Yearly Archives: 2024

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In the second episode of season 2 of the Laura Plantation Podcast, Joseph chats with Dr. Brittany Cochran Jones.


Dr. Jones is a member of the Laura Plantation Descendant Community. Here, she shares the journey of discovery that led her to her ancestor Madison Gray, an enslaved carpenter on the Habitation Duparc-Locoul. 

Dr. Jones describes herself "as a curious little girl, always asking questions" about her family's past. A school field to Laura Plantation for the Br'er Rabbit Festival in the 1990s also inspired her to dig deeper into the story of her family's resilience, successes, and dedication to education. 

Her great-grandfather, T.D. Noel, was an entrepreneur who ran a shoe repair shop called the "Vacherie Shoe Hospital." 

Mr. TD. Noel; photo courtesy of Dr. Brittany Cochran Jones                   

 
 The Vacherie Shoe Hospital; photo courtesy of Dr. Brittany Cochran Jones

Ms. Vondra Etienne-Steib, Dr. Cochran's mother, is the first woman elected to the St. James Parish Council and is also its Chairwoman. 

 Photo credit: St. James Parish Council website                       

Descendant d'un militaire autochtone francophone vétéran de la Première Guerre mondiale, le comédien français Clément Lagouarde est ajourd'hui l'un des chefs de la tribu Natchitoches de Louisiane. Il parle de son ancêtre au parcours ambiguë, de la découverte de son appartenance au peuple Natchitoches et de sa double culture franco-amérindienne.

The French actor Clément Lagouarde is descended from a French-speaking Native American who served in France during World War I. Today, he is one of the chiefs of Louisiana's Natchitoches Tribe. He talks about his ancestor's ambiguous history, the discovery of his relationship to the Natchitoches people, and the duality of his French and Native American cultures.