Date of Award

8-1955

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Sociology

First Advisor

Vernon J. Parenton

Abstract

this thesis is an attempt to analyze, sociologically, Delacroix Island, Spanish-American community in Southern Louisiana. Two questions were proposed at the outset: 1) why this particular community has survived with its distinctive Spanish cultural traits; 2) why it has survived in spite of the changes in occupation, population, economy, and relations with outsiders. Emphasis was placed on the historical background, language, population characteristics, and social institutions in an effort to answer these questions.

Intensive field investigations were undertaken. Seventy-two schedules, enumerating 361 persons, were collected. Primary and secondary data, along with published and unpublished manuscripts, were used.

Delacroix Island was colonized in 1778 with people from the Canary Islands. The population is approximately 1,000 and is 100 percent Caucasian. The settlement is a line village. The family is still the most important institution, although many of its functions are being performed by agencies. Spanish is the primary language. Of late, the younger generation tends to utilize English. Over 96 percent of the Islenos are Catholics. Their low-educational status is improving rapidly. In the past, the main occupations were hunting, fishing, and trapping; today these are fading. Many inhabitants are employed now in the nearby industrial centers.

Main findings and conclusions are: because of the location, the inhabitants were isolated from communities of English-speaking peoples, thus facilitating the perpetuation of their Spanish culture. The social solidarity developed in fishing and trapping has supported the tradition of mutual cooperation; without mutual aid, survival would have been uncertain. Recent out-migration of the Islenos, and in-migration of non-Spanish-speaking peoples are tending to weaken Spanish tradition.

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