By Kent W. Peacock, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History, Director of Creole Heritage Center

NATCHITOCHES – The Creole Heritage Center at Northwestern State University, in partnership with Cane River Creole National Historical Park and Cane River National Heritage Area, welcomed 10 middle school social studies teachers from across Louisiana to NSU and Natchitoches for a three-day institute.

“Our goal was to give teachers a better understanding of who are Louisiana Creoles and their vibrant heritage so they feel confident incorporating these essential parts of Louisiana and the United States into their classrooms,” said Dr. Kent Peacock, director of the Creole Heritage Center.

Attendees learned about and visited many of the heritage sites in Natchitoches Parish that continue to bring the heritage of Louisiana Creoles to life with the hope they would bring their students to the sites in the future or bring these sites and the stories they preserve into their classrooms via virtual programming. Sites that attendees toured included NSU’s Creole Heritage Center, Melrose on the Cane, Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum and two of Cane River Creole National Historical Park’s sites – Magnolia and Oakland Plantations.  A particular highlight was hearing from Creoles of Cane River themselves through visits to St. Augustine Catholic Church and the Badin Roque House, made possible with the help of members of the St. Augustine Historical Society, and in newly recorded interviews by Cane River Creole National Historical Park.

“The success of the institute has to be attributed to all the volunteers and staff at each of the sites we visited, as well as National Park Service Ranger Meghan Schill and community leader Gail Jones who handled the responsibilities to make the institute happen,” Peacock said. Attendees benefited, too, from presentations by Belle Heritage’s Dr. Elista Istre, a cultural heritage and education consultant of Creole heritage herself. Most helpful for the teachers who attended were lesson plans and resources for the classroom provided by Istre, some of which attendees tried out themselves on the institute’s final day.

Based on feedback from the participants, the Creole Heritage Center is looking into presenting the institute again in Natchitoches, as well as at other Louisiana locations to help highlight the local Creole stories and historic sites that exist throughout the state.

Information on the Creole Heritage Center at NSU is available at https://www.nsula.edu/creole/.