National
"I'm proud to be a Cajun. I think Cajun French is dying off because people are ashamed of it. I like my French. I'm around people that speak French," says Beulah Doucet, owner of Doucet's Grocery with her husband Jack in Butte LaRose, Louisiana.
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Shrimp boats line the shores of Bayou Dulac in Dulac, Lousiana. The Houma Indians are scattered throughout the southeastern coast of Louisiana in places like Dulac, a world of worsening coastal erosion. It's a hard place to make a living, pulling shrimp from the marshes and coastal waters. The Houma, who trace the beginning of their French to contact with the first explorers in the late 1600's, are working with the French consulate to start a tribal French language immersion program.
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Fred's Lounge, only open on Saturday's and Mardi Gras, hosts a Saturday morning party from this windowless 66-year-old bar which is broadcast live throughout the South Louisiana prairie on 1050 AM out of Ville Platte, and the music has been credited with helping sustain the Cajun French culture since just after World War II.
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Fred's Lounge, only open on Saturday's and Mardi Gras, hosts a Saturday morning party from this windowless 66-year-old bar which is broadcast live throughout the South Louisiana prairie on 1050 AM out of Ville Platte, and the music has been credited with helping sustain the Cajun French culture since just after World War II.
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Al Roger, 88, and his wife, Agnus, 94, listen to the music at Fred's Lounge in Mamou, Louisiana. Fred's Lounge, only open on Saturday's and Mardi Gras, hosts a Saturday morning gathering broadcast in French and English on 1050 AM out of Ville Platte, Louisiana.
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81-year-old Fred's manager Sue Vasseur, known as Tante Sue de Mamou, chats with patrons while cleaning a table in Mamou, Louisiana. Fred's Lounge, only open on Saturday's and Mardi Gras, hosts a Saturday morning gathering broadcast in French and English on 1050 AM out of Ville Platte, Louisiana.
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81-year-old Fred's manager Sue Vasseur, known as Tante Sue de Mamou, dances a two step with a patron in Mamou, Louisiana. Fred's Lounge, only open on Saturday's and Mardi Gras, hosts a Saturday morning gathering broadcast in French and English on 1050 AM out of Ville Platte, Louisiana.
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Patrons dance to the cajun music at Fred's Lounge in Mamou, Louisiana. Fred's Lounge, only open on Saturday's and Mardi Gras, hosts a Saturday morning gathering broadcast in French and English on 1050 AM out of Ville Platte, Louisiana.
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A chicken and sausage gumbo is made by Lois Salinas, owner of Annie's restaurant in Dulac, Louisiana.
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81-year-old Fred's manager Sue Vasseur, known as Tante Sue de Mamou plays the accordion on her Fred's t-shirt in Mamou, Louisiana. "They are teaching French in our schools here now in Mamou and Evangeline Parish. So I think possibly some of it will rub off on our grandchildren, our great grand-children," said Vasseur.
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Joseph Dunn, director of the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, as known as CODOFIL, works at the headquarters in downtown Lafayette, Lousiana
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Joseph Dunn, director of the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, as known as CODOFIL, works at the headquarters in downtown Lafayette, Lousiana. "French is important because the culture is carried in the French language. But we need to move that outside of the classroom setting, make it a social language, make it an economic language," Dunn said.
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Sabrina Benazzou whispers a french word at French Immersion Camp at Prairie Elementary School in Lafayette, Louisiana. The idea is for each camper to repeat the word to the next camper in hopes that at the end of the circle, the word remains the same. It is a lesson in listening.
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With a stand of bald cypress trees in the foreground, the sun sets at Lake Martin Cypress Island Preserve. It is an area that contains one of the largest concentration of migratory birds in the world.
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Great egrets roost on a Bald Cypress tree in the Lake Martin Cypress Island Preserve. It is an area that contains one of the largest concentration of migratory birds in the world.
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An alligator swims in the Atchafalaya Basin near Henderson, Louisiana
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An alligator swims in the Atchafalaya Basin near Henderson, Louisiana
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An alligator swims in the Atchafalaya Basin near Henderson, Louisiana
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Spanish moss dances in the light of the setting sun. Spanish moss is abundant in Louisiana.
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Men fish at Lake Martin Cypress Island Preserve. It is an area that contains one of the largest concentration of migratory birds in the world.
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Water hyacinth surround a old growth bald cypress stump in the Atchafalaya Basin
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Water hyacinth are plentiful in the Atchafalaya Basin
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With a stand of bald cypress trees in the foreground, the sun sets at Lake Martin Cypress Island Preserve. It is an area that contains one of the largest concentration of migratory birds in the world.
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Residents fish near the Grand Caillou Road swing bridge in Dulac, Louisiana. Dulac, a coastal community, has been fighting salt water intrusion for decades and has watched its coastline slowly wash away.
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At Clanton Chapel United Methodist Church, Pastor Kirby Verret conducts Sunday worship in Dulac, Louisiana. Church members are members of the Houma Indians, a largely French-speaking tribe. Once a month Verret conducts Sunday worship in French.
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At Clanton Chapel United Methodist Church, Pastor Kirby Verret conducts Sunday worship in Dulac, Louisiana. Church members are members of the Houma Indians, a largely French-speaking tribe. Once a month Verret conducts Sunday worship in French.
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At Clanton Chapel United Methodist Church, Pastor Kirby Verret conducts Sunday worship in Dulac, Louisiana. Church members are members of the Houma Indians, a largely French-speaking tribe. Once a month Verret conducts Sunday worship in French.
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