Heritage is an interesting thing, it follows you around wherever you go. From very young age a deep sense of heritage was instilled in me; I've always felt linked in some way to my family history. Last spring I felt particularly burdened to return to Louisiana with my father to begin exploring our heritage down there (begin for me, he has been doing this kind of thing for years). There is a generation in that area that still speaks french, but the language is quickly, and very sadly, dying among the cajun people; I developed the desire to meet some of these people, beginning with our family, and to photograph them and the area.
At the time I shared my thoughts with my dad, hoping that in the next year or so we'd be able to make the first trip together. A few days later my mom called telling me that she had a plan, and in typical Hardee fashion, a last-minute trip formed; few weeks later, my father, my younger sister, and I were on the road heading for Mississippi and Louisiana.
We only had a couple days, and I feel like it was barely a beginning, but it is amazing the connections that can be made over 2 days. I met some of my 1st, 3rd and 4th cousins, and 2 great great aunts one of whom's mother tongue is french. We learned details of our family history, and heard so many stories. What a soulful trip it was, learning about a once rejected, almost forgotten people, who's culture is still quietly alive, just below the surface. I look forward to returning, I expect this will be an ongoing project for quite some time.
So, here are a few of the landscape images from the small city of Lake Charles and from the bayous that run beside the highway...
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