Belle est la terre, avec ses prairies et forêts de fruit-arbres ;

Sous les pieds un jardin des fleurs, et le plus bleu de cieux

Se pliant en haut, et reposant son dôme sur les murs du forêt.

Ils qui demeurent là l'ont appelé l'Éden de la Louisiane.

Works Cited

Daigle, Jules O.  "A Dictionary of the Cajun Language."  Pub. Edwards Brothers, Inc. – Ann Arbor, Michigan.  1983.

Fontenot, James E. and Marceaux, Sidney J. Jr., "Brief History of the Marceaux Family." Pub. Vermilion Historical Society.  1983.

<http://decuir.creolewest.com./index.php?page=projects:
LouisianaCreoles>

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cajun>    <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creole>

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie (1847)

Conversations through electronic email with:  Roy Lawrence Jr., Chaplain (COL.) Sidney J. Marceaux

[PJ]