Cultural Identity

Culture: the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group

Cultural Identity: the identity or feeling of belonging to a group

HISTORIC

INNOVATIVE

NATURAL

FLAVORFUL

Claire Fleming, Katelyn Foster, Noah Martin, & Anita Thammavongsa

ARts

OCEAN SPRINGS BRIDGE MOSAIC MURAL

Depicts the natural beauty of MS Gulf Coast in four large mosaic pieces.

There is a long history of support for the arts in the Biloxi community, as shown by the numerous venues, exhibits, festivals, and museums. For a small metro area, residents and visitors can enjoy access to a surprisingly diverse and affordable variety of the arts. Much of Biloxi's public facilities and structures contribute to its cultural heritage by restoring its historic buildings and renovating them to be ADA-compliant. The public structures have a rich history that describes the past of Biloxi, including Hurricane Katrina being a historic milestone. Many local artists have been influenced by nature and Hurricane Katrina to show that the community is continuing to be resilient and positive in its restorations. The words "history," "tradition," and "innovative" come to mind when describing the artistic styles that the group saw during the trip.

ORIGINAL U.S. POST OFFICE

This Neoclassical Revival building now serves as Biloxi City Hall, which still donned St. Patrick's Day decorations upon visiting.

HURRICANE KATRINA TREE SCULTURE

Artists Dayton Scoggins and Marlin Miller gave the MS Gulf Coast a trail of marine-related sculptures from dozens of dead trees that continued to stand after Hurricane Katrina.

"MAD POTTER" GEORGE OHR

A pioneering ceramics artist, George Ohr is now largely celebrated for his innovative, expressively sculptural vessels that are considered organic and otherworldly at the same time.

Food Industry

The origins of Biloxi's seafood industry date back to the early 19th century. Fishermen of the town supplied fresh shrimp and oysters to local markets, though filling supplies out-of-state was impossible due to seafood's short shelf life. Near the end of the 19th century, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad joined Biloxi's neighboring cities of New Orleans, Louisiana and Mobile, Alabama. Simultaneously, artificial ice was invented. This combination provided fishermen of the area the opportunity to export their goods from the state while also enhancing the tourism industry of the coastal town. Food would travel away from the town while people would travel into the town (Stephens Nuwer, 2017).

Seafood-oriented canning factories developed in Biloxi shortly after the railway services and artificial ice were introduced to the area. The increase resulted in diversification of the pre-existing French culture of the southern state. Much of the region housed descendants of French immigrants, but the need for factory workers brought in refugees from Poland and other Slavic nations. Their influence is extremely minimal in modern-day Biloxi. While native dishes can be found at a handful of restaurants, French cuisine, fresh seafood, and fast-food favorites like Waffle House and Sonic dominate the food realm of the tourism industry (Stephens Nuwer 2017).

In 1903, Biloxi was declared to be "The Seafood Capital of the World." At the time, the town was processing roughly six million pounds of oysters and four million pounds of shrimp per year. Processing only increased during the 20th century, resulting in the creation of the Biloxi Seafood Festival in 1981 -- a weekend-long festival celebrating the seafood industry through different family-friendly activities and a gumbo cooking competition (Stephens Nuwer, 2017).

Fried calamari from Adventures Pub & Spirits

The modern-day Le Cafe Beignet.

Biloxi is an active city dedicated to providing high-quality seafood and entertainment to the thousands of tourists visiting the casino-filled coast. Approximately 1.6 million dollars is brought in annually from the tourism industry of the Mississippi Gulf Coast ("The Biloxi Area Tourism Industry," 2019). Much (if not all) of these forms of entertainment were demolished when Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August 2005. It was estimated that the natural disaster resulted in 161 billion dollars worth of repair -- a portion of these funds contributing to the re-modeling of downtown Biloxi (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2019). Historic buildings were salvaged and renovated to fit the demands of the modern area. One prime example is the historic Biloxi Public Library. It operated as a library from the early 20th century until 1978, and it now homes Le Cafe Beignet -- an establishment providing New Orleans-style sandwiches and sweet French-inspired delicacies. Though the building easily could have been transformed into a museum, it was created into a restaurant to enhance the competition of the tourism industry of the Mississippi coast and provide a small glimpse into the life of a Mississippi resident residing during the 19th century.

Posters crafted by previous winners of the Biloxi Seafood Festival poster contest.

Two renovated restaurants found on the Historic Biloxi Walking Tour.

Some service team members enjoying Pop Brothers popsicles!

Locality

Biloxi, Mississippi is located in the southeast portion of the United States. More specifically, it is located in Harrison County, on the southeast portion of Mississippi and on the northern portion of the Gulf of Mexico.

Amongst many other things, the location of Biloxi affects the geography, climate, and natural disasters seen in this part of the world which in turn affects cultural aspects adopted by the people who call it home.

Geography

Biloxi is located on a small peninsula between Biloxi Bay and the Mississippi Sound on the Gulf of Mexico. The geography of Biloxi affects things such as what food is common and obtainable, seafood, for example is prominent in the stores and restaurants in Biloxi. It also affects agriculture, what you can plant and grow, which determines what can be exported and what will need to be imported. Geography also plays a part in the types of leisure that people enjoy, such as hanging out on the beach, swimming, fishing, and boating.

Climate

Biloxi is described to have a semitropical climate with the average low temperature being about 60 degrees and the average high temperature being about 76 degrees throughout the year. On average Biloxi has about 65 inches of rain every year and no snow! The climate of Biloxi affects the clothes that people wear which is usually lighter for the warmer weather. Similar to geography, it also affects the activities the people participate in (trust me no one is snowboarding) such as surfing, fishing, and boating.

Natural Disasters

Hurricane Camille in 1969 and Hurricane Katrina 2005 among many other hurricanes have caused death, destruction, and other natural disasters such as flooding and tornadoes. Although they are not usually thought of as connected to hurricanes, tornadoes are an effect of hurricanes as that are the result of the storms energy. Natural disasters can affect many aspects of peoples’ lives, such as their physical and mental well-being, financial stability, shelter, and resources. All of these things play a part in a person’s cultural identity, as the community as a whole adapts to the effects of a natural disaster.

Religion

Crooked Feather Sculpture in Ocean Springs, honoring Native Americans

The Biloxi area was originally inhabited by the Biloxi Native American tribe. However, when French settlers came in the 1600's they brought along Christianity, specifically Roman Catholicism. The Biloxi people were devastated by diseases that came to America with the French settlers, destroying the Biloxi population and forcing them to leave the area. Roman Catholicism ruled as the principle religion in Biloxi for hundreds of years until the state of Mississippi was acquired by the United States. Once Mississippi passed into American hands, a new period of religious history began in which religion was not controlled by the country. Mississippi officially became a state in 1817, and was now attracting Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and other Protestant evangelical faiths due to the revolutionary movement of Evangelicalism started by Martin Luther.

By the 20th century, religion in Mississippi was predominantly Protestant and evangelical.

Currently in Biloxi, about 18.8% of people are Baptist and about 16.9% are Catholic. There is still more protestant and evangelical faiths in the region, however Catholicism has a strong hold in Biloxi.

While in Biloxi, our team stayed in St. Mark's Episcopal Church. We were honored to have a clean safe place to stay during our trip. Similarly, the St Mark's church community was extremely accommodating to us, their guests. They made sure we were comfortable, knew the area, would ask questions if we had them, and they provided fun food surprises and gifts for our team. The southern hospitality and resilience of the St. Mark's Church community are an example of what accommodations can look like for people with disabilities. Accommodations for disability are a right through the ADA and something all disabled people should receive as easily as we were accommodated for at St. Mark's.

St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Gulfport

St. Michaels Catholic Church in Biloxi

Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Biloxi

First Presbyterian Church in Biloxi

Impact of Cultural Identity

"In my two decades and one year of life, I had never seen the ocean. Therefore, I was extremely excited to explore Biloxi while simultaneously researching the accessibility of different establishments. When we conducted the accessibility audit on Cultural Day, it was extremely disheartening to see how little culture individuals with disabilities could enjoy. Many of the renovated establishments had steps or were on stilts, requiring stairs or an alternative route in order to enter the building. Even then, the routes led to unfinished sidewalks or another staircase. I also feel like the historic French elements of the town were absent due to all of downtown being encased by mile-high hotels and casinos. It made me believe the city values tourism more than resident safety.

I did enjoyed observing the different wood statues placed around the city, for I think they captured the resilience and optimism residents of Biloxi characterize. I do think one large aspect of the culture is accepting and adapting to change. Many of the residents experienced two devastating hurricanes, but they continued to reside and develop as a human in Biloxi nevertheless. They exemplified that change does not happen over night. It takes time to achieve the goals one has for themself and their society, and their patience has motivated me to become more patient with myself and the issue in my life." -- Claire Fleming

"While I have been to the North, East, and West, prior to our trip to Biloxi, I had never visited the Southern portion of the United States. It amazes me that different portions of the same country can have completely different cultures. From seeing seafood everywhere you turn, to there being no need for a winter coat, and to everyone being referred to as “baby” or “y’all”. There truly is a different culture and overall vibe in Biloxi compared to Iowa City. I think for me, it was when we were visiting the Institute of Disability Studies through the Gulf Park campus of the University of Southern Mississippi, and I heard our student leader, Kaydee, say something along the lines of “this is amazing” and “we have nothing like this”. This made me think, and well, compare what I was seeing to what I have seen here at Iowa. The culture in and around the Institute of Disability Studies was something I had never seen before, and it was pretty amazing. While I know Iowa is in the process of attempting to make change, I think we have a long way to go, but if nothing else, I think we have a goal to aim for." -- Katelyn Foster

References

Biloxi: Geography and Climate. (2019). Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Biloxi-Geography-and-Climate.html

How Does Earth's Surface Affect Culture? (2019). Retrieved from https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-does-earths-surface-affect-culture

Hurricane Effects. (2019, April 1). Retrieved from http://www.hurricaneville.com/effects.html

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2019, March 04). Hurricane Costs. Retrieved from https://coast.noaa.gov/states/fast-facts/hurricane-costs.html#

Stephens Nuwer, D. (2017). The Seafood Industry in Biloxi: Its Early History, 1848-1930. Retrieved from http://www.mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/articles/209/the-seafood-industry-in-biloxi-its-early-history-1848-1930

"The Biloxi Area Tourism Industry." 2019. PDF file. Retrieved from https://www.biloxi.ms.us/pdf/GMAtourism.pdf

US Climate Data. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/biloxi/mississippi/united-states/usms0033

Religion in Mississippi. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/articles/96/religion-in-mississippi

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