The history and culture of the Creole Nature Trail has always been about its resources — how to gather them, how to use them, how to preserve them for future generations.

A burial mound at Little Chenier as well as a wide variety of pots, shards and arrowheads suggest that for hundreds of years, perhaps thousands, Native American populations were large and widespread in what is now known as Southwest Louisiana. Beginning as early as the 16th century, they were followed by French and Spanish settlers.The Creole Nature Trail’s fecund marshes, bayous and beaches sustained these varied peoples with warmth and abundance.