10 votes

In Louisiana, Cajuns are keen to preserve their identity

4 comments

  1. [3]
    rogue_cricket
    Link
    I am Acadian on my father's side - my direct ancestors were actually deported to Louisiana, but returned to Eastern Canada later to reunite with family. I have some distant Cajun relatives, my...

    I am Acadian on my father's side - my direct ancestors were actually deported to Louisiana, but returned to Eastern Canada later to reunite with family. I have some distant Cajun relatives, my last name is even mentioned in the video. I don't claim Cajun culture, but I am kind of adjacent to it and we share a lot of aspects... though their food is notably better. :p

    I was going to grouse a bit about language politics in my area, but then I got to the scene with the man playing for his daughter and it reminded me very much of how my grandfather taught me to play violin. It was nice and I think I'd rather leave with that. Thanks for posting this! :)

    6 votes
    1. [2]
      mono
      Link Parent
      Hello fellow Acadian! I have a direct paternal line to the Acadians who were exiled from Nova Scotia to Louisiana. Like you, I'm sort of Cajun adjacent though, because my ancestors settled and...

      Hello fellow Acadian! I have a direct paternal line to the Acadians who were exiled from Nova Scotia to Louisiana. Like you, I'm sort of Cajun adjacent though, because my ancestors settled and continued to live just a little bit more eastward, along the Mississippi, and were never really steeped in Cajun culture. I was born and raised in Greater New Orleans, and my mom's side is more Creole so I always identified more with Creole heritage than Cajun.

      3 votes
      1. soks_n_sandals
        Link Parent
        Hello to two fellow Acadians! My paternal grandmother is Cajun and her husband settled in Louisiana and they basically considered themselves Cajuns too. A bit different at my generation, since the...

        Hello to two fellow Acadians! My paternal grandmother is Cajun and her husband settled in Louisiana and they basically considered themselves Cajuns too. A bit different at my generation, since the culture was sort of lost at my parents. They weren't taught French (though all my grandparents spoke it) and they never really danced, so those are things I've had to learn on my own. Figuring out my identity is a bit difficult because culture is so much more than blood relatives, so I'm somewhere in the Cajun-adjacent realm too.

        4 votes
  2. Staross
    Link
    They have a bit of an accent, but I can understand what they say, even easier than Quebecois I'd say.

    They have a bit of an accent, but I can understand what they say, even easier than Quebecois I'd say.

    2 votes