POINTE-AU-CHIEN, La. (BRPROUD) — A bill recently signed by the governor will create a French immersion school for the Pointe-au-Chien tribe in south Louisiana.
The tribe’s chairman, Chuckie Verdin, said in a news release that the tribe is “thankful for the support and honored that the State is investing in the future of our people by providing assistance to maintain our unique language, culture, and heritage.”
Governor John Bel Edwards signed the bill at a ceremony event hosted by the tribe on June 24. To read the act, click here. The bill’s author, Speaker Pro Tempore Tanner Magee, was present at the signing ceremony.
The tribe said celebrations of the bill’s signing continued with a shrimp boil prepared by Second Chairman Donald Dardar.
“When the local school board closed the elementary school serving Bayou Pointe-au-Chien last year – the majority of the students were from Native American and French-speaking families – the Tribe focused its efforts on establishing a school that would be culturally reflective of the area, including incorporating the local dialects of Indian French and Cajun French in the curriculum,” said the tribe in a news release. “The Tribe is thankful to its many partners and friends who worked together to support the effort.”
For more information, visit www.pactribe.com.
