The Cajuns are an ethnic group in the US state of Louisiana, descended from Acadian exiles who fled from Canada during the French and Indian War from 1756 to 1763. The Cajuns make up a large portion of the population of southern Louisiana, and their cultural influence in the region is significant. Unlike Louisiana Creoles, Cajuns tend to be homogenous, with almost all of them being of pure French descent; Creoles are of mixed French, African-American, Spanish, and Native American descent. In 2002, there were around 1,200,000 Cajuns in the USA, with 815,259 living in Louisiana and 56,000 living in Texas, and most are Catholic.