This document provides information about Louisiana Creole heritage and identity. It discusses the history of Creoles in New Orleans from the city's founding in 1718 through waves of French, Spanish, and African settlers. Creoles developed a unique culture that blended these influences, especially in terms of language, religion, and social structures. The document profiles important Creole figures and organizations that celebrate and promote Creole culture today.

1. Louisiana Creole Heritage
An American Story

2. An Academy of Lifelong Learning
Presentation
Proudly Submitted By
Autumn Raynor
Lone Star College CyFair

3. An Education
 Geography
 History
 Politics
 Communication
 Sociology


4. First Impressions
Roll Call: Creole Connections
Why this story now?
Neighbors and Friends
CommerCial Culture

5. Once upon a time in America . . .

6. Land Grab 101

7. Location, location, location!
 This city sits on the banks of the Mississippi River, south of
Lake Pontchartrain, approximately 105 miles (169 km)
upriver from the Gulf of Mexico. According to the United
States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 350.2 square
miles (907 km2), of which 180.56 square miles (467.6 km2),
or 51.55%, is land.
 The climate is humid subtropical- prime for cultivating crops
and its port location prime for importing and exporting.

8. Dark Origins
Contemporary historians estimate that between 9.4 and 12
million Africans were brought to ‘The New World’ during
the Atlantic Slave trade between the 16th and 19th centuries.
Two-thirds of the more than one million slaves brought to the
South arrived via the forced migration of the internal slave
trade. As a principal port, New Orleans maintained the
largest slave market in America.

9. New Orleans
Historical Timeline
 Founded May 7, 1718, by  Napoleon sold the
the French on Chitimacha territory to the United
land. States in the Louisiana
 Ceded to the Spanish Purchase in 1803.
Empire in the Treaty of  The Haitian Revolution of
Paris in1763. 1804 increases the
 Remained under Spanish population by 9,000.
control until 1801, when it  American Civil War begins
reverted to French control. in 1861.

10. Who lives here?
And what are they doing?

11. News Orleans Society, 1800-1900
French, Spanish, and English-European Colonists are
developing a multiethnic, multicultural society. French is the
dominant language, architecture is primarily Spanish, English
settlers map out industrial considerations.
The great majority of residents, regardless of ethnicity and
nationality are Roman Catholic.

12. News Orleans Society, 1800-1900
 In this period, French,
Spanish, and European
Colonists held government
positions owned businesses
and worked on farms and A third tier emerges:
in the port.
 Slaves were property,
devoid of basic human
rights.

13. Free People of Color

14. Free People of Color,
Contemporary Creoles
A definition of Créole from the earliest history in New Orleans
(circa 1718) is ‘a child born in the colony as opposed to
France or Spain’. No ethnic delineation was provided.
By the1800s, New Orleans residents of African descent were
not all enslaved, but many had been liberated, born free in
New Orleans, or migrated there as free men and women.
Enslaved people of color who were native-born also began to
be referred to as Creole, to distinguish them from new
arrivals from Africa.
Around 1810, the term Creole referred to a free persona of
color.

15. Creole Identity-
Ethnicity and Nationality
Arriving in New Orleans from a host of countries, republics
and socioeconomic backgrounds, Free New Orleanais of
Color developed a new home, and a new social race. Some
had Latin and/or French roots, the bonds which united them
included African ancestry, and shared histories.
Some Creoles identify with all of the components of their
heritages, some identify as White, and some Identify as Black,
or by nationality.

16. What does a Creole Person
Look Like?

18. Like this . . .

19. This . . .

20. . . . This . . .

21. And this. That’s water of course 

22. Creole Identity- Language & Religion
French, Spanish, and English were spoken through New
Orleans and the Creole Diaspora.
The term Creole is also used to describe a hybrid dialect of
languages in linguistic studies. In this case, Creole language
refers to the mélange of borrowed words and pronunciations
from several influences.
Roman Catholicism was the common religion of the area, as
Spain and France were both devout nations at time of
colonization.

23. Venerable Henriette DeLille
Henriette DeLille (1813–1862) founded the Catholic order
of the Sisters of the Holy Family made up of free women of
color, in New Orleans. In 1989 the order formally opened its
cause with the Vatican in the canonization of Henriette
DeLille. She was declared venerable in 2010.

24. Creole Identity- Social Justice
Creole people were not regulated by the same laws other
persons of African descent were.
This included, curfews, property ownership, court
remediation, marriage and birth rights, and social issues.

25. So now that you’re Creole, what do you
do all day?
You should go to church
You should eat something wonderful
You should listen and dance to jazz, zydeco, and swing music
You should pay attention to your family
You should know not all things are black and white

26. Fast Forward >>>>>>
Creole Heritage in the
Millennial Context

27. Reaffirmation of Creole Roots
The civil rights movement required all hands on deck for the
advancement of African American equality. African American
co-cultures merged for solidarity.
Census results, current events, and global perspectives highlight
the emergence of multiracial American identities.
New Orleans has been in the national spotlight since 2005.

28. The Creole Heritage Flag
The upper left section, a white fleur de lis on a blue field, represents Louisiana's
French heritage. On the lower left and upper right sections, West African
heritage is represented by the Mali Republic National tri-color flag (green,
yellow and red) and the Senegal Republic National flag (green, yellow and red).
Spanish Colonial heritage is depicted by the Tower of Castille (gold tower on a
red field) on the lower right section. A white cross dividing the four symbols
represents the Christian faith accepted by the Muslim and Islamic from Senegal
and Mali in Louisiana.

29. Creoles You Should Know
 P.B.S. Pinchback, first non-white governor of an American
State.
 Bryant and Greg Gumble, broadcast news personalities
 Suzanne Malveaux, journalist
 Dorothy Dandridge, actress
 Beyonce Knowles, pop singer
 Marc Morial, former mayor of New Orleans
 Jelly Roll Morton, blues singer

30. Creoles I Know

36. Thank you so much!
Visit The Creole Heritage Society, or take the African American
Heritage Tour in New Orleans for more information on all
things Creole.
http://creole.nsula.edu/