Curriculum Theory Project Community and Service

 

On Saturday May 4, the LSU Curriculum Theory Project (CTP) organized a service day to assist the Pointe-au-Chien in Terrebonne Parish with clean up at the École Pointe-au-Chien elementary French immersion school.

The first Louisiana school with the specific purpose of serving Indigenous students, it hopes to not only preserve the language of the tribe, but also the culture and history of its people. Fourteen faculty and students, from three Colleges (Human Sciences and Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science) provided assistance in cleaning the damage from Hurricane Ida in the building that will become the permanent home for the school. While currently in a temporary building, the principal Christine Verdin is hopeful that renovations to the school will be completed by the state by the fall of 2025.      

The day of service was a call to action that emerged from the Day of Dialogue in the fall of 2023—spearheaded by professor emerita Petra Hendry, the first ever conference at LSU that focused specifically on educational issues impacting Indigenous peoples in Louisiana. Molly Quinn, Director of CTP, with leaders of the Curriculum Theory Graduate Student Collaborative (CTGSC) Shahid Hussain and Leonardo de Franco Gheller, has organized several events to highlight the current issues that face Indigenous nations in Louisiana as a result of coastal erosion, land loss and lack of place-based curriculum.

After a long day's work, cleaning most of the debris from the school building, the group toured the tribal center. A book drive will be the next initiative of CTP as it hopes to continue developing a relationship with the Pointe-au-Chien that will support them in achieving their goals of educating their children in the long, rich history of Indigenous culture.