Helping to sustain the traditional cultures of coastal Louisiana

The mission of the Bayou Culture Collective is to connect those interested in the human dimension of land loss, 2) transmitting culture in a time of disruption, and 3) impacts of climate migrations. 

We provide a means for people from diverse backgrounds ranging from folk artists to environmental scientists to connect and explore ways to ensure that the human dimension, especially culture, is included in environmental planning while not promoting specific strategies. 

The BCC offers many ways to help people connect and support Louisiana’s traditional cultures.

• Bayou Culture Gatherings – are monthly meetings to learn and share information about the human dimension of coastal land loss. 
• Working Groups –  each have a specific focus, with members collaborating to produce our BCC position statement, a response to the CPRA Coastal Master Plan, and a response to the Statewide Resilience Report. 
• Culture and Climate Conversations – are in-person discussions held at public events and festivals. 
• Community Voices Project helps a wide range of community members participate in the working groups.
• Sense of Place and Loss Workshops explain basics about climate migration and the role of the arts in welcoming newcomers.
• Passing It On Workshop Grants fund tradition bearers who want to pass on their traditions within their communities. These grants are funded by the Louisiana Division of the Arts Folklife Program, with a priority on endangered traditions and groups that have not received arts funding.

Join us!

Connect With Us

Follow LFS on Facebook and Instagram for news and updates and join the BCC Facebook group.

For information about the gatherings and the annual meeting, contact the BCC at bayouculturecollaborative@gmail.com.  For other questions, see the FAQ page.

The BCC Management Team:

• Jonathan Foret, South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center
• Gary LaFleur, Nicholls State University Center for Bayou Studies
• Maida Owens, Louisiana Folklife Program 
• Rachel Doherty, University of Louisiana, Lafayette Center for Louisiana Studies

Funders

The Louisiana Folklore Society has received funding support from the MJ Sindler Family Fund for Culture & Media, Restore the Mississippi River Delta, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Louisiana Division of the Arts, the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the Louisiana Office of Cultural Development, and the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. Past funding was provided by the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area.

Partners

Partners include governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, and university centers. Each partner offers administrative services or funding to the Collaborative. See below for all partners and their current activities.

Louisiana Folklore Society offers the Bayou Culture Gatherings in order to help connect those interested in the human dimension of coastal issues through monthly virtual gatherings to learn and share. Each gathering features a topic for discussion in addition to news, announcements, and questions. Topics range from the practical, such as how to help threatened community museums, to policy discussion, such as how to include cultural durability in the community resilience conversation, to sessions that are devoted to simply sharing cultural traditions, such as a hike to forage wolfberry along brackish marshes.  

To participate in the Bayou Culture Gatherings, sign up for announcements on this website.  

Louisiana Division of the Arts Folklife Program supports workshops to sustain the traditional cultures of coastal Louisiana.  Currently two types of workshops are supported. Maida Owens serves on the BCC Management Team.  The workshops are funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, Louisiana Office of Cultural Development, Division of the Arts.  

The Folklife Program also hosts the Folklife in Louisiana website. This multi-media platform showcases in-depth information about Louisiana’s traditional cultures that has been researched and vetted for its accuracy and scholarship.

Passing It On workshops fund tradition bearers in coastal areas to hand down traditions within their community.  Since 2019, traditions supported include French music and dance, foodways, wood carving, boat building, Mardi Gras costume making, doll making, palmetto weaving, brown cotton weaving, sewing regalia, storytelling in traditional cultures across the coast, including Cajun, African American, and several indigenous tribes. Workshops are taught by a tradition bearer to pass on a tradition. Contact: Maida Owens, Louisiana Folklife Program, folklife@crt.la.gov to discuss possibilities.  

Sense of Place—and Loss workshops have a broader, statewide focus. These workshops explore the connections between art, tradition, and science to inspire advocacy and creativity in the face of land loss and cultural shifts. Some past workshops are online, and others are being planned that will focus on helping communities start local conversations about including cultural issues in planning.  

South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center produces the Rougarou Fest where the local culture and its relationship to the coastal environment is celebrated.  Jonathan Foret was one of the first proponents to address cultural issues in coastal planning and serves on the BCC Management Team.  

Nicholls State University Center for Bayou Studies at Nicholls State University focuses on the south-central bayou region of Louisiana as part of their multi-disciplinary study of history, environment, and culture. The BCC efforts are supported by affiliating supporting the Bayou Culture Gatherings. Center Director Gary LaFleur serves on the BCC Management Team.

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Center for Louisiana Studies is focused on documenting, presenting, and archiving the cultures on Louisiana’s western coast as part of the Bayou Culture Collaborative:  Iberia, Vermilion, Cameron, and Calcasieu parishes.  Their larger mission encompasses parishes throughout Acadiana.