Elton, Louisiana: On My Way to the Powwow: A First Look at a Cultural Intersection

Not the usual mural in Acadiana. Elton, Louisiana, showing its Indian heritage. The hills must be an example of artistic license. June 2015.

A cultural informant told me about Elton.

A jailhouse, a train, a white picket fence, and a red something that holds something. Elton, Louisiana. June 2015.

Elton is a village on 190 between Eunice and Kinder. Which may not help most people much in visualizing its location. So let's say it's about two hours west of Baton Rouge. And it's east of ........well, hell, you'd have to go a really long way west to make it east of something most of us would recognize. So let's come at it from another direction - it's about an hour northwest of Lafayette.

Elton, Louisiana. June 2015.

Population about 1200.

Elton, Louisiana. June 2015.

My cultural informant told me that, at one time, Elton was a tiny confluence of Indian, Creole, and Cajun tribes. Even today, he said, you might find it difficult to completely follow a conversation amongst old-timey locals because of the rich, intermingled dialects. 

Elton, Louisiana. June 2015.

So when I decided to go to the Coushatta Powwow, it was a happy surprise to see that Elton was on my way there. I'd already stopped to visit the Savoy Music Jam and gawk at roseate spoonbills. The wet drizzle kept me in my car, but I saw enough to make me want to go back for a drier look-see in the future.

A train blew through while I pondered the meaning of the jailhouse and the red storage structure in the city park. Surrounded by a white picket fence.

Very nice.

Here is a bit of history on the Coushatta Tribe, which has a base on the edge of Elton. There are a couple of stories at this website, but for me, anyway, the recordings were too choppy to listen to. Don't know if the issue is on my end or the server end. There is more historical information about the Coushattas at KnowLA (Encyclopedia of Louisiana).

Kinder, Louisiana: Coushatta Powwow 2015

Coushatta Powwow 2015, Kinder, Louisiana.

The sounds of the Coushatta Powwow were a beauteous retreat from my usual rich supra of Cajun and Zydeco beats. Many drum groups there, with the songs reverberating through my bones.

Coushatta Powwow 2015, Kinder, Louisiana.

The Coushatta Powwow raised good memories of my year in New Mexico. Hey, here's an excuse to share again my video of Red Bear Drum Group at Jemez Springs Heritage Site for the Pueblo Independence Day 2013:

The Coushatta Powwow takes place in the pavilion at Coushatta Casino campus. The pavilion also serves as a rodeo site and there is a nearby stable. The sounds from the pavilion also pipe into the stable. It is very eerie - an entirely empty, cavernous stable that resounds with drum songs:

OK, now listen to this. The MC - on several occasions - when women dancers had finished, I swear to God, said "you can return to your husbands." Sheesh. Maybe it's an inside cultural joke? One hopes.

The powwow was in a good venue. Spacious. Air-conditioned. Excellent sound system. Interesting things being sold. A variety of foodstuffs. Very economical entrance fee - five bucks! 

I did miss seeing the gourd dance, and I've come to like that solemnity of that dance very much.

Below is a slide show:

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