ENROLLED
2020 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 42
BY REPRESENTATIVE DUSTIN MILLER
A RESOLUTION
To posthumously commend Janet Ravare-Colson, recognized as the mother of the Creole
culture revitalization movement.
WHEREAS, in 1997, Janet Ravare-Colson began her crucial work as the director of
the Louisiana Creole Heritage Center at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches,
Louisiana, where she worked for more than twenty years to revitalize and bring greater
awareness of the language, history, and culture of the Louisiana Creole people; and
WHEREAS, Janet Ravare-Colson organized hundreds of workshops, seminars, and
conferences that brought local, state, national, and international scholars and community
leaders from various communities together to highlight the contemporary experiences of
Louisiana Creoles and other Creole communities around the world during a period when
these communities suffered from neglect and misrepresentation; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Ravare-Colson expanded the body of literature, genealogical
research, and public visibility of one of the nation's oldest and least documented ethnic
groups, thereby contributing to the advancement and educational development of future
generations of Creoles; and
WHEREAS, she also mentored and educated dozens of Louisiana Creole scholars,
musicians, genealogists, and cultural preservationists throughout her career; Janet Ravare-
Colson, daughter of Louisiana Creole heritage, was tirelessly committed to the preservation
of the Creole community, and for this, she is certainly worthy of recognition; and
WHEREAS, in honor of Janet Ravare-Colson's work to preserve Creole heritage,
March twenty-first, her birthday, will be recognized as a day to celebrate her contributions
to preserving Creole culture throughout the state of Louisiana.
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THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby posthumously commend Janet Ravare-Colson for her
commitment to the preservation of Creole culture in the contemporary world; does hereby
express sincere appreciation for her passion for her Louisiana Creole heritage; and does
hereby extend sincere hopes and wishes that her life's work to preserve and elevate Creole
culture is continued in her honor.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
family of Janet Ravare-Colson.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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