NATCHITOCHES – The Native American Tunica people moved near the mouth of the Yazoo River by 1694 and allowed French Jesuits to establish a mission in the village in 1699. From this location they continued to trade salt, pottery and horses to nations both east and west of the Mississippi. The Tunicas relied heavily on their strategic location and willingness to embrace French culture to nurture their alliance. So began a long relationship that led to the prevalence of French-speaking Tunica-Biloxi well into the 20th century.
Dr. Deborah Clifton, curator of the Louisiana Science Museum and an instructor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, will discuss American Indians and the French language during the “Unité et Diversité: A conference on Louisiana French” Friday, Sept. 23 and Saturday, Sept. 24. Clifton is one of several speakers who will address the development of French in Louisiana, regional French and the influences other cultures had on the language.
The conference will take place on Friday at the Natchitoches Events Center, 720 Second St., and will conclude with La Table Française on Saturday, Sept. 24 at Fort St. Jean State Historic Site. The conference sessions are free, but donations are welcome. The Creole Heritage Center at Northwestern State University is co-hosting this event along with the Cane River National Heritage Area, Inc., Cane River Creole National Historical Park and the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL).
Other panelists are Donna M. Pierite and Elisabeth M. Pierite, language and lifeways instructors for the Tunica-Biloxi Language and Culture Revitalization Program, and John Barbry, director of development and programming for the Tunica-Biloxi LCRP.
Clifton earned her Ph.D. in Francophone studies from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, specializing in linguistics, ethnology and health systems of French speaking countries. Her research on Creole and Cajun French is ongoing. She serves as advisor to several organizations on questions concerning healthcare and human rights, and works actively to promote preservation and conservation of cultural resources in health and humanitarian crises.
Pierite and Pierite-Mora are responsible for lesson planning, teaching and directing educational assignments to promote the learning of the Tunica and Biloxi languages and culture. They collaborate with Tulane University linguists in the Kuhpani Yoyani Luhchi Yoroniku (Tunica Language Working Group, KYLY) developing Tunica language foundational resources including linguistic texts, manuals, curricula and pedagogical materials.
Pierite is a Louisiana State certified educator who has taught 33+ years in Orleans and Avoyelles Parish schools. In addition to teaching French, Spanish and English as a second language in the Vietnamese community, Pierite has studied and taught Tunica since the 1970s.
Having grown up in the Tunica, Biloxi and Choctaw traditions of her family, Pierite-Mora has spoken tunica since she was a child.
Barbry maintains day-to-day administration and operations of LCRP including event coordination, outreach coordination, budget planning and expenditures, fundraising, reporting, personnel, and communications. Prior to joining the LCRP staff, he worked for 20 years in marketing and business development, and held positions at the Historic New Orleans Collection (1987-93) and the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution (1993-94). John has chaired the Tunica-Biloxi Pow Wow Committee since 1995.
For more information on the conference, contact Loletta Wynder, project coordinator for the Creole Heritage Center, at (318) 357-6685 or visit creole.nsula.edu.