Difference between Creoles & Cajuns explained by a Louisiana Creole

The age old question, what is the difference between Louisiana Creoles and Cajuns? Is it a matter of one containing African ancestry and the other one not? Are they just two different words to describe the same thing? Watch to find out! ⚜️

P.S.
I filmed this video the same day as one of my other videos but have been sitting on it for forever so that’s why my outfit/look might be super familiar 😬

0:00 Intro
7:48 Are Cajuns the face of Louisiana?
8:51 Why Creole Identity isn’t as strong as Cajun
10:59 Outro

#creole #cajun #louisianacreole #acadiana #acadie #acadien #canada #frenchcanada #novascotia #louisiana #neworleanscreole #canerivercreole #mgm #multigenerationallymixed #mixedrace #mixed #biracial #latina #neworleans

[mkim]

Beautifully explained. Chef's kiss! You're absolutely right about the Cajuns holding strong to their identity. My friend's grandparents are Cajun and when they talk about non Cajuns like the general white populaion, they call them Americans.

[Vanipollonia]

According to the book "White by Definition" by author Virginia Dominguez, there is the term "Cajun Creole" which describes a "colored" person that has at least one Cajun French ancestor. Years ago, on a local talk show in New Orleans, a local anchorwoman by the name of Angela Hill did a show on Creoles and she had 3 guests: a white man, a dark-skinned Black woman, & a light-skinned mixed-race man as her guests. All identified as Creoles. However, the white guy said that he had relatives who would have identified themselves as Creole one generation ago would now say that they are of "French Louisiana descent" instead.

[Lets_Talk_About_it_Luv]

I feel like everyone should be proud of their culture and heritage, no matter where you come from. Creole people have a rich and diverse culture and they should be able to embrace it more. You should make a video on the similarities between the colored people of South Africa and the creole people of Louisiana.

[DWilliam]

I always thought Cajuns tend to be more from the swamps or the country, while the Creoles tend be more city folk.

[Simsrockslol]

you’re very well informed and well spoken. kudos

[GlitterSkies]

I consider myself Cajun-Creole because I have ancestors that identified as both. However, just Creole is much easier to say because then I have to explain the difference and nobody understands 😂😂

[LATEIR]

Mèsi pou çila, madam! 🙏🏽

You said just about everything I say out loud to myself when it comes to our Creole identity & how cajuns are taking over everything Creole due to non-Creole Black Americans being so damn angry 24/7 about us identifying in who we are an not just a flat blackness or identifying w/ just melanin. Then so many Creoles marry in with non-Creole Blacks, an they put that “lost” identity into those Creole’s minds and turn them against us and raise their children to be agains Creoles. Thats why the MAIN ones tellin us not to identify as Creole always got the “but my granny Creole tho” ass stories as if the Creole blood just stopped w/ they granny or somethin.. Make it make sense.
I live in NY & yes as much as I LOVE & live thru my heritage & language.. most my life I feel I been in hiding of some sort. It never seems to end cuz everytime I build up the courage to say who & what I am.. im immediately shunned.

[BriellaSornFonte]

Theo Von Is Creole too lol he also is Venezuelan but at the end of the day pressuring mixed Creole people to identify as black is about sexual access to the people same for pressuring Latinos to identify a black or to have a Black and Brown coalition. Literally that’s all it is and numbers and probably to have a utilitarian group in the black community because they use our image and us a lot.

[michael-mijail-martinez]

I grew up my whole life saying I was “Spanish” but not understanding my heritage really. It took me until recently to understand that hat my grandfather who was born in New Orleans and lived in Biloxi for much of his life was a creole, though some would call him a “Spanish Cajun”. I prefer the term Creole because it makes more sense and I don’t want to be grouped in with Canadians haha

[orrintyrell]

Look at an interview by Jordan Thibodeaux. Cajun was a rebranding tactic that came about after Creole communities became Americanized in America's racial binary. To distance themselves folks called white presenting folks Cajun and black presenting folks Creole. Creole meant, native to the Louisiana territory. Creole is an ETHNICITY!!!! Louisiana Creole is based on culture, not color. Creoles are white of white to the blackest of black and everything in between. The Cajun's that came down here, got swallowed up in the general Creole community. My last name is Acadian or Cajun. But I know I'm Creole through and through.

[shadidentertainment]

100% correct! I'm a Louisiana Creole and have deep Cajun ancestry from Cananda. My ancestors are mixed and everything in between. I tell people all the time that Creole an Cajun is both a culture and an ancestry.

[negationf]

Very informative video, that cuts through the simplistic definitions to get to the actual story.

[scottdubois]

Im a Cajun and there was a time that we were not able to be a "proud" cajun. In the 1920's 30's 40's, in schools, the English were forcing cajuns to denounce their cajun french language and only speak English in the classroom. My grandfather was punished in school as a kid for not knowing english. His parents never learned english and he was the "translator" of the family.

[MariahYanez]

This is good information and a testament to how mixed and light-skinned people today should go forward with our own identity and to NOT be bullied out of it by blacks! I love this! Keep it coming! Maybe one day I'll come on youtube and speak my peace on the subject.

[HotaruGlaive]

As someone from south Louisiana I view Cajuns as people who want to identify more closely with their Acadian-French heritage specifically. I don't know, but I assume the word "Cajun" was formed because of our accents and dropping the first "a" and just morphed from there.
I view "creoles" as people who may want to be more close to their Caribbean, African, Spanish, Native, etc heritage. I don't view either as negative I guess since it may be possible that some Cajuns don't know of these ancestors. There are people in my family who still want to hide my mamaw's native ancestry to this day so I don't doubt for some there was an element of "shame". Creole food is more "sauced up" I like to say (lots of sauces for everything) while cajun food is almost like country food in that it's kind of simple and often made with ingredients people would just grow on a small farm.

I will say I feel now that the older generations are telling stories of how they were treated in school if they didn't behave or talk a certain way (which meant not acting "cajun/creole"), many people are much more willing to embrace that side of themselves.

[jean-micheldesenneville]

Creole to me is more of a cultural identity which unite people of French origin who emigrated to French colonies all over the World in the 18th century- Louisiana, Mauritius, Reunion, etc..., and who shared life with African immigrants mostly, enjoyed intimate relationships, had more & more children of colour to form whole new societies who progressively harmonized their original lifestyles and developed new food recipes, music, dance, dress code, home decor, religious worship ceremonies, sports & leisure activities, as well as their own dialect, story telling and literary styles. I pray that this beautiful International Creole community will find ways to proudly affirm its uniqueness and joyous character, rather than to disintegrate into smaller and smaller clans. ❤

[chadpopulisjr]

There was a debate on Twitter this week about people in South Africa calling themselves Coloured. They be so mad. They don't even like the term African American anymore. Just BLACK BLACK BLACK. No, I won't be that, but okay. Do you.

[centaviodehernandez]

Have you did a video about Spanish Louisiana about the Spanish Creoles called Isleños

[Maypouri]

Hello my Creole sister. Concerning the term creole. Here the oldest definition, according to Garcilaso de La Vega: Garcilaso de la Vega, "The Inca, " writing in the early 1600's, tells us: "The name was invented by the Negroes... They use it to mean a Negro born in the Indies, and they devised it to distiguish those who come from this side and were born in Guinea from those born in the New World....

The Spanish copied them by introducing this word to describe those born in the New World, and in this way both Spaniards and Guinea Negroes are called criollo if they were born in the NewWorld."

[DOMINIK]

They are few, but there are also Afro-Cajuns, mixed Creoles and Cajuns, they are relevant in one of the areas where Cajuns live, here on YT channel Louisiana French is one of them.