Jean Lafitte

Jean Lafitte Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve Louisiana National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Louisiana's Mississippi River Delta conjures images of a spirited culture and places of haunting beauty. It is a Top photos, from left.- a baldcypress swamp in Barataria Preserve; costumed riders during Cajun Mardi Gras; coastal marsh, where Gulf meets delta; living history commemoration of the Battle of New Orleans at Chalmette Battlefield; cast iron tracery gives the French Quarter a 19th-century air. world shaped by a dynamic, centuries-old relationship between humans and a stillevolving land. Here a succession of peoples has both altered and adapted to the environment as they interacted with other cultures—changing and being changed. Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve tells the story of this land and its culture that together show one of the most interesting faces of the American experience. Cajun Mardi Gras— First there was the land, the P e o p l e f r o m all over the F a c i n g a n influx of Americans Costumed horseback riders begging farmers for a chicken destined for the communal gumbo; egrets floating over the marshes of the Barataria estuary, its expanse broken by scatfishing camps on stilts; the art at Chalmette Battlefield, it is easy to imagine 5,000 ESh soldiers charging into a withg barrage of shot and shell; New eans, where a stroll feeds the senses—the keen aromas of gumbo r hot beignets drifting from French uarter cafes, staccato tap dancing the street, the endless trove of goods at the French Market, the glittering Mississippi seen from atop the levee. And the music—one is borne through the day on music, from jazz clubs on Bourbon Street to a Cajun two-step at the Liberty Theatre in Eunice; from accordion-driven zydeco to street-corner blues. How did such a place come to be? creation of the Mississippi River. At the end of its journey, the river deposits sediment scoured from 40 percent of the continental United States. The delta is a restless interplay of land and water: treeless marshes, distributary channels, slow-moving bayous, forested natural levees, freshwater swamps, and barrier islands. A small swath of the delta within the Barataria Preserve encompasses some of these natural features and a history of human activity. American Indians settled this land as it formed some 2,500 years ago. Beginning in the 1720s European settlers and enslaved Africans took their place among the Indians, inscribing on the face of the delta—alongside ritual earthed mounds and ancient shell midcfens—plantation fields, artificial levees, log ging canals, trapfflrs' ditches and oil pipelines S Mardi Gras celebrants have masked in New Orleans since the 18th century. Formal parades and the practice of paraders throwing beads and trinkets began in the 1870s. arid shape the remarkable delta and immigrants after the Louisiana culture, just as soil eroding from Purchase, French-speaking, mostly a huge watershed shapes the Catholic, residents called themselves delta. After founding the Lou- "Creoles" to distinguish native from isiana colony in 1699, France laid newcomer. At the Battle of New down the basic cultural rhythms. Orleans, diverse groups found comReligion, language, law, architecture, mon cause under Gen. Andrew Jackmusic, food—all echo their French son, driving back the British iri^ origins. Others contributed different last battle of the War of 1812. The vicrhythms, different overtones: Chiti- tory secured the Louisiana Territory macha, Houma, and other tribes; for westward expansion, cemented Canadian French; German settlers. national pride, and gained the United Enslaved people from West Africa States respect abroad. contributed their labor, agricultural practices, and culture. During the B e f o r e ? t h e Battle of New Spanish rule of Louisiana from Orleans, Jejan Lafitte commanded a 1763 to 1800, Spanish-speaking large confederation of smugglers Islenos (Canary Islanders) and and privaners based in Barataria French-speaking free people of Bay. Though hounded by American color from the Caribbean began authoritieS he joined forces with arriving in trr$ delta. French Aca- Jackson in the battle, providing men, dians, driven! from Nova Scotia artillery, and information. Pardoned h by the Briti&i, settled the bay- for his service, he slipped from the -? ous and pnfflies. pages of history and lingers only in delta legend. Credits for above photos, left to right: Mardi Gras Indian: Jenny Bagert man playing fiddle stick: Philip Gould; man holding tray of crawfish: Philip Gould; chef: Syndey Byrd; woman playing clarinet: Philip Gould; man playing sax: Syndey Byrd; crawfisherman: Syndey Byrd; boy playing accordion: Syndey Byrd; woman playing fiddle: Alex Deyman; sugar cane worker: Chandra McCormick; shrimpers: Philip Gould; living history portrayal of Choctaw Indian: Syndey Byrd; Brown Pelican: Alex Deyman • H m d alligator: icons of 'ta world—the accordion because its driving rhythm underpins Cajun and zydeco music; the alligator as top predator in the bayou ecosystem. Left: St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square. Syndey Byrd Syndey Byrd c Q •i 1 The bayous of the Barataria Preserve wind slowly through giant blue iris and baldcypress draped with Spanish moss. The word "bayou," borrowed by the French from the Choctaw Indians, is usually applied to the slow-moving rivers and creeks of the flat delta country. Conduit for goods, people, and culture, the Mississippi River made New Orleans a great port and the delta one of the most diverse regions in the country. Though tamed by levees and spillways, the river retains its power to unleash floods or build -new land-. • Creoles and Cajuns—names romanticized, stereotyped, and misunderstood. Visitors are deluged with the words, all too often used to sell something rather than convey meaning about a people and their culture. Who are Creoles and Cajuns, and what do the names mean? Today various groups in Louisiana describe themselves as "Creole"—often claiming exclusive rights to the term. All have legitimate ties to that heritage. Their link is in the early 1800s, when Louisiana ceased to be a European colony and became a possession of the United States. "Creole" came to mean "native to Louisiana." For many natives—French, Spanish, African, or German—it meant "us": Frenchspeaking, locally born. "They" were Americans or European immigrants arriving in droves at the port of New Orleans, speaking not French but English or their native tongues. They were outsiders, bent on changing the Creole way of life. Times change, meanings blur, and people's sense of themselves evolves. But "Creole" retains its old meaning as an adjective describing the food, music, and customs of those areas of Louisiana settled during French colonial times. In a sense, despite the overwhelming Americanization of Louisiana, the original Creoles won. Visitors come to experience Creole, to experience what sets this place apart: Mardi Gras and red beans, jazz and joie de vivre. Whoever came here— c C I I & o E English, African, Irish, \ Italian, Chinese, Filipino, a: c £ I Croatian, Honduran, or Vietnamese—contributed to Creole culture and in turn was shaped by it. From their arrival in the late 1700s the Acadians, or "Cajuns," were a people apart. Mostly small farmers and craftspeople, they settled in the bayou country, where their isolation was compounded by their distinctive dialect and their fierce loyalty to family and place. Urbane New Orleani- Left to right: pan-roasting coffee beans, 1946; picking Spanish moSs, 1940s; new father plays for his son on the steps of his music club, 1974. ans saw them as quaint and rustic, subjects of humor. Driven by hard times to seek other livelihoods, Cajuns pioneered new ways to live off the bounty of the delta landscape. In this they were joined by other groups who helped shape and share the culture we now know as Cajun. No longer isolated, their culture is admired worldwide—even in New Orleans. Shaping a New Land The Mississippi River delta is some of the youngest land in North America. The deltaic sediments that underlie the New Orleans region are less than 4,000 years old. Natural processes—deposition of new sediment, erosion, subsidence (settling of sediment)—maintained a healthy equilibrium between land and water at delta's edge. But canals, naiurm levees along river ana oayou proviaea levees, jetties, and floodways built by humans higher land for farms and towns. Once forest cleared, human settlement followed the upset the balance, blocking sedimentation and was narrow lines of the levees, leading to a pattern of linear settlement where waterways were increasing erosion and loss of coastal wetlands. the main corridors of transportation. Before artificial levees and jetties, the Mississippi and its distributary branches built land in two ways. Spring floods overflowed river banks. The heaviest particles of the waterborne sediment settled on the bank; the rest spread out gradually. This process created levees created natural natural levees (left) of (left) along along the the flanks flanks of the land. the waterways. waterways. The The land, highest near the river, sloped gradually down the back of the levee to freshwater swamps and finally marshes. The soils got wetter as the levee sloped downward. Oaks and other hardwoods dominated the highest ground; maple, ash, and palmetto palmetto the the backslope; backslope; baldcypress and and water water baldcypress tupelo the the swamp; swamp; with with tupelo grasses, sedges, and rushes in the marsh. The second process of delta-building occurs at the mouth of the river, where great plumes of sediment are deposited in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico as the current slows. The deposits build up into mud flats, eventually colonized by wetland vegetation. The river tends to wander and change course over this flat area, always seeking the shortest route to the sea. The river sometimes forks into two or more distributary channels within one delta. The new distributary forks sometimes capture the flow, flow, abandoning abandoning the the old old channel. In this channel. In this way way new new deltas are are built. built. As As old old deltas deltas wash away, their sediments are reworked by Gulf waves and storms into barrier islands and beaches. Over the last 3,500 years the Mississippi has created five major deltas (below), the newest only 500 years old. Driving times between the French Quarter and other park sites: Chalmette: 30 minutes (7 miles) Barataria: 45 minutes (17 miles) Thibodaux: 1 '/ hours (70 miles) Lafayette: 2 'A hours (142 miles) Eunice: 3 'A hours (192 miles) A growing "birdfoot" delta at Mississippi's end reaches into the Gulf The Six Sites of Jean Lafitte Exploring Acadiana Eunice The New Orleans Area Lafayette Thibodaux French Quarter A b o u t Your V i s i t Barataria Chalmette Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve 419 Decatur St. New Orleans, LA 70130 504-589-3882 www.nps.gov/jela I Contact park headquarters or individual park sites for information on hours, programs, driving times between sites, and accessibility. There are no camping facilities, food, or lodging within the park; these can be found in nearby communities. There is public transportation only to the French Quarter. The Prairie Acadian Cultural Center is open Tuesday through Saturday (closed December 25). Exhibits, Cajun music and dancing, cooking demonstrations, and live radio programs at the adjoining Liberty Theatre interpret the culture of the Acadians who settled the prairie of southwest Louisiana. 250 W. Park Avenue Eunice, LA 70535 337-262-6862 www.nps.gov/jela/Prairie AcadianCulturalCenter.htm The Acadian Cultural Center, open daily (closed December 25), relates the story of the Acadians who settled Louisiana's Mississippi delta. Their history, customs, language, and contemporary culture are interpreted in exhibits, films, and programs. 501 Fisher Road Lafayette, LA 70508 337-232-0789 www.nps.gov/jela/AcadianCulturalCenter.htm Jam session at the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux. A mural in Eunice evokes the Prairie Acadian spirit. Syndey Byrd The Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center is open daily (closed December 25). Music performances, exhibits, an art gallery, and demonstrations of boatbuilding, net-making, and other activities interpret the culture of the Acadians who settled the bayou country. 314 St. Mary St. Thibodaux, LA 70301 985-448-1375 www.nps.gov/jelaAA/etlands AcadianCulturalCenter.htm Good times roll at Lafayette's Festival Acadiens. eyman Syndey Byrd For Your Safety: During summer months drink plenty of fluids and avoid exposure to the sun for long periods and at midday. Be alert for fire ant mounds and their stinging inhabitants. In Barataria Preserve, stay on trails; be alert for poisonous snakes; do not approach or feed wildlife (especially alligators); be prepared with repellent for mosquitos. French Quarter After founding New Orleans on a bend of the Mississippi River in 1718, French colonists laid it out in a neat grid. The distinctive look of the 66-block Vieux Carre (old square) is due to the architectural styles developed in New Orleans in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. St. Louis Cathedral, the heart of the district, is flanked by grand Spanish colonial public buildings. In 1856 the city erected the statue of Andrew Jackson, hero of the Battle of New Orleans and namesake of the public square. Today the Vieux Carre retains much of its character because it is among the oldest protected historic districts in the nation. The visitor center is open daily (closed Mardi Gras and December 25). Exhibits, walking tours, films, music performances, folklife and cooking demonstrations, and talks by rangers help the visitor understand the history and culture of New Orleans and the Mississippi River delta. 419 Decatur St. New Orleans, LA 70130 504-589-3882 www.nps.gov/jela/French Quarter.htm Directions to Barataria Preserve Take Magazine St. to Calliope St. Turn right onto ramp signed "Mississippi River Bridge" (Hwy 90). Take exit 4B. Turn left at second light onto Barataria Blvd. Drive nine miles to Preserve. Barataria Preserve The 20,000-acre Barataria Preserve provides access to natural levee forest, swamp, and marsh. It features walking and canoe trails, a picnic area, ranger programs, a visitor center with exhibits and films, and an environmental education center. Open daily (visitor center closed December 25). 6588 Barataria Blvd. Marrero, LA 70072 504-589-2330 www.nps.gov/jela/Barataria Preserve.htm Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetery The site of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans. The cemetery holds the graves of veterans of American conflicts from the Civil War to the Vietnam War. Living history programs, ranger talks, exhibits, and film interpret the site. Open daily (closed December 25). 8606 West St. Bernard Hwy. Chalmette, LA 70043 504-281-0510 www.nps.gov/jela/Chalmette Battlefield.htm Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve is one of more than 380 parks in the National Park System. The National Park Service cares for these special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage. Visit www.nps.gov to learn more about our national parks. oGPO:2002-491 -282/40275 Printed on recycled paper. The famous Po' Boy Syndey Byrd