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Texas and Louisiana carry a strong connection bound by familial and cultural ties.
Before and during colonization, the Atakapa-Ishak Nation were native to and lived throughout Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas, from Vermilion Bay to Galveston Bay. Some Ishak people today identify as Louisiana Creoles and still live in the area.
On Beyoncé’s latest album, she gives homage to her matrilineage on the titled track “Jolene.” Singing, “I’m still a Creole banjee chick from Louisiane,” embracing her Louisiana Creole heritage, even as a Houston native.
The nonprofit organization Texas Folklife focuses on highlighting the connections between the two bordered states.
The Black Wall Street Times interviewed four-time Grammy-nominated recording music artist and fourth-generation Creole accordionist Sean Ardoin on his thoughts on the resurgence of this connection.
He expressed, “We are the same people. Southwest Louisiana people migrated to Texas for work and brought the culture with them.”
Louisiana Creoles Migrating to Southeast Texas
Indeed, Louisiana Creoles were familiar with the area of Texas for centuries. However, large migration did not occur until the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century.
White vigilante terror, the oil boom, floods, and a life outside of rural sharecropping work were strong factors that influenced the Western migration to Texas.
It is also important to remember that Spain colonized Texas and Louisiana simultaneously for almost 40 years. In addition, the present-day border separating Texas and Louisiana was nonexistent until the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. This area was known by many names, one being Neutral Ground.
Video Credit: Quinn Foster
Some Creole family surnames that migrated to Southeast Texas include Auzenne/Ozenne, Babin, Cormier, Fontenot, Guillory, and hundreds of others.
As these unique families migrated and intermingled, they brought their culture, dialect, lingo, Zydeco music, religions, and practices across the state border.
In fact, Louisiana native and Zydeco legend Clifton Chenier and Texan Blues legend Lightnin’ Hopkins were cousins through marriage.
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Texas Folklife and the Front Porch Talks Initiative
Texas Folklife is a culturally-traditional-based nonprofit organization that highlights the diverse ethnic groups throughout Texas.
In 2023, Texas Folklife received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to support the “Front Porch Talks: A Convening of Creoles on Culture” project.
The Executive Director of Texas Folklife, Elisha Oliver, shared, “[Texas Folklife] wants to celebrate the rich tapestries of culture and tradition that Texas and Louisiana share. By focusing on reconnecting communities with this cultural heritage, we are actively contributing to its preservation for future generations.”
The advisory board includes Sean Ardoin, Craig Jones, and Herman Fuselier. Ardoin said, “[Texas] is a sister culture that very much mirrors ours. Our food, music, and language are all found there.”
So far, the project has produced two successful Front Porch Talks events in Houston, Texas, and Lafayette, Louisiana.
Special guests have included Rosie Ledet, C.J. Chenier, Step Rideau, Jeffrey Broussard, Grammy-nominated artist Nathan Williams Sr., Chris Ardoin, Ed Poullard, Grammy-winning Artist Chubby Carrier, David Dopsie, Tiger Dopsie, and Grammy-nominated musician Anthony Dopsie.
Ardoin’s last hope is to see the Louisiana Creole and French languages revive. He expressed, “We have scatterings of it in our music, but we’ve almost lost it. I’ve been trying to do work to help preserve it and use my influence to spark interest. If we can preserve and proliferate our language, it will live on into the next century and we will have done our part.”
Texas Folklife is open to collaborating with Creoles from Louisiana and Texas and hopes to host an end-of-the-Summer Front Porch Talks cookout.
Oliver said, “Texas Folklife is grateful for the support from our community ambassadors in Louisiana. We have made lifelong friends and are committed to continued project collaborations and community initiatives.”