LSU AgCenter researchers are looking at eight key racial and ethnic groups in the Gulf of Mexico region to document their ties to the oil and gas industry and to examine the experiences of each group.
LSU AgCenter sociologist Mark Schafer and
LSU AgCenter researchers are looking at eight key racial and ethnic groups in the Gulf of Mexico region to document their ties to the oil and gas industry and to examine the experiences of each group.
LSU AgCenter sociologist Mark Schafer and graduate student Amanda Cowley are completing the historical-comparative research study as members of a research team funded by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
Schafer said the groups targeted for this study are African-American, Cajun, Croatian, Latino, Native American, other Asians, Vietnamese and white.
Data from the census provided the two types of information that was useful for this project, Schafer said. “Race and ethnicity categories for how people define themselves as well as ancestry data.”
This information was used to determine which groups are represented in the region.
The researchers searched databases for any information they could find on the target groups and used that information to write separate research reports on each group.
“We’re not claiming that these reports represent every single ethnic group, but we chose eight that we considered to be influential for some reason,” he said.
The first report published was on the Latino population in the region and also is available on the LSU AgCenter website, www.LSUAgCenter.com.
This report is a model of the reports that will be completed in the coming months, Schafer said.
“Following the Latinos will be a report on the Cajuns, then Vietnamese and so forth,” he said.
In addition to the Vietnamese, there will be another category called Other Asians because the Vietnamese represent such a large number of Asians in the fishing areas of the region.
Croatians also represent a unique group because of their employment and ownership in the oyster industry.
When most people think of the early settlements on the North American continent, the northeast immediately comes to most people’s mind, but there is history here also, Cowley said.
“Most of us think about the English settlements but seem to forget the French and Spanish who were active in this area during the same period,” Cowley said.
One of the findings that stood out most involved the issues of race and eth