Louisiana: Bayou Culture Collaborative

Janie Luster is a master palmetto basket weaver and cultural preservationist of the United Houma Nation. Photo courtesy Louisiana Division of the Arts

Louisiana is facing the most acute coastal erosion crisis in the nation. Every 100 minutes, an area equivalent to a football field disappears from the Louisiana coastline. In recent decades, Louisiana’s land loss has exceeded 2,000 square miles, an area roughly the size of the whole state of Delaware. Change of this magnitude has an acute impact on coastal residents as well as businesses and communities across the state.

The Bayou Culture Collaborative of the Louisiana Division of the Arts uses the arts to help the region adapt to these environmental shifts. The initiative convenes artists, tradition bearers, tribal leaders, scientists and community members to share information about the effects of land loss and to preserve the distinct cultures rooted in the people and places of coastal Louisiana. Sense of Place and Loss Workshops use the arts and science to educate communities about land loss, celebrate local culture, and help residents to develop creative approaches to issues like dislocation and developing community resilience. Passing It On workshops help coastal tradition bearers and indigenous artists transmit their cultural practices to future generations. The Division of the Arts provides funds for mini-apprenticeships, teacher honoraria and workshop supplies.

Initiative collaborators include the Louisiana Division of the Arts Folklife Program, the Louisiana Folklore Society, the South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center, Nicholls State University Center for Bayou Studies, University of Louisiana at Lafayette Center for Louisiana Studies and the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program. Contact Louisiana Folklife Director Maida Owens for additional information.