ST. LANDRY PARISH (ARNAUDVILLE) — A new bamboo tipi unveiled off Cortibleau Highway in Arnaudville is bringing Indigenous history and culture to life, offering visitors a place for meditation, storytelling, music and reflection.
Clovis “Joe” Billiot, an elder of the Bulloxy–Chitimacha Tribe who grew up in Golden Meadow, spoke at the event about the importance of remembering the past and preserving Indigenous identity.
“I explain about what we went through, what happened to us — what our people pushed back and were pushed into the swamp,” Billiot said. “They tried to get rid of us, but we survived.”
Billiot said Arnaudville was once an Atakapa-Ishak village, and he hopes the new structure will help younger generations better understand the area’s Indigenous roots.
“We was put down and discriminated against,” he said. “We could not even go to regular Catholic church in Golden Meadow — they had a chapel they had built for us, out of the city limits.”
The bamboo tipi was constructed through a collaboration of local builders and international expertise.
The Canopy Spirits team harvested premium local bamboo to create the structure, which was engineered by James Wolf, an internationally recognized bamboo master builder and designer.
Local builders worked with 15 other workshop participants to bring Wolf’s 3D design to life.
Designed with intention, the tipi serves as both a striking visual landmark and a sacred communal space surrounded by farmland. Organizers say it is open to the public to visit, photograph and experience.
“There’s 18 people that built this, to keep the heritage what it’s all about here,” Billiot said.
Organizers say the tipi is meant not only to honor the past but to inspire healing, pride and cultural education for future generations.
