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New Populations Project
Request for Proposals
Completed and Ongoing Research
Researchers focused on Louisiana's New Populations
The New Populations Project is an initiative of the Louisiana Division of the Arts Folklife Program to reach out to our state's immigrant and refugee communities. The goal is to address an underserved sector within the cultural economy and provide an opportunity to engage these communities in the identification and documentation of their traditional culture and art forms.
Louisiana is home to significant numbers of people from Vietnam, Honduras, Mexico, Cuba, India, China, Taiwan, Palestine and the Middle East, the Philippines, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Korea, El Salvador, Japan, Columbia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Laos, and Thailand. In addition, there are trans-national cultural groups, such as the Garifuna and Mayans here. Because this is an ambitious project, our priority will be to focus on the larger, more concentrated communities with long-term residence in Louisiana rather than university students or those that have most recently arrived. Some cultural groups have come to Louisiana in successive waves - some up to seven generations - replenishing ties to the home country. This project focuses on the most recent arrivals that include foreign-born members.
This project asks communities and individuals how they maintain their home culture here in Louisiana. We ask: Do you make crafts, music, or foods that are traditional in your culture? Do you celebrate holidays that are important to your culture? Do you work at traditional occupations?
Our strategy is to reach out to these communities by documenting their traditions. Generally, documentation focuses on folk traditions rather than classical or popular art forms, although we recognize that some classical or popular art forms take on new meanings in a diaspora setting. For more information about folklife, see Key Folklife Definitions. Fieldworkers document community traditions, art forms, and events and then provide essays and photographs to be added to the Folklife in Louisiana website. Fieldworkers also help us identify the following in these communities and submit a field report on their findings:
Folk Tradition-bearers - people who are maintaining traditions that have been in their community or family for many years, such as music, crafts, sacred traditions, occupational traditions, foodways, celebrations, or holidays.
Professional Artists - such as dancers, musicians, actors, creative writers, designers, painters, craftspeople, and filmmakers.
Organizations - groups that may want to apply for a grant to support arts activities or other cultural endeavors.
Community spokespeople - people who might like to participate in the statewide arts network or receive information about resources and opportunities.
Artifacts - items or displays that could be featured in a temporary museum exhibit in the future. The item might be loaned or recreated, such as an altar, handmade crafts.
To receive a copy of field reports about the documentation, contact Maida Owens, mowens@crt.state.la.us or 225/342-8178.
Advisory Council
To help us develop effective strategies, an advisory council guides the project. The Advisory Council consists of folklorists and anthropologists who have experience documenting traditional culture in addition to members of the communities documented. For a list of Advisory Council members, click here.
Request for Proposals
A Request for Proposals (RFP) is issued annually to identify fieldwork contracts. If you would like to consider documenting a New Population and want to receive future Request for Proposals, contact Maida Owens, mowens@crt.state.la.us or 225/342-8178.
Resources to Develop and Implement a Proposal
Key Folklife Definitions
Suggestions for Folklife Fieldwork and Presentations
Fieldwork Basics
Folklife Survey Form
Suggested Interview Questions for New Populations Projects
Interviewer-Photographer Release Form
Resources to Develop Questions
Available upon request:
Next Request for Proposals
US Census data
Proposal Worksheet
Instructions for Submitting Materials
Completed and Ongoing Research
Research Completed
Chinese
Moon Cakes, Knotting, and Feng Shui: A Peek of Chinese Culture in Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Jun Zou
Germans
Getting to Gemütlichkeit: German History and Culture in Southeast Louisiana - Laura Westbrook
Guatemalans
"Looks Very Simple, But Takes a Lot of Time": Diana Gay's GuaTamales - Guatemalan Tamales - Mandy McClain with Susan Roach
Indians
A Sampling of Indian Arts and Traditions in Louisiana - So far, our research has focused primiarly on the Hindu community, but this slide show will feature the arts and traditions of all communities from India.
Satyanarayana Puja: A Hindu Prayer Service in South Louisiana - Daria Woodside
Dancing in the Light: The Nine-Day Festival of Navaratri in South Louisiana - Daria Woodside
Indian Classical Music in South Louisiana - Andrew McLean
Laotians
Songkran: Laotian New Year in South Louisiana - Hardy Jones, Jr.
A Sampling of Laotian Arts and Traditions in Louisiana
Latinos
Sabor Latino: Central American Folk Traditions in New Orleans - Shana Walton
Mexicans
The Mexican Community of Forest Hill, Louisiana - William Manger
Middle Eastern Muslims
Places Called Home: Folk Traditions among Muslim Immigrants in Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Jocelyn Donlon
Nicaraguans
The Story of La Purisima and La Griteria: A Unique Nicaraguan Sacred Tradition Adapted to Louisiana - Denese Neu
Vietnamese
Offerings to Kings and Buddha: Vietnamese Ritual Activities at Chua Bo De: The Vietnamese Buddhist Community in New Orleans Area - Allison Truitt
Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, in the New Orleans Vietnamese Community - Kathleen Carlin and Cam-Thanh Tran
Also photographs are added to the Louisiana Folklife Photo Gallery. Search for the cultural group.
Research completed and yet to be posted:
Cuban Music and Dance - CubaNOLA Collective, Tomás Montoya
Research in Progress:
Cuban Celebrations in New Orleans - CubaNOLA Collective, Tomas Montoya
Garifuna music and dance in New Orleans - Amy Serrano
The Korean community in Vernon Parish - Dayna Lee
Asian dance traditions in New Orleans - Laura Westbrook
Mexican women's crafts and traditions in North Central Louisiana - Susan Roach
Mexicans in Boyce, Cheneyville, and Pineville - William Manger
Other Articles on Louisiana's New Populations:
These articles were written through initatives other than the New Populations Project. For an overview of all of Louisiana's traditional cultures see Louisiana's Traditional Cultures: An Overview.
For a complete list of web articles, see Louisiana's Living Traditions - Articles and Essays.
Croatians in Southeastern Louisiana: Overview
Gefilte Fish in the Land of the Kingfish: Jewish Life in Louisiana
Jewish Folklore in Northeastern Louisiana
Hungarian Folklife in the Florida Parishes of Louisiana
The Invisible Population: Mexicans and Central Americans in Northern and Central Louisiana
Vietnamese Folklife in New Orleans
Ritual Spaces in Traditional Louisiana Communities: Italian, Nicaraguan, and Vietnamese Altars
Researchers focused on Louisiana's New Populations
The New Populations project seeks to identify current research regarding these cultural groups. Researchers focusing on any immigrant and/or refugee group in Louisiana are encouraged to contact the Louisiana Folklife Program whether or not they are submitting a proposal. Here are the cultural researchers of whom we are currently aware that focus on Louisiana's New Populations.
Vietnamese
Vietnamese Buddhists - Dr. Allison Truitt, Tulane University Dept of Anthropology
Vietnamese foodways - Zoe Morris, Louisiana State University anthropology graduate student
Vietnamese in New Orleans East - Linda VanZandt, University of Southern Mississippi
Vietnamese shrimpers in Plaquemines Parish - Jason P. Foster, University of Louisiana, Lafayette graduate student
Vietnamese Catholics - Dr. Kathy Carlin, Independent anthropologist, New Orleans
Vietnamese - Dr. Carl Bankston, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, Dept of Sociology and Anthropology
Laotians
Laotians - Dr. Carl Bankston, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, Dept of Sociology and Anthropology
East Indians
Hindus - Daria Woodside, Independent researcher, Baton Rouge
Classical Indian Music - Andrew McLean
Latinos
Latinos - Dr. Shana Walton, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux
Columbian music - Dr. Connie Atkinson, University of New Orleans Midlo Center
Santeria - Dr. Solimar Otera, Louisiana State University, Dept. of English
Cubans - Tomas Montoya, Sociology PhD candidate, University of Oriente, Santiago de Cuba
Nicaraguans - Denese Neu, PhD, Urban Planning, Chicago/New Orleans
Garifuna - Amy Serrano, filmmaker, New Orleans
Middle Easterners
Muslims in Baton Rouge - Dr. Jocelyn Donlon, Center for Cultural Resources, Baton Rouge
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