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531. Eli Langley, part 1

Louisiana Anthology Podcast
Louisiana Anthology Podcast
Episode • Jul 21, 2023
531. Part 1 of our conversation with Eli Langley, a member of the Coushatta Tribe and a graduate of Harvard. “Eli Langley ’21 grew up in a family devoted to safeguarding the culture, history, and language of the Coushatta Tribe. His father, a tribal cultural adviser, and his mother, an anthropologist and tribal historian, nourished him with Native folktales and inspired him early on to take pride in his roots. At 12, he asked his parents to send him to a boarding school to challenge himself academically. At 18, he learned Koasati, the language of his tribe, becoming its youngest speaker, and in 2016, he became the first member of the Coushatta Tribe to be admitted to Harvard. Now, upon his graduation this month, he will become the first tribal member to use their Native language to fulfill the College’s second language requirement.... 'My story is a continuation of my people’s story,' said Langley. 'I’m a
cog in the wheel, and I stand on the shoulders of giants. I know that
I’m only able to undertake these things with the strength and the
knowledge of my culture.'” (Harvard Gazette)


  1. This week in Louisiana history. July 14 1937 First piling
    driven for N.O. Charity Hospital.

  2. This week in New Orleans history. Oretha Castle was born in
    Oakland, Tennessee and moved to New Orleans with her parents
    in 1947. After graduating from Joseph S. Clark High School she
    enrolled at Southern University in New Orleans where she
    joined other students in the struggle for civil rights,
    eventually becoming the head of the Congress of Racial
    Equality (CORE) in New Orleans. In 1967, Oretha married fellow
    CORE member Richard Haley. Mrs. Haley served as deputy
    administrator at Charity Hospital where she instituted better
    health care for the Black Community. While at Charity, she
    helped organize the New Orleans Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation.
    In 1972, she directed the political campaign of Dorothy Mae
    Taylor who became the first Black woman legislator in the
    state. After a lengthy battle with cancer, Oretha Castle Haley
    died at the age of 48.


  3. This week in Louisiana.

    Masur Museum of Art

    1400 S. Grand St.

    Monroe, LA 71202

    Website

    Tuesday-Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

    Saturday 12-5 p.m.

    318.329.2237

    Located in the former home of the Masur family, the Masur
    Museum of Art is the largest collecting and exhibiting visual
    arts museum in Northeast Louisiana. We are dedicated to
    providing our community with a dynamic visual arts experience
    through exhibitions, public programming, and collections
    management.


  4. Postcards from Louisiana. Rug Cutters at the Favela Chic Bar
    on Frenchmen.


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