Culture
A U G U ST 2 0 2 2 50
AGAINST A
LANGUAGE
HISTORY OF LANGAUGE
AND
C U LT U R E
REPRESSION, LOUISIANA
MAKES
B A C K TO S C H O O L ITS
B I G G E ST- E V E R
INVESTMENT IN
W
L ANG UAG E
École Pointe au Chien
THE COUNTRY'S FIRST INDIGENOUS FRENCH IMMERSION SCHOOL REPRESENTS A VICTORY FOR LOUISIANA TRIBES AFTER A LONG HISTORY OF CULTURAL ERASURE By Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
I
n April 2021, the children and parents of Pointe-au-Chien, Louisiana gathered before the chain link fences of their elementary school, holding handwritten signs entreating: “Sauve cette École.” Save our school. The bayou community’s battle against the Terrebonne Parish School Board’s efforts to close Pointeaux-Chênes Elementary School represents the latest chapter in Louisiana Indigenous tribes’ centu-
ries-long struggle for cultural recognition and access to education. But in this battle, finally, there was a victory. Due to the tribe’s relentless efforts and the swift mobilization of partner agencies, researchers and scholars, and state officials—next August, not only will there once again be an elementary school in Pointe-au-Chien, but the school will open as the country’s first-ever Indigenous French Immersion school.
According to Will McGrew, CEO and founder of the Louisiana Francophone media platform Télé-Louisiane, the establishment of the new school—which was signed into law by Governor John Bel Edwards on June 24, 2022—“represents the largest single investment by the State of Louisiana in its unique language and heritage since its admission to the Union.”
On June 24, 2022, Governor John Bel Edwards, pictured in the middle, signed into law the creation of the École Pointe-au-Chien, the state's first ever Indigenous French Immersion School. Pictured with him are future students, members of the Pointe au Chien Executive Council, and other stakeholders. Also pictured from left to right: Christine Verdin (PACIT Tribal Council), Will McGrew (CEO, Télé-Louisiane), Donald Dardar (Second Chairman, PACIT), Michelle Matherne (Secretary, PACIT), Chuckie Verdin (First Chairman, PACIT), State Senator “Big Mike” Fesi, Patty Ferguson-Bohnee (PACIT Lawyer), and State Represetnative and Speaker Pro Tempore Tanner Magee. The children are students of the future École Pointe-au-Chien. Photo courtesy of Will McGrew.
50
A U G 2 2 // C O U N T R Y R O A D S M A G . C O M
