The public record of Louisiana culture

Before1764

Louisiana is called Cajun country. The record says otherwise.

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Begin

Three dates

1699

A colony was founded on Indigenous land.

1719

Ships from Africa began to arrive.

1764

Twenty Acadians arrived. The colony was 65 years old.

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The story in eight chapters

From 1699 to now.

1699 to 1718The colony.Who was here before there was a Louisiana?

1719 to 1763The arrivals.Who built the colony?

1764 to 18031764.What was already here when the first Acadians arrived?

1804 to 1945The silencing.What happened to the culture that built the state?

1946 to 1971The name.Where did "Acadiana" come from?

1974 to 1987The symbols.Who objected?

2006 to 2024The market.Who owns the word?

NowCreole country.What do we ask for?

Dispatches · Reporting from across Louisiana

The latest.

Records · 2 min readThe resolution that drew Acadiana on the mapIn 1971 the Louisiana House named 22 parishes for their "Cajun and Acadian heritage." The original text is not online. We are going to get it. Raymond BellardBaton Rouge

Tourism and branding · 2 min readThe state owns the word. The word means "made here."Louisiana holds "Cajun" and "Louisiana Creole" as state certification marks. The test for either is where a product was made. Vivienne FrilotNew Orleans

Culture · 2 min readThe festival in the bean fieldIn 1982 Creole Louisiana built its own stage in Plaisance. The same year, Black residents in Lafayette objected to the name going on the new arena. Josette LemelleOpelousas

Events and oddities · 2 min readThe state of Louisiana once tried to certify the Cajun haircutIn 2006 the state asked Washington to let it certify CAJUN on everything from rice to plumbing. Washington said no. Theo CelestineLake Charles

All dispatches and the writers

A question of perspectiveScroll, drag or slide

CAJUN / CREOLE

Same land.
A different reading.

The view from the tourism office, and the view from the record.

Point of view-40°

By the numbers

1.18%

of Louisiana residents reported Cajun ancestry. Census ACS, 2016 to 2020.

55,022

people. The count behind that share, out of 4,664,616.

$18.5B

in statewide visitor spending in 2024, sold in part under one name.

Every claim, sourced.

The Record The asks

Before1764

From 1699 to now.

The latest.

Same land.A different reading.

Every claim, sourced.

Get the Dispatches.

Same land.
A different reading.