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Our Vision
To revitalize, mobilize, and empower, for global recognition, Creole people and their contributions.
Our Mission
To preserve, educate, and advocate the value and significance of the vibrant Louisiana Creole people and their culture.
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Sept 25 - Opera Créole in Natchitoches
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The Creole Heritage Center is absolutely thrilled to announce the return of Opera Créole to Natchitoches next month! Prepare to be captivated by these immensely talented performers as they give voice to and bring to life long-lost or rarely performed music by Louisiana Creoles and those of African descent. Learn more about Opera Créole in the Community Partner spotlight below.
The Center last hosted Opera Créole in Natchitoches in 2014 and 2015, and we are thrilled to welcome them back after their highly acclaimed concert in Paris this past spring. The September 25th concert, titled The Creole French Connection - A Celebration of Our Shared Heritage, will feature arias, opera scenes, and Creole folk songs by Lucien Lambert, Edmond Dédé, and Camille Nickerson.
Artists Taylor J. White, Joshua Staes, Valencia Pleasant, Khary Wilson, and Givonna Joseph, all accompanied by Dr. Wilfred Delphin on the piano, will enchant all who join us at Magale Recital Hall at Northwestern State University.
Don't miss this extraordinary evening showcasing the exceptional artistic talent that is and has long been a cornerstone of Louisiana Creole communities and culture.
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Tickets are $20, but those under age 18 and NSU students (with current NSU ID) are free.
Can't make it to Natchitoches? We expect the concert to be livestreamed through the NSU's Dear School of Creative and Performing Arts.
Proceeds from ticket sales are not tax deductible, but will help the Center offset the cost of this event and its future programs and resources.
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This summer we were very lucky to have Sara Rebstock interning with the Center. She is currently a student at the University of Southern Mississippi where she is pursuing her Master's in Library and Information Science and a graduate certificate in Archives and Special Collections. Sara worked diligently to help us organize and catalog parts of our holdings in our Research Library so we can continue to document Louisiana Creole heritage and genealogy and make these holdings available for research to you!
Sara, originally from Houma, Louisiana, is a Northwestern State University graduate with a BA in English with a concentration in Literature. She has almost three years of library and archives experience as the Archives Assistant at the Cammie G. Henry Research Center (part of the NSU Libraries) and continues to work there as she completes her graduate studies.
| Above: Sara (far right) with Creole Heritage Center staff Judy Rachal and Markita Hamilton Small at the 2024 Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival. | | |
Resource Services Improvements | | |
Thanks to supplemental funding from the state of Louisiana, the Center was able to make significant investments in our Resource Services over the first months of this year. First, we expanded our Resource Library with over 80 new books, all focused on the rich history, heritage, and talents of Louisiana Creoles. Started over 25 years ago when the Center first opened, our library had gone many years without an update, missing out on the wealth of publications from the past decade about Louisiana Creoles and by Louisiana Creole authors. Stay tuned--soon, we'll be sharing listings and recommendations on our website and across our social media channels! | |
Second, we purchased professional quality archival supplies to safeguard our collections, which include everything from the history of the Creole Heritage Center to a full run of the Bayou Talk newspaper, family photographs, audio recordings, records of Natchitoches and Cane River organizations, and more. These resources are vital to protecting our holdings from light damage, humidity, pests, and other threats. These supplies also help us organize our holdings more effectively, making them easier for genealogists, researchers, and the Center to utilize. These investments ensure that the stories, voices, and images of Louisiana Creoles and their vibrant culture remain known and cherished by future generations. | | |
Images counterclockwise from top left: Delivery of new books for the Center's Resource Library; Professional standard folders and archival supplies for audio visual items; Boxes and envelopes for protecting photographs; Archival boxes for organizing our collections effectively and up to professional archival standards. | |
Community Partner Spotlight | | |
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Click the video above to watch Opera Créole's feature on NBC Nightly News in February 2024.
Learn more about Opera Créole and the history and persons they are restoring at these links:
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Opera Créole is an award-winning nonprofit founded in 2011 by the mother-and-daughter team of Givonna Joseph and Aria Mason dedicated to researching and performing lost or rarely performed classical and operatic works by composers of African descent and promoting Louisiana's Creole language and culture.
They have focused on works by 19th-century New Orleanian composers of color such as Victor Eugene McCarthy, Charles Lucien Lambert, and Edmond Dédé. In 2018 they premiered an original opera, The Lions of Reconstruction, that told the story of the freed people of color in 1860s New Orleans who advocated for the right to vote, education for all, and equal protection under the law.
They have performed at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, French Quarter Festival, the Historic New Orleans Collection, and many other sites and commemorative events around Louisiana, as well as being an Artist in Residence at the University of Illinois.
In 2025 they will premiere Edmond Dédé's never-performed 1887 opera, Morgiane, in New Orleans, Washington, DC; Lincoln Center in New York Center, and College Park, MD. This work is believed to be the first complete opera by a Black American and the manuscript was only recently discovered and transcribed by members of Opera Créole to make it performable for the first time after over 130 years.
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Two Ways to Support the Creole Heritage Center | |
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The Creole Heritage Center is a part of Northwestern State University of Louisiana, but we rely on funding from grants, sponsorships, and individuals like YOU for continuing public access to our resources, publishing communications like this newsletter, mounting future programs, and being present at community events.
Become a member today -- and give at least $150 to be recognized as part of our Creole Champions Club.
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Visit our new online store to order Creole Heritage Center-branded t-shirts, hoodies, bags, and more! Print Your Cause will process, print, and ship your orders directly to you, with 10% of the cost of each item coming back to the Center. | | |
Thank you to our Sponsors! | |
All donations will be processed through NSU Foundation, Inc. for the sole use of the Creole Heritage Center. Gifts made to the NSU Foundation are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. The NSU Foundation is exempt from tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Its Federal Identification Number is 72-6021495. | | | | |
