Monday, June 23, 2008

The Acadian Exile in Massachusetts

Check out the on-line exhibit on Le grand derangement at the Massachusetts Archives.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Madawaska Acadian Festival

The Acadian Festival of Madawaska, Maine, is coming up; it's running June 22 to 29. I'll be in Maine at the end of the week, but I'll be in Freeport, over six hours away.

Acadians in Maine

A Maine webpage looks at Franco-Americans in the state.

Monday, May 05, 2008

250th Anniversary of Expulsion from PEI

The Acadians of Ile Saint-Jean (now known as Prince Edward Island) were expelled by the British three years after the expulsions from Nova Scotia. Locals are preparing for celebrations.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Support for CMA?

The Canadian Government has announced that it will support next year's fourth Congres Mondial Acadien.

The question is, will Acadians? I've heard nothing about a LeBlanc reunion, which has been the largest reunion at the previous CMAs. I've asked people who should know, but so far it seems no LeBlancs are picking up the ball to run with it.

A Find at Grand-Pre

Silver Cross reveals a piece of Acadian history.

Loups Marins--and a Boating Tragedy

I was taken aback when I first saw the recipe for galettes au petit-lard de loup marin in the cookbook, A Taste of Acadie, by Marielle Cormier-Boudreau and Melvin Gallant. Seal fat cookies? The description of the recipe notes that they are popular on the Magdalen Islands, as well as in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Acadians in the Maritimes have been hunting seals for centuries, having learned it from the native peoples. It's an unbroken tradition in the Magdalen Islands, whose Acadians were not dispersed in 1755. My great-great-great grandparents, Hilaire Gautrot and Domithilde LeBlanc, lived there for awhile, but that's the only family connection I know of.

Why is this on my mind? It's the peak time for the annual seal hunt--and for protests by PETA and other animal rights organizations.

And this year there has been a human tragedy--a boating accident yesterday that left four fishermen dead. A boat based in the Magdalen Islands, L'Acadien II, lost its rudder, and overturned while being towed back. The government is investigating. The families are mourning
--and are angry at the Coast Guard, and demanding explanation.