The heritage of indigenous people celebrated

The Bayou Lacombe Museum will present its fifth annual Native American Heritage Celebration on Nov. 11-12 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. The public is invited to share in this free event exploring the rich traditions and contributions of the native people at the heart of Lacombe’s founding.

Events at the 61115 St. Mary St. museum will feature the indigenous families and plant life of Bayou Lacombe; a timeline of Buchockwa, from prehistory to today; and presentations to honor local heroes; and a remembrance of Chahta-Ima High School.

Speakers will include Jenna Mae, an indigenous herbalist of the Deer Clan Mvskoke; botanist and LSU horticulture instructor Jennifer Blanchard; producer and processor of indigenous original uncut filé Jay Casborné; and Scierra Legarde and Anthony Lott, indigenous people of Bayou Lacombe, who will talk about the Three Sisters and the Medicine Wheel Gardens, both Bayou Lacombe Museum exhibits in the Lacombe Park.

A Veterans Memorial on Veterans Day will honor local heroes and indigenous contributions to the war efforts as code talkers, whose work drastically changed the course of World War II. An initiative is in place to add as many missing names as possible to the memorial plaques on display.

A second memorial will recognize graduates, former students and staff of Chahta-Ima High School, an institution that from 1961-1969 shaped and educated a generation of Brown and Black high school students. The program will present the documented successes of programs there, the only high school to exist in Lacombe, along with the mystery of its closure.

Bayou Lacombe Museum has been honored to host the Mississippi Band Of Choctaw, the Houma Nation, the Gena Band of Choctaw, Oklahoma Choctaw and other Native brothers and sisters, though while not all Choctaw, are indigenous as well.  But this year, the museum will recognize the contributions of its own indigenous culture, food and people.

Bayou Lacombe Museum is housed in what was originally a two-room schoolhouse, built in 1912, that has served the St. Tammany community for more than 40 years as a cultural center. Renovated in early 2019, the museum is home to a collection of artifacts that tell the story of Lacombe from the 18th to early 20th centuries through five main interpretive displays: the history of the Choctaw in Lacombe; rural life of the area in the early 20th century; the life and influence of poet-priest Adrien Rouquette, who nurtured the local Choctaw and wrote about the beauty of the area; the John Davis Lumber Company and the industry’s influence on the region; and the Hall of Heroes honoring local residents for their military service.