The Bayou Culture Collaborative is striving to make the working groups more inclusive with the Community Voices Project. With funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, this BCC project seeks to include Louisiana community members in Working Groups that may contribute to a better understanding and preservation of local traditions and knowledge in the face of environmental changes, such as land loss. Our goal is to include tradition-bearers, community representatives, researchers, and interested members of Louisiana communities. By adding these perspectives to the project, they will help to craft a more accurate and authentic narrative of life in south Louisiana as we know it today.
Through the Community Voices Project, the BCC has added nine new participants to the Working Groups in an effort to broaden the range of people involved, particularly those from underrepresented or disadvantaged communities. Here, we would like to introduce the following participants along with their respective Working Group.
- Pat Arnould, Morgan City; United Houma Nation – Receiving Communities Working Group
- Sabina Miller, Thibodaux; Artist – Receiving Communities Working Group
- Theron Oubre, Vacherie; Historian/Tour Guide – Culture and Coastal Planning Working Group
- Vickie Eserman, Schiever; The Center for Louisiana Traditional Boat Building – Protecting Collections Working Group
- K’Shana Hall, Monroe; Black Creative Circle – Receiving Communities Working Group
- Janie Luster, Bayou DuLarge; United Houma Nation- Artists Working Group
- Sean Ardoin, Eunice; Musician – Artists Working Group
- Joy Banner, New Orleans; The Descendants Project – Culture and Coastal Planning Working Group
- Baley Marie Champagne, Lafayette; Multi-Media Journalist – French Language Preservation Working Group
Jamie Digilormo is coordinating this project. For more information, contact her at bccworkinggroups@gmail.com.