Enfin retrouvés, Chanson thème du CMA 2009

Protesting Lack of French Signs in Biggest Acadian City

Dieppe, NB, is the largest Acadian city--and yet no city ordinance requires bilingual signs. Some petitioners are trying to change that.

Michel Belliveau, vice-president of the Fédération d'alphabétisation du Nouveau-Brunswick, a literacy organization, said he finds it frustrating that 80 per cent of Dieppe residents are francophones but only about 50 per cent of the signs in the city are bilingual.

Dieppe Mayor Jean LeBlanc said he understands the concerns but when the petition first came in front of council, councillors said they were in no rush to adopt a sign bylaw. LeBlanc said they want to study how similar bylaws were received in other towns.

Acadian Memorial Festival

The Acadian Memorial festival will be this Saturday in St. Martinville. Yvon Cyr will be speaking about genealogy. Article.

CMA 2014

Louisiana would like to host CMA again in 2014; but Madawaska wants it, too. I've heard some would like to see it in France. Well, we'll know in August.

Seal Hunt Protests

It's that time of year when activist groups around the world protest Canadian seal hunting (here, here, and here).

Few articles mention the fishermen who argue their livelihood depends upon it: Acadians of the Magdalene Islands.

National Geographic does.

Car license plates in Quebec—which includes the Magdalen Islands, or Îles de la Madeleine—bear the legend, Je me souviens, meaning "I remember." The Madelinots, as the 95 percent of islanders who are French-speaking call themselves, do not easily let go of their 250 years of history and traditions. They remember the dark days following 1755 when, fleeing deportation by the British, the islands' founding families made their way from what is now Nova Scotia to start a new life. Though farming folk, these exiled Acadians were forced to turn to the sea for sustenance. Today the fishing industry makes up 80 percent of the islands' economy. A thousand of the 13,000 islanders fish for a living, and a similar number process the catches of lobster, crab, herring, and mackerel.

Madelinot fishermen also remember the two decades of tribulation that began in the 1960s when antihunt campaigners, spearheaded by the International Fund for Animal Welfare and later by Greenpeace, triggered the eventual collapse of the seal trade. Portrayed as murderers and barbarians, fishermen suffered the contempt of the masses as television brought graphic scenes from the ice fields of the North Atlantic into the living rooms of Europe and North America.

Taking part in what had been known as the greatest hunt in the world—an enterprise that in the 19th century had involved more than 13,000 men and 400 sailing ships—was no longer a matter of pride but a mark of shame. Once hailed as "Vikings of the ice," the sealers were now the scum of the earth. The Madelinots' cries of Nous ne sommes pas des bouchers! — We are not butchers! — sounded hollow when accompanied by photographs of upraised clubs and bloodstained ice.

PETA says the seal hunt is "nothing more than a money-making scheme orchestrated by professional fishers." Well, of course! Use PETA's letter-writing form to let Canada know about the need to protect the unique culture of the Magdalene Islands.

Ste-Famille Cemetery

Lucie posts a talk by John Wilson given at the cemetery's dedication.

CMA Bus Tour

CAFA and the Acadian Memorial will be sponsoring a bus trip from Louisiana to the Congres Mondial Acadien. Informational meeting March 16.

Acadian Memorial Festival

Next weekend, March 20 & 21, the Acadian Memorial in St. Martinville will have its annual festival.

C'est la vie!

I originally started this blog to cover the 2004 Congrès Mondial Acadien. It's 2009, and I haven't posted for a year--too busy on my other blogs.

But it's time to reinvigorate this blog, as the next Congrès Mondial Acadien will take place this summer on New Brunswick's Acadian Peninsula. I attended the 1999 and 2004 gatherings, and hope to make it this year.

The Acadian Exile in Massachusetts

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

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.

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.

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.

Acadian Christmas Traditions

PEI Writers' Guild has a post about the release of a book, Acadian Christmas Traditions, by Georges Arsenault.

Réveille!

Video of Zachary Richard and friends performing "Réveille" at the 1994 Congrès Mondial Acadien.

August 15--the Acadian National Day

This time each year the newspapers are filled with tales of Acadie in celebration of the Acadian National Day. Here's a sampling:

• Canada
• Acadian National Day to be celebrated at W. Pubnico museum.
• Excavation uncovers Acadian aboiteau (Amherst).
• Acadian tradition celebrated in Minudie (Blessing of the Crops).
• Acadian National Day at Grand-Pre.
• Cheticamp Ready to Celebrate.
  
• Louisiana
• Day of activities commemorates Cajun culture (St. Martinville).
• Celebrating Acadian culture (Vermilionville).
• C'est Vrai: Lawmakers asked for medal for bicentennial of Acadians' expulsion (back in 1955)
  

On Longfellow's Bicentenniel

Story of fictional Evangeline evokes emotions in Acadians.