General Information

Since its establishment in October, 1998 the NSU Creole Heritage Center has completed many notable and worthwhile accomplishments.  Many of the endeavors that occurred were first-time achievements by a unit that has no model.  The Center represents the only one of its kind and almost every undertaking has been a true “learning experience”.  One redeeming factor that has sustained the Center has been the many positive tributes and compliments we have received.   Another has been the overwhelming responses through participation and involvement of the academic world, the general public and the Creole people themselves.

Over the past years we have presented the first Creole Heritage Conference, the first Creole Family History Convention, and the first Creole Studies conference.  We have increased our mailing list database over ten-fold which continues to grow daily.  The Center has initiated the first national Creole family history database and has made a selected portion of this information available online in a searchable format.  Another first has been the recording of individual Creole communities and related themes through the Creole Chronicles project.   We have an established outreach program that continues to meet the goals of the Center throughout Louisiana as well as nationwide.

The Center continues to be a one-of-a-kind unit to have as its main mission to document and preserve the Louisiana Creole culture and its connections nationwide.  The major partners that have shown the Center great support in many ways and with whom we work with on a daily basis includes the Louisiana Regional Folklife Program, the Cane River National Heritage Area, the Cane River Creole National Historical Park, the and of course Northwestern State University at Natchitoches, Louisiana.