Monday, August 15, 2005
"Come celebrate l'Acadie"
canadaeast.com: "Acadians make loud, proud noise as they mark Aug. 15 national holiday."
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
CBC Nova Scotia - Young Acadians seek break from the past
Report of symposium in Moncton on "Acadie and Modernity."
Winslow House hosts program on expulsion
Winslow House in Marshfield, MA:
" The Acadian Odyssey and New England's Role," Saturday, Oct. 1. Registration is 9:30 - 10 a.m. Program from 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. $30 (Members); $35 (Non-Members) Lunch included. To reserve, call 781- 837-5753. In 1755, British forces headed by Gen. John Winslow took part in the forced removal of the French farmers from the land they had renamed Nova Scotia. The "Grand Derangement," as it was known, resulted in the dispersal of the Acadians to the British colonies along the east coast, the Caribbean, Britain, and back to France. Their plight was made famous in Longfellow's epic poem Evangeline-but how accurate was this portrayal? What was the role played by New Englanders in this episode and what became of the Acadians? In observance of the campaign's 250th anniversary, examine the events that led to the extradition of these peoples and the aftereffects, both in Canada and in New England, and what role Mass. residents such as Gen. Winslow played in this saga.See also WinslowHouse.org.
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Grand-Pre, the musical
New musical about Acadian exile will premiere in Lafayette, commissioned by the Acadian Cultural Center of the National Park Service.
Saturday, August 06, 2005
The Acadian Club Documentary
The Acadian Club Documentary--filmed during the 2004 Congres Mondial Acadien by Jeff deViller.
Friday, August 05, 2005
Events in Louisiana
I just received the newsletter of the Acadian Memorial, with news of the following events.
August 15, celebration of La Fette Nationale de L'Acadie in St. Martinville. Starts at 10:00, concludes with mass in French at St. Martin of Tours parish at 6:00.
August 27, Acadian Heritage Family Day at the Rayne Civic Center, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., sponsored by the Confederation of Associations of Families Acadian, Inc. Ends with mass at 4:00.
Acadian History in Louisiana schools
8th grade social studies curriculum for Louisiana schools; Acadian history section begins on page 53.
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Le grande derangement, the Acadian holocaust?
Editorials - The Lafayette Daily Advertiser by Dean Jobb of the University of Halifax.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Irish Elk on Acadian anniversary
Irish Elk toasts his Uncle Aubin Arsenault, first Acadian premier of a Canadian province (PEI).
Acadian expulsion remembered in Boston
July 28 ceremony in Boston featured talk by Lucie LeBlanc Consentino.
Acadian memorial moved
Acadian memorial cross at Grand-Pre moved--this article says for historic purposes, but I wonder if it was really just for the convenience of the railroad.
250th Anniversary of Le Grand Derangement
2005 is the 250th Anniversary of Le Grand Derangement. There will be special events on August 15 and in September at the Acadian Memorial in Lafayette and at Grand-Pré.
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Order Cajun food by mail
The Lafayette Daily Advertiser talks with the folks from cajunbrands.com and their East Coast customers.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
"Ethnic cleansing the Canadian way"
Clive Doucet reviews Faragher, A Great and Noble Scheme, in the Globe and Mail.
Friday, March 04, 2005
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
A visit to Lafayette
I was in Lafayette for a conference of Catholic college students the weekend before last and found myself being asked to give a talk on Acadian history--with ten minutes advance warning. It seems the organizers wanted to take the kids to St. Martinville, but hadn't been able to find a guide. Well, I found a thing or two to talk about, including my experiences at the 1999 and 2004 CMAs. Together we went to the Acadian Memorial, where I found they had reinstituted the admission fee, which hadn't been in effect the last time I was present.
I asked the lady at the desk whether she might be able to waive it for this group of students, and she didn't feel she had the authority to do so. A few of the students went ahead and paid, and while we were looking around, she called up another staff member who was at the visitor center across the street, who encouraged her by all means to give the group a break. She tracked me down and passed on the message, and I related it to the rest of the group. I went across later to chat with the lady, a Mrs. Melanson, and to thank her.
It was a wonderful and generous gesture, and it made the students very happy.
Even more significant, the priests and sisters who were spiritual directors for the weekend told me later that a lot of the students found this side trip -- which became for them a real pilgrimage -- one of the highlights of the weekend. There were many Cajuns in the group who didn't know a thing about our history!
America's forgotten atrocity
Andrew O'Hehir reviews John Mack Faragher, A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadians from Their American Homeland, in Salon.com; see also letters responding to it.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Acadian Ancestral Home Newsletter
Be sure to check out the Acadian Ancestral Home Newsletter, edited by Lucie LeBlanc Consentino. It was on hiatus for awhile, but is now back in action. I'm one of the writers.
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Friday, January 28, 2005
"Cold Mountain" producer sets sights on "Evangeline"
Evangeline branding project more than a movie; "Evangeline" Film Taking New Path; Louisiana Native to Produce Evangeline Film. Film webpage: Evangeline: A True Love Story. It's billed as "a contemporary love story, set in south Louisiana, and rooted in the myth, mystery and culture of Evangeline."
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Zachary Richard reflects
Zachary Richard's "monthly report" gives his reflections on CMA, and the concert in Halifax.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
$1.6M Acadian Archives opens doors at UMFK
Acadian Archives opened Friday at the University of Maine at Fort Kent.
Sunday, September 19, 2004
From New Brunswick ...
flag causes hard feelings in Bathurst. City Hall will fly flag of the "Anglophone Society," which is opposed to bilingualism in New Brunswick. Clueless mayor says it is "no different than the Acadian flag or the Union Jack."
Saturday, September 11, 2004
"New England Threatened"
How did New Englanders of the late 19th century view Acadians?
Rev. Calvin E. Amaron, Your Heritage; or New England Threatened (Springfield, MA: French Protestant College, 1891). Introduction, by Rev. Joshua Coit, Secretary of the Massachusetts Home Missionary Society:
The importance of the French-Canadian problem in New England can hardly be overstated. The present number of French Canadians in New England (in Massachusetts one twelfth of the whole population); their certain increase, both by immigration and by propagation; the openly declared purposes of those who control the great mass of this people as no other class in our land is controlled:--all unite to make this problem a present and pressing one. The French already begin, not only to feel, but also to boast of the strength of their numbers. The Boston Herald of June 25 1891 in its very full report of the "Fête Nationale" held by the French Canadians in Pawtucket R.I. on St. Jean Baptiste's day, June 24, credits an ex-Mayor of Pawtucket with saying: "Mr. Thibault, in his address in French, made a remark that I have heard in English many times to-day. "Here are the future rulers of the country." This is because there is no other race more prolific than the French Canadian unless it be the Irish." These are significant words uttered by one, repeated by many and endorsed by a mayor of no mean city.It may seem foolish to pay any heed to what should be looked upon simply as the idle boast of a Fête-day orator. But the same hope or expectation crops out in many ways and in many places. Formerly and until recently the order from the bishops and priests to this people was "Do not become citizens in the states, but return with your gains to your old homes in Canada". And the order was obeyed and the French were a shifting, restless class among us. But now the word has gone forth: "Become citizens" and this is obeyed. The French are buying farms and homes. Many have become voters already and very many more have taken out the first papers. This means that there is gathering among us a large mass of voters more pliant and obedient than ever the Irish were to be controlled by orders from their superiors. Great care is taken by the Romish priests, not only through the parochial schools but also from their pulpits, to keep these people well in hand. That they succeed so well is to be accounted for not simply by the ignorance of the people, though this is deplorable, but also by their piety, which is admirable. The danger to our land of this state of things among any considerable portion of the people is plain and will become plainer as the years go by. What risks are in store for our civil and religious liberties. What confusion between public and parochial schools. What conflicts at the ballot box.
This book assures us that the warfare has already begun and brings before the public an array of facts that should be considered by every lover of his country. Make what abatement you please on account of the enthusiasm of the author, there still remains uncontrovertible evidence of peril.
If New England is to maintain its high standing in our land as a home of intelligence, education and religion, she must recognize the changes that are taking place from year to year and awake to the danger of an imperium in imperio.
Let the French Canadians be truly Americanized and freed from subjection to a foreign power and by their industry and frugality they will add strength to our strength. But kept distinct in language and religion, told by those to whom they listen to remain French, they add weakness.
There is no better way to Americanize them than by the influence of Christian education. They seven French Protestant churches under Congregational auspices in Massachusetts, the missions under other denominations, the French Protestant newspaper and the French Protestant College are all in the way to do great service to the State by moulding the characters of those who, if the prophecy of the Pawtucket orator be true, are to be the future rulers of the country.
Boston, Mass., June 25th, 1891.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Speaking of Quebec ...
The Quebec flag is a recent creation. It was designed in 1902, but not adopted until 1948. Still, they are quite strident about their flag. An Act Respecting the Flag and Emblems of Quebec declares it to be "the national emblem" and it "must be flown on the central tower of the Parliament Building," and "in all cases" it "has precedence over any other flag or emblem." A related law says that all bodies which must display the Quebec flag "must not" display it "on a mast or flagpole together with another flag or banner."
Quebec is near-sighted
The official tourist webpage of Quebec doesn't tell the story right. It starts the history of New France in 1608--not 1604. It talks about the founding of Quebec city and Montreal, and then has this:
From 1660 to 1713 the settlement of New France accelerated as France established colonies in Acadia (now Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) and along the shores of the St. Lawrence.I dropped them a note.
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Monday, August 23, 2004
Fr. A. T. Bourque
Biography of Fr. André-T Bourque, author of a number of well-known Acadian songs from the late 19th century, including Evangeline.
Sunday, August 22, 2004
Apart, but a part
"Thousands of miles may separate Nova Scotia and Louisiana, but present-day Cajuns and Acadians live in areas defined by water, and they share a sense of cultural isolation."
Saturday, August 21, 2004
Other books purchased ...
Barbara LeBlanc, Postcards from Acadie: Grand-Pré, Evangeline & The Acadian Identity.
Margaret C. Melanson, The Melanson Story: Acadian Family, Acadian Times.
Alfred Silver, Three Hills Home (a novel about Beausoleil, recommended by a cousin when I said someone had asked me to find them a story about the deportation).
A great discovery
John W. Doull Bookseller - Rare and out-of-print books, in Halifax. One of the best used bookstores I've found. Just take a look at their Acadian section. I bought a number of books, including Bona Arsenault's History of the Acadians, Paul Surette's Le Grand Petcoudiac, a 200th anniversary commemorative of the parishes of Memramcook, an English translation of La Sagouine, a cute children's book--Adolphe à Nicolas et sa charrette, and probably some things still in the suitcase.
Congrès mondial acadien 1994
Congrès mondial acadien 1994, archived webpage. Lots of interesting history and photos of the first CMA.
Friday, August 20, 2004
La Sagouine
I bought an English translation of Antonine Maillet's Acadian classic, La Sagouine, and am reading it with the kids. Now we'll need to visit Le Pays de la Sagouine next time we're in New Brunswick.
Thursday, August 19, 2004
An Acadian's awakening
Interesting reflection by Zachary Richard of how he came to understand himself not just as "Cajun" or "Cadien" but as "Acadien."
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
How they viewed us ...
Here's what New England Yankees thought of Acadiens in the 1880s, when my great-grandmother's family came to Connecticut. This is from the 12th Annual Report of the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor (1881). Commissioner Carroll D. Wright wrote:
With some exceptions the Canadian French are the Chinese of the Eastern States. They care nothing for our institutions, civil, political, or educational. They do not come to make a home among us, to dwell with us as citizens, and so become a part of it; but their purpose is merely to sojourn a few years as aliens, touching us only at a single point, that of work, and, when they have gathered out of us what will satisfy their ends, to get them away to whence they came, and bestow it there. They are a horde of industrial invaders, not a stream of stable settlers. Voting with all that it implies, they care nothing about. Rarely does one of them become naturalized. They will not send their children to school if they can help it, but endeavor to crowd them into the mills at the earliest possible age.Cited by Gerard J. Brault, The French-Canadian Heritage in New England (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1986), p. 68.
At the same time, Protestants targetted them for proselytizing. Methodists, Congregationalists, and Baptists were most active in this, identifying Protestantism with Americanism. Typical examples were the Protestant newspaper, Le Franco-Américain, published in Fall River in 1888, and Rev. Calvin E. Amaron of Massachusetts, author of The Evangelization of the French Canadians (1885), republished as Your Heritage, or New England Threatened (1891).
Not much different today; outside of Grand Pre last week the Evangeline Baptist Association were distributing tracts (along with lagniappe like mardi gras beads, candies, and mini Tabasco bottles) to those entering the park (see this article).
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Concert highlights
I can't begin to describe the extraordinary experience I had with 10,000 other Acadians on Citadel Hill Sunday night at the closing "Spectacle." The Acadian flag fluttered above the old British fort and from smaller versions we waved in time with the music or held high as we stood for "Ave Maris Stella."
The concert began with a circle of Mi'kmaq drummers which transitioned into Zachary Richard's "Réveille," in which he was joined gradually by the other members of the evening's concert.
I'm in love with Edith Butler! It just took a simple rendition of "Le grain de mil."
"L'hymne à l'espoir."
Lennie Gallant doing "Ouvrez les Aboiteaux."
The two hours went by quickly--and stopped abruptly at 11:00 for the sake of the TV network. Then the clouds opened up, and we all ran for our cars.
Ouvrez les Aboiteaux
I first heard Ouvrez les Aboiteaux, a new and moving song by Lennie Gallant, on the radio the other day. Then he sang it at the concert Sunday night. This article talks about it.
The New York Times is clueless
Evangeline's People Gather and Weep for Ancestors' Fate.
The happy-go-lucky came wearing holsters packed with bottles of hot pepper sauce and bringing recipes for gumbo to distribute to cousins they had never met. The sincere carry dog-eared copies of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem "Evangeline" and miniature French dictionaries in their back pockets.Yes, I saw one Cajun with a holster of Tabasco. No, we are not "Evangeline's people" (she never existed). All of us at the CMA were sincere. I saw not a one with a copy of "Evangeline," dog-eared or otherwise.
Saturday, August 14, 2004
The LeBlanc Reunion
The Acadian Cross tour was a highlight of yesterday. A tractor pulled us on a long wagon with lots of bus-like seats; the driver narrated in French and English. The Deportation Cross is on the farm of the Fuller family which has been in possession of the land since 1760. This year, for the Congres, they've provided for access to the site. They were charging $15CDN, but it was worth it. The tour stops first at the Deportation Cross, marking the site at which the Acadians of Grand-Pre were placed onto boats, then to the dyke at the water's edge, and to the ruins of the dock used by the New England planters. A CBC reporter accompanied us with a camera; he was covering the Congres but had the day off, and was doing this on his own. He knew more than the guide, and filled in a lot of information. He interviewed several of us afterwards, including me.
Nothing much was happening at Belliveau Cove except for pre-registration. It was getting cold and was starting to rain, but I was able to get my registration out of the way and get my wristband, nametag, and program.
I stopped at one restaurant that had been recommended to me, but it was closed, and ended up stopping at L'Auberge au Havre du Capitaine in Meteghan. It was crowded, but they promised they'd try to seat me within fifteen or twenty minutes. In the meantime, I joined the others waiting listening to a musical duet: a ten year old girl on fiddle and her 14 year old brother on electric base, playing traditional Acadian and Celtic tunes. Wonderful! I started up a conversation with a couple sitting by me on a couch from Moncton, and the wife was a descendant of Firmin, as I am. When it came time to be seated, they invited me to join them, and we had a delightful evening together. Then on to Yarmouth.
My hosts left today for a Cuban vacation(Canadians get to have those), so I said good-bye to them (though I'm staying another night in their home, and headed to Church Point for the reunion.
I'll describe more when I get home and post my pictures. A summary: mass, opening greetings, lots of music, meeting of lots of Firmin descendants (a couple even descended from Jean dit Bis à Firmin!), more Rappie Pie, getting reacquainted with folks I met five years ago, etc. Another talk by Lucie and one by Stephen White (telling the tale of one Acadian woman who was deported FIVE TIMES by the British!!). Lucie was leaving early, and so gave me her ticket to the "Evangeline" musical at the University. It was exceptionally well done. At the intermission, I was speaking with the fellow behind me, and at the end of the play he introduced me to the rest of the party and when I said my name I heard "Bill Cork!!"--and it was Nicole, from the comments box below. We all left together for dinner; restaurant they were going to go to, that said they should come at 8, said when we got there that they were closed. So Nicole suggested we go to the Social Club of Clare which was having an outdoor concert and food. I already had a ticket. It seems most of the food vendors they were expecting were at the reunion and ran out of food--our only options were hotdogs and sausages. Well, it was still a nice couple of hours. No traditional music, but a little Cajun and a lot of rock. Around 10:15 we said our farewells for the evening.
Tomorrow, mass at Grand-Pre and closing concert in Halifax. We're going to try to look for each other.
Friday, August 13, 2004
Bonjour from Grand-pre!
I'm writing from the Public Internet Access Site in the new visitor's center at Grand-Pre National Historic Site. I sit a couple hundred yards away from the memorial church of St. Charles-des-Mines. A vast vacant field to my left out the window is being prepared for Sunday's closing mass.
I drove up from Yarmouth early this morning, stopping by Annapolis Royal, then to the Melanson Settlement National Historic Site, to Belle Isle Hall (which now has exhibits of Acadian artifacts and is dedicated to the memory of the Savoie family whose nearby farm has also been excavated), drove past the LeBlanc homestead, and then to Grand-Pre.
I finally got to meet my fourth-cousin-twice-removed, Lucie LeBlanc Consentino, who gave a wonderful talk on Acadians of New England. In a quickly convened meeting of the Society of New England Acadians, my design for a flag for this overlooked Acadian population was unanimously adopted. :-)
The visitor center has a very nice exhibit which includes a cut-through model of a dyke, a model of a village, and artifacts from digs. I roamed the site, taking a number of pictures.
Then across the road to visit the Grand-Pre Festival.
In 25 minutes I'm going on the Dyke/Acadian Cross tour, then off to Belliveau Cove for the beginning of the LeBlanc Reunion.
Thursday, August 12, 2004
A review of the day
Took a drive down to Pubnico today. Went to Le Village historique Acadien de la Nouvelle-Ecosse and the Musee Acadien, where I spent a few hours in the archive. Had a late lunch at the Dennis Point Cafe, with some seafood chowder and my first rappie pie. Returned to Yarmouth, and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the town.
Greetings from Acadie!
I arrived safely yesterday afternoon. Got up at 4:00 a.m. to get to the airport in time for my 6:30 flight. Flew to Toronto, then to Halifax. I awoke from a nap on the plane just in time to look out the window to a beautiful view of the Annapolis Valley as we flew over the coast of Nova Scotia. Stopped to see friends in Bridgewater, arriving just in time for supper (they were expecting me) then on to Yarmouth, where I'm staying with other friends for most of this week. I'm off to West Pubnico today.
Downside is I'm having problems connecting to my wquercus.com e-mail.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Last post before I leave
I'll be leaving in the morning (6:45 a.m. flight to Toronto, then to Halifax), so this will be it for now. I may be able to do some end-of-day blogging from Nova Scotia--À bientôt!
More Cheticamp photos
Galleries five and six, with photos of Bruce Daigrepont, Waylon Thibodeaux, and various VIPs, including premier John Hamm.
A search for roots in the broader Western world
Ralph Surette writes, "Every family has a dramatic story of flight and/or bare survival from the destruction of Acadia."
The Congrès mondial acadien is a fantastic party. So much so that it's giving Acadians of a certain vintage--myself, for example--some trouble adjusting to being a cultural hot commodity after centuries of being more or less told to disappear.
Monday, August 09, 2004
1999 CMA LeBlanc Reunion
I had my dad scan some photos my mother took at the Famille de LeBlanc Reunion in Erath, Lousiana, during the 1999 Congrès Mondial Acadien.
Now accessible
You used to have to view the deportation cross at Grand Pré through a telescope. Now Acadian Cross Historic Site is open and accessible to visitors.
Look for me in Acadie ...
I've made a couple t-shirts to wear for the LeBlanc reunion. On the front, three flags of Acadie (the well known ones, and my design for a New England flag); on the back, the chart of my descent from Daniel LeBlanc.
Beaubassin: Our Living History
Beaubassin: Our Living History. Mass on August 14, on location of Assumption parish, will include ringing of the bell that was in the original church.
Le Congrès mondial acadien semble attirer moins de visiteurs que prévu
Report that events so far have only attracted about half the participants expected, notably the Festival du Mitan. But others say it is too soon to tell.
Acadian Cross Historical Site
Acadian Cross Historical Site webpage (the Deportation Cross at Grand-Pre).
Whittling history
Don Marston of Gaspereau had a 1-meter piece of pine from an aboiteau; he's been using it now to whittle wooden crosses which are now being sold in Kentville, Wolfville and Berwick.
Sunday, August 08, 2004
Coins salute French arrival
Coins salute French arrival.
The Royal Canadian Mint has joined La Monnaie de Paris in issuing coins marking the 400th anniversary of the first French settlement in Canada.Canadian and American officials first showed the new circulating 'L'Acadie' quarter at St. Croix Island in the St. Croix River, the boundary between Maine and New Brunswick.
Commemorative versions of the coin are available, too, but Canadian officials wanted to heighten awareness of the event by putting the quarter in circulation.
CMA Photo Gallery
CMA webpage now has a photo gallery up of the opening in Clare. Soon to come, pictures of the Mitan at Cheéticamp.
25 ways to spell a name
Thibodeaux genealogy easy to trace, but spellings harder to decipher. Many Louisiana names differ from the Canadian version by having an "x" on the end--e.g., Boudreaux, Thibodeaux, Brasseaux, Comeaux--but it has nothing to do with marks made by illiterate people, says historian Carl Brasseaux. The "x" form was a variant in the 19th century, and there was an effort to standardize spellings in the 1820 census. But he fears it will be hard to eradicate the myth. "Once these things take a life of their own, like the urban myths on the Internet, you never eradicate these things."
Congrès brings long-distance families together
Congrès brings long-distance families together. Report on the Thibodeaux reunion, which included a party at the Shaw homestead--a family descended from the New England planters who settled on Thibodeaux land after Le Grand Derangement.
"It's a great feeling," said Dorothy Thibodeaux Boudreaux, a native of Church Point and resident of Houston. "It feels like we're home."That sentiment, was shared, ironically, by a Shaw descendent.
Despite the lyrical sounds of various French and English accents, the one voice that captured everyone's attention was that of Sara Beanlands, a Shaw descendant with no Acadian heritage, who delivered a lecture on her famil's farm.Archaeologists have been excavating other Acadian sites in the area. We visited the Saint-Famille cemetery on a visit to the Pisiquid area last year.Beanlands' farm lies in the area once known as Pisiquid, land that was once a Thibodeaux farm. Samples from the house's beams and foundation are currently being date-tested to see if the structure was once a Thibodeaux house, Beanlands said.
She invited the Thibodeauxs to visit the farm, view the home's old beams and foundation and an excavation site that uncovered Acadian artifacts believed to date back to 1749. Dozens of Thibodeauxs took her up on the offer and the Shaws graciously opened their home.
"Welcome to the Shaw ancestral land," Beanlands said on Tuesday, enthusiastic to share her historical findings with people equally interested. "This is really about the land because only you and the Shaws have inhabited this land.
"Welcome home," she finished.
Walking back to the farmhouse, the Thibodeauxs passed a small historical marker that Beanlands erected for the occasion. It simply stated that the Shaw land was settled by "Pierre Thibodeau and Anne Bourg in 1690.""We put it up yesterday," she said with a smile.
"But it's going to stay for a long time."
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