Young people are going to leave the state — that’s just how it goes.But as more and more young people leave, the population structure ages, meaning the knowledge of our culture may be locked away and slowly disappearing.  If the out migrating youth don’t work hard to carry their indigenous culture with them, it may not be last much longer.Scholars often use the problem of “brain-drain,” the exodus of educated young people from Louisiana, as a symbol of the aging state population.  It is indeed true that educated young people are leaving the state, but our population is also aging overall.For most people brain-drain and an aging population are synonymous with economic outcomes. But the out migration of young people also has consequences for our local culture.Young people  may leave behind their local culture and that means our aging current population are the custodians of our local culture.As they age and invariably pass on, our culture runs the risk of becoming diluted and in some cases lost in its entirety.I think of this most when I visit my hometown of Plaucheville.When I go home I see children around, but I don’t see that many teenagers, and I certainly don’t see that many 20-somethings.As always, anecdotal evidence doesn’t prove anything, but it certainly helps to put a human face on an issue, which is important.Migration is often unkind to culture. It’s nearly impossible for a people to completely pickup and carry their culture with them. There are often local elements that cannot be replicated elsewhere. When moving around, some elements of a local culture can often be changed significantly or lost completely. A classic historical example is the plight of Native Americans on the trail of tears. In moving from their traditional homes and onto reservations, much of their culture was altered or lost. But the Native Americans were a forced migration, so they are an extreme example.A more relevant and modern example is the recent increase in Mexican migrants into the U.S.  These migrants bring their culture with them from their home country but must alter several aspects of it. The availability of certain types of food, religious rituals and day to day activities may not line up with the normative structure of their new homes — so they must change it.The case of Mexican migrants is a classic view of cultural migration because it is so heavily focused on the culture of their final destination instead of their place of origin.There is good reason for that focus.  When culture migrates from one area to another it tends to do so either in a trickle or in totality.The Acadians, ancestors of  Louisiana’s indigenous Cajun culture, took nearly their entire people with them from Nova Scotia. Mexican migrants to Louisiana, as a contrast,  are merely a few members of an enormous population. In both cases, the culture was still alive wherever it went — the Acadians took it with them and the native Mexicans were still producing it and keeping it alive.Neither situation applies to Louisiana these days.Census figures show Louisiana has an aging population — there are lessened numbers of young people in the population. In the future this could mean more older people than younger people.This is often caused by either low fertility rates or by an out-migration of young people, and most demographers point to migration as the most likely source of the problem.I know there has been progress to fix this problem, and it’s distinctly possible Louisiana could turn this ship around and begin retaining it’s youth. But that doesn’t mean much to those who are leaving now and who have already left. Louisiana’s youth of today must take initiative and become the custodians of our culture, and if they are going to leave, they should bring it with them.I know this all sounds like a big warm hug for Louisiana — and in some ways it is.I consider myself fortunate to live in a state with a rich, indigenous heritage, but that isn’t guaranteed forever.Louisiana’s youth venturing out into the world should take their culture with them and wear it proudly. Cultures don’t disappear or assimilate overnight — we have lots of time.Our culture will change with time — no culture is immune to change. But we can certainly stop its eventually disappearance.—-Contact Skylar Gremillion at [email protected]