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Chief William Thomas Dion United Houma Nation

magazine would be twice as long if I did.) A few things helped really intensify the crawfish phenomenon. First, the cold supply chain — things like refrigerated trucks — got better at moving around a living product from a few towns in South Louisiana to the entire region. Second, people like Chef Paul Prudhomme popularized Cajun cuisine inter nationally like few others before, and quite frequently his star ingredient was indeed crawfish. Lastly, because New Orleans remains an important world city, people travel from around the globe and experi ence our favorite native insect during such events as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and, of course, Mardi Gras. In the end, the crawfish phenomenon speaks to the best part of Louisiana culture: that we are all in it together. To make crawfish what it is today, it took nations from here and around the world; the rural and the urban; the rich and the downtrodden; and the oppressed and the wealthy. And today, we likewise all celebrate it the same way: in cardboard trays on sunny days, with friends and family and cold drinks and good spirits. Perhaps, then, the legends were right. Maybe crawfish is a magical creature after all.

Image from United Houma Nation.

gradually became a cornerstone of the city’s burgeoning, and eventually dominant, Creole style of cooking — itself a sophis ticated blend of French, Spanish, African, Caribbean and Native American influences. The integration of crawfish into Creole cooking gained unstoppable momentum with the city’s economic ascent. The food landscape here over the centuries evolved specifically to celebrate local ingredi ents. By the 20th century, crawfish was the undisputed king of culinary New Orleans. Crawfish by then was not merely a peasant’s food for the provincial Cajuns, but rather, cosmopolitan cuisine worthy of a global audience. Today, the crustacean is intrinsic to Louisiana’s cultural identity. Let’s face it: The four seasons in Louisiana are crawfish, hurricane, football and summer — the latter lasting 12 months, with varying degrees of intensity. (I had intended to list all the crawfish festivals in the state, but the

worst of which was Hurricane Katrina, just proved too much for New Orleans to endure. The city never had a chance to diversify its economy or politics sufficiently to recover from the myriad disasters, whether economic or ecologic. And yet so great is the cultural import of New Orleans that decades of consecutive calamities have not diminished its status as a true “world city” with the most distinct, specific and potent culture in North America. And that is most obvious in the culinary sphere. From its humble Houma and Cajun origins, crawfish over the centuries found its way organically into the kitchens of the best chefs in New Orleans. Because we are a vital hub of national and international trade, the centuries have seen a mélange of cultures, ethnicities, culinary palates and strange ingredients converge in this single place on America’s map. The lowly crawfish

“ My grandpa, William Thomas Dion, left an indelible mark as a devoted member of the Houmas Indian tribe and a staunch advocate for Houma Indian education rights during the 1970s. A man of genuine care and profound passion, Grandpa Tom had a deep commitment to the betterment of our community, and a vision for us on many platforms. We continue to draw inspiration from him.” — Tiffany Parfait Reed, Rouses Markets Human Resources, and member, United Houma Nation

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