Source: The Times-Picayune

On August 26, 2001, The Times-Picayune featured an article on Donna Madere Pierite of New Orleans, a teacher and advocate of preserving Native American languages and culture. "She teaches French and Spanish at Abramson High School and also finds time to be the language program coordinator for the Tunica-Biloxi, working to keep the tribe's speech, songs, stories and culture alive... 'When I go to schools and do this little presentation, an adult will come up to me afterward with tears in their eyes,' she said. 'They said, 'I too have native blood, and I want to know something about myself'... Pierite credits both her grandmother and her husband's family for encouraging her study of Indian lore and language."