LOUISIANA, USA — It's a constant battle to preserve the diverse cultures we cherish in Louisiana, but in one southern Louisiana town, it's critical.
Pointe-aux-Chenes has faced coastal erosion, hurricanes and man-made decisions that threaten the community.
But this school year, the indigenous Point-au-Chien Tribe made strides to preserve its language when Louisiana's first indigenous French immersion school opened in August.
Christine Verdin is the school's executive director and principal.
Verdin grew up in Pointe-aux-Chenes, where the road ends and marsh begin, and Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes meet.
“You can basically live there and not need anything else. The people there live a slow-paced life," Verdin said, “You can go fishing, crabbing, get your own, you know and it’s quiet. Beautiful sunset, sunrise. It’s almost tranquil I guess.”
It's one of the oldest, continuously inhabited places in the state.
Before Europeans set foot in Louisiana, it was home to several tribes. Now, the descendants of those indigenous people, including Verdin, make up the Point-au-Chien Tribe.
“Our tribe has been here for centuries," Verdin said, “Like I grew up, it’s not going to be again.”
Some of the land no longer exists. Pointe-aux-Chenes is part of the Terrebonne Basin, the fastest eroding wetland in the state.
Levees preventing fresh water and sediment to flow naturally and oil companies cutting into the land are to blame, Verdin said.
“It’s kind of like a double-edged sword you know, we’ve lost a lot because of them, but they’ve given jobs to our people," Verdin said.
Verdin can't slow the land loss, but she is fighting to preserve the tribe's future.
Nine Kindergarten and 1st Grade students enrolled in classes this fall. Six of them are tribal members, Verdin said.
“We wanted to try and get our language back, and we wanted to see like if we had a French immersion school, that we could teach our kids from the get-go. From the time they begin school and then they’d learn it and bring it back to the grandparents or parents, mostly grandparents, and then hopefully with that we’d bridge that gap between the parents who didn’t teach them," Verdin said.
After several years and failed attempts, the tribe saw an opportunity.
Terrebonne Parish School District closed Pointe-aux-Chenes elementary in May of 2021.
“When things start leaving your community. You don’t really have a community anymore," Verdin said.
The tribe began taking steps to take over the school, but Mother Nature had other plans. A few months later, Hurricane Ida hit.
“Ida was different," Verdin said, "We didn’t have water, but we had the wind. A lot of people lost their homes. If you go there, there’s still a lot of people not living in their homes. People have fixed, but the homes were destroyed.”
The school suffered damages as well.
“It really devastated our community," Verdin said.
Local officials wrote off the building, but the tribe saw promise.
“People determine where they’re going to live based on their school district, and so if we have a school there, we might be able to attract people to come back," Verdin said.
Will McGrew, now the school's board president, worked closely with the tribe and legislators to pass a law to create a 'state special school.'
“It is a public entity, but instead of being administered by the local school district, it’s administered directly by the state, by an independent state board," McGrew said, “That was passed unanimously in the legislative session of 2021, and then it was signed by the governor. It was a historic event.”
The school is now open to any child living in Terrebonne or Lafourche parishes.
“They’re some of the highest percentage of French speaking Louisianas are in Lafourche and Terrebonne," McGrew said.
They even hired two teachers that speak fluent French, including Gaetan Lombard, a native of France.
“It’s very interesting to study this French, the Cajun French, or French from Louisiana, because it’s a little bit like the old French. The French from my grandparents," Lombard said.
The tribe has a unique dialect of French.
“What we often say like the three pillars of Louisiana French speaking are the Cajuns, the Creoles, and the Indigenous tribes that speak French. It’s important for us to find a balance between those," McGrew said.
Students said at first they didn't know what their teachers were saying, but they can understand them now.
It's special to Verdin who remembers attending the 'local Indian school.'
Indigenous students were finally allowed to integrate to Pointe-aux-Chenes Elementary in 1965, but the tribal language wasn't allowed, Verdin said.
“That’s where we were punished for speaking French," Verdin said, “It’s really good that we are in a school where we are speaking French and teaching kids a language that you know some of were punished speaking a long time ago.”
Verdin said she hopes to enroll more young tribal members and Cajuns.
“To build that pride in them that, where their ancestors came, it’s very important to know where you come from and what your people did, because that’s the only way you’re going to teach your own kids," Verdin said.
Renovations on Pointe-aux-Chenes Elementary are expected to start in January or February and should be completed in a year and a half, McGrew said.
Until that work is complete, students will be in the former Knights of Columbus Hall. The building was inaugurated by Governor John Bel Edwards in November.
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