Acadians_Cajuns

Journal Entry: Week one Ashley Hanks October 31, 2010 ETH/125 Maria Watts Axia College of University of Phoenix Journal Entry: Acadians/Cajuns My ancestral trip has been a long one. My ancestors, better known as Acadians, began as a group of (primarily French) settlers in 17th century Canada. Over the years, they have been subjected to numerous hardships that usually result in the disappearance or assimilation of a culture. The Acadians have able to retain large portions of their identity, even after their homeland was taken and they were exiled. Although some were later incorporated into other cultures and societies, their heritage is still evident in the lives of their descendants. (T. Hebert, 1997.) During the Grand Derangement, which is the period when we were stripped of our lands and exiled we founds new places to go, and even scattered, remained in two major areas. The are ones who returned to Canada upon escaping and developed their own Acadian culture, which is slightly different from that of those who resettled in Louisiana from 1765-1768 and who are commonly referred to today as Cajuns. Cajuns are Acadians which have blended with other nationalities that settled within the same region. Taking our learned knowledge and that learned from neighbors we were able to take a firm root and settle in creating our own cultures and heritages. The Acadians/Cajuns traditions are widely recognized as part of the heritage of the state of Louisiana. Cajuns are a major part of Louisiana’s culture and without Cajuns Louisiana has potential to be a lot less lively. Cajun foods, their language, religion, and music make them a unique subordinate group amongst themselves. I would say that at least ninety percent of us are roman catholic. Unfortunately our language, Cajun French is becoming obsolete as very few of us speak the language anymore. We have overcome assimilation and still held on strong to our heritage to stay strong as an ethnic group without being phased out by being scattered by exile.