July 14, 2025

By Dr. Shane Rasmussen, Director, Louisiana Folklife Center

NATCHITOCHES – Native American material culture artists shared their traditional knowledge with attendees at a free interactive crafts workshop on July 12 at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum in Natchitoches. Sponsored by the Louisiana Folklife Center at Northwestern State University, the event was a prelude to the 45th annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival to be held on the NSU campus on July 19.

The Native American tradition bearers who served as workshop instructors included Rhonda Gauthier, a member of the Choctaw-Apache Tribe of Ebarb, who taught basketry and beadwork; Becky Meziere, a member of the Clifton Choctaw Tribe, who taught applique beadwork & pine needle basketry, and Deborah West, a member of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas, who taught the making of Native American dream catchers.

Said Dr. Shane Rasmussen, professor of English and director of the Louisiana Folklife Center at Northwestern State University, “We are so grateful to these tradition bearers who so generously gave the priceless gift of sharing their cultural knowledge. It was wonderful seeing the smiles on so many people as they tried their hands at making traditional crafts under the tutelage of these artists.”

In celebration of this year’s Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival theme, Crafting Louisiana, seventy traditional crafts people will demonstrate and vend their work. Held in air-conditioned Prather Coliseum on the NSU campus, the festival will feature three stages of live music with Cajun, zydeco, blues, Celtic and country music, free Cajun, zydeco, and line dancing lessons, and traditional food vendors. The festival will also include blacksmithing, KidsFest, a free musical spoons workshop, narrative sessions, and the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship from 1-4 PM. Events will include Cajun music by Amis du Teche, zydeco by Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band, dancing blues by D.K. Harrell, son jarocho dancing by the Armadillos Tejanos, Americana music by Smithfield Fair, western swing by the Kristyn Harris Band, and swamp pop by the Has Beans. The entire festival is wheelchair accessible with children 12 and under admitted free.

The event was sponsored by the Louisiana Folklife Center and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum. Support for the festival is provided by grants from the Cane River National Heritage Area, Inc., the City of Natchitoches, the Louisiana Division of the Arts Decentralized Arts Fund Program, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the Natchitoches Area Convention and Visitors Bureau,the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, the Shreveport Regional Arts Council, and the State of Louisiana. The festival is sponsored by Atmos Energy, C&H Precision Machining, City Bank, Cleco, Evans Family, LLC, Exchange Bank, the Family Doctors of Natchitoches, the Harrington Law Firm, Natchitoches Wood Preserving Company, and Young Estate, LLC. The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the program did not necessarily represent those of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.

For information on pre-registering to compete in the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship, call the Louisiana Folklife Center at (318) 357-4332, email folklife@nsula.edu or go to nsula.edu/folklife.