Unraveling the mystery

Take a walk down any trail in Evangeline Parish, and you are bound to find an arrowhead hidden amidst the fallen leaves. With these artifacts comes the question of where did they come from. Are they evidence of Native American habitations in the parish?
A group of researchers from the University of Louisiana Lafayette and the State of Louisiana are conducting research at PJF Farms and Lodge, formerly known as Cazan Lake, to unravel the mystery surrounding the parish’s early history.
The quest to find answers at PJF Farms began when then overseer Anita Fontenot was looking into recreation options on the property.
“When I started studying how I was going to develop this for recreation,” she said, “I knew I had a lot of hunting and fishing and one of the largest rookeries in the state.”
Fontenot, who now serves as president, went on to say, “I just spent a lot of time studying and evaluating what I needed to do. That’s when I connected with Bill (Fontenot). I realized how important the conversation side was.”
Bill Fontenot, a Ville Platte native, is an ecological consultant. After being contacted, he assembled a team of researchers. “We’re interested in the land conservation aspect over here,” he said.
One member of the team is Dr. Ray Brasseaux, a retired anthropology professor at UL. “I’m very interested in Native American culture but also their history and their presence too,” he said. “I know this is a very rich area and culture.”
For Dr. Brasseaux, the research being done at PJF Farms could also lead to learning more about the parish’s Creole history. “We have some historical home sites in this area that may have been the LaFleurs or Fontenots or whoever was the first ones to come on the migration from Alabama,” he commented, “and we have a lot of descendants of those people who live here but might not know the first home sites were right here in this area (of PJF Farms).”
Dr. Brasseaux continued, “That’s one area of exploration that could also be considered, and it would be a great value to the community. Genealogy is a big thing. People are interested in their lineage. Often, they don’t know where their place is on Earth.”
When he was first contacted by Bill Fontenot, Dr. Brasseaux suggested reaching out to Dr. Chip McGimsey, who is a state archaeologist and the director of Louisiana Division of Archaeology.
“We manage the archaeological site files for the state,” said Dr. McGimsey. “We keep records of all of the archeological sites in the state that have been found. Anything that is found here will get recorded with us, and, then, we will look at the date to see where other sites of the same time period are located to get a better sense of how the people were using the land through time.”
Dr. McGimsey went on to explain the expedition at PJF Farms could lead to an outreach in education programs.
“Our responsibility is to do everything we can to gain knowledge of the state’s archaeological history which includes not only the American Indian but Colonial French and Spanish, Civil War, and early sugar cane farming.”
“We’re in the business of trying to produce booklets and other things that can be available to people. I’m envisioning, not too long from now, one of the walls here in the lodge to be given over to the history of the region. We will have a series of posters and display cases of artifacts that people have found here with some explanations about what’s present. Then, there will also be materials people could take home.”
Dr. McGimsey, along with Dr. Mark Rees, an archaeologist and professor of anthropology at UL, contacted Sam Huey to do some field work at PJF Farms.
Huey, project director and research scientist at the Louisiana Public Archaeology Lab at UL was in the final phases of field work at another site when he was contacted.
Huey, who still has two weeks remaining with students to provide assistance, stated, “Given the landform and given how this parcel is nested in the middle of three major ecological physiographic zones, this would have been a place occupied for the last 13,000 years probably. We’re lucky enough to have been contacted to come out here and investigate some of these cultural resources and, hopefully, find some historic Native American encampments. We’re really just glad to be out here.”
Huey went on to say, “This parish is at a quite prominent location, and it’s highly likely there’s something here. Here’s the thing, though, we don’t know yet. We’re at the very beginning of the search. I would give my right foot if we don’t find anything out here.”
Also on site is Cindy Brown, the executive director of Land Trust of Louisiana.
“We are an organization that works primarily with private landowners who are interested in protecting their properties in perpetuity,” she said. “That could be because there is a family legacy that they want to conserve for future generations.”
For Anita Fontenot, the research being done could lead to an uptick in agritourism at PJF Farms which could increase the quality of education in the parish.
“It could bring tourists here and kids from the schools on field trips,” she expressed. “What I’m doing is just researching how to bring all of that together in a plan.”
She concluded, “I see this really developing our agritourism business and building the education level of our children and to bring a better quality of life. It starts with kids, and it starts with education.”