Date of Award
5-2009
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Program
Urban Studies
Department
Planning and Urban Studies
Major Professor
Ehrenreich, Jeffrey
Second Advisor
Beriss, David
Third Advisor
Striffler, Steven
Abstract
The Isleños of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana trace their ancestry to eighteenth century settlers from the Canary Islands. Currently, St. Bernard Parish is home to two separate Canarian heritage organizations: Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society and the Canary Islands Descendents Association. This thesis examines how the Isleños are currently renegotiating their cultural identity through the use of heritage via the structure of heritage organizations. I argue that under mounting economic, environmental, and political pressure, people of Canarian descent in St. Bernard Parish have begun to adjust Isleño cultural identity in order to make it more widely inclusive. This is a creative means by which the Isleños attempt to maneuver around the increasingly rapid pace of change and deal with threats to the survival of their culture.
Recommended Citation
West, Jonathan Joseph, "Negotiating Heritage: Heritage Organizations amongst the Isleños of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana and the Use of Heritage Identity to Overcome the Isleño/Tornero Distinction " (2009). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 960.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/960
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.