Paw Paw French/Missouri French

[Stephane Dumas]

I spotted by luck this old article from 2015 about 2 guys of Missouri who tried to save a vanishing dialect. I don't know if they keep going since then.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/paw-paw-french-two-20-somethings-bet-st-louis-can-save-vanishing-dialect

St. Louisans can now take classes to learn a nearly dead dialect of French once spoken throughout eastern Missouri.

Paw Paw French, also known as Illinois Country French or Missouri French, originated with early French settlers to the St. Louis region. It was spoken across a wide area, ranging from Vincennes, Ind., through Illinois, to the Missouri Ozarks, including areas like Old Mines (La Vieille Mine), Ste. Genevieve and Potosi.

Though there's a large sign in Old Mines announcing that even after "300 ans on est toujours icitte" or "300 years, we are still here," the number of speakers has declined significantly and the dialect is considered highly endangered.

But two twenty-somethings in St Louis are hoping to save the dialect by teaching more people to speak it.

[ghYHZ]

I just watched a repeat episode of 'Who Do You Think You Are'......where American singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge traced her French roots from Quebec City to Illinois and Missouri.