Cajuns, our Canadian Refugees

America is historically described as a land established by immigrants and refugees. It was settled in various areas at various times by the English, Dutch, French and Irish.  Throughout that time period it was often used as a safe haven for those fleeing political or religious persecution. The idea of fruitful land and limitless possibilities served as an attractive lure to many who had never been given such an opportunity. Such is the case for the Acadians a group shuffled to and fro throughout history who eventually found their greener grass in an area of the United States where grass may often not be found at all.

Nova Scotia (courtesy: http://www.canada-maps.org/nova-scotia.htm)

Acadia, which is now modern day Nova Scotia, was originally settled by a small group of French in the mid 1600’s.  They enjoyed their homeland with little interruption until French and Indian war. During the war the British commenced what is known as the Great Expulsion. Many texts describe this as an ethnic cleansing or deportation. The Acadians were either imprisoned or stripped of their homeland by the British in an attempt to usurp the French. (Johnston, 2007)

Many of the Acadians that escaped with their lives fled to what is modern day Louisiana. Over the years the areas settled by the Acadian refuges, now loosely referred to as Acadiana, were also settled by descendants of the original French and Spanish settlers, better known as creoles. (Bernard) This melting pot of cultures and languages has created many interesting and diverse cultures. These cultures have created a wonderfully unique integration of culinary, religion, music and communication known as the Cajun way of life.

Area settled by Acadian refugees shown in red. (courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Acadiana_Louisiana_region_map.svg)

The language of the Cajun people is one of the more interesting facets of the culture. Much of the original settlers and refuges were francophone’s, but over time the integration of English from settlers and slaves, as well as the Spanish created a new language entirely. Many of the words and expressions used exhibit signs of code switching, or jumping between languages (Judith N Martin), which became rooted within the language. Terms commonly used by the francophone’s or the Spanish become integrated into the typical English speaking language. This adaptation is indicative of the melding of the cultures by the refugees and immigrants as typical with a long term adjustment and assimilation to new cultural society, in effect creating a new cultural identity.

The Acadian people have long been recognized by the surrounding and competing cultures within Louisiana, however in 1980 the government granted recognition of the group as well. In a landmark discrimination case of James Roach v Dresser Industries the 500,000 Acadians still living in the area where granted the status of a National Minority. (Brasseaux, 1987) This judgment culminated the struggle of the Acadian people and their persecution, transition, and evolution to Cajun cultural identity. The development of the now day Cajun culture is a rich story with a great many historical examples of the development and implementation of communication theory.

                                                                                           

Bibliography

Bernard, S. K. (n.d.). Creoles. New Oreleans, LA, USA: KnowLA. Retrieved March 9, 2012, from www.knowla.org

Brasseaux, C. A. (1987). The Found of New Acadia. Lousiana: The Lousiana State University Press.

Johnston, A. (2007). The Acadian Deportation in a Compartive Context: An Introduction. Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society, 10, 114-131.

Judith N Martin, T. K. (n.d.). Intercultural Communication In contexts (5 ed.). New York, New York: McGraw-Hill.