Editing Independence, Louisiana (section)

==Arts and culture==
Independence has a large [[Italian-American]] community, as do neighboring towns and villages.<ref>See especially [[Tickfaw, Louisiana]], which is located four miles to the south of Independence.</ref> Independence has a Sicilian heritage festival every year the second weekend in March. Independence has sometimes been referred to colloquially as '''Little Italy''', and Italian expatriates began settling here as early as the 19th Century.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Independence Louisiana Historical Marker
|author=Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism
|url=http://www.stoppingpoints.com/louisiana/Tangipahoa/Independence/
}}</ref>

Many attributes of the Italian culture, including food, in Independence are described in ''Italian Culture in Independence''.<ref>[http://www.folklife.uno.edu/italian-culture-in-independence/ ''Italian Culture in Independence''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619131334/http://www.folklife.uno.edu/italian-culture-in-independence/ |date=June 19, 2009 }} is an online scholarly pamphlet offered by the [[University of New Orleans]]. It cites other published sources.</ref> Other useful resources are [[Southeastern Louisiana University]]'s Center for Regional Studies<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.selu.edu/acad_research/programs/csls/|title=Center For Southeast Louisiana Studies|website=www.selu.edu|access-date=April 16, 2016}}</ref> and the Tangipahoa Parish tourist information center.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tangi-cvb.org/site.php|title=Welcome to Tangipahoa Parish!|website=www.tangi-cvb.org|access-date=April 16, 2016}}</ref>