Acadian Museum Moncton

JOSH HANSEN
MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK

They come from New England and Quebec. Some travel from as far away as Louisiana. Some live a stones throw away, at the nearby campus residence. All are Acadians in some form or another, their ancestors separated hundreds of years ago, all drawn to Moncton’s Acadian Museum.

In her 18 years giving tours of the museum, Curator Jeanne Mance Cormier has met hundreds, if not thousands of Acadians from all over who want to discover their routes.

It’s all here, from the Expulsion to the fabled tale of Evangeline and Gabriel to New Brunswick’s emergence as Canada’s only officially bilingual province. A display depicting the layout of the average Acadian house occupies part of a nearby room. Tools used for fishing, hunting and farming hang on the opposite wall. “The amount of detail in the crib shows how wealthy a family is,” Cormier tells me, referring to a baby’s crib in the house display.

Attention to detail is imperative when touring this museum. To truly appreciate its commitment to the Acadian people, it’s important to first understand a little about their background.

Early Acadians were French settlers who migrated to colonies of New France (Southeastern Québec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and eastern Maine). They arrived at St. Croix Island off the coast of New Brunswick in 1604 before building a new, permanent settlement called Port-Royal in Annapolis, Nova Scotia in 1605.

With the help of local Mi’kmaq natives, the Acadians lived off the land, which they began to colonize. But ongoing wars between France and England meant the land known as Acadia changed hands on an almost regular basis. The area remained primarily French until 1713 when Britain gained partial control under the Treaty of Utrecht.

Although Acadians were neutral to fighting for the French or English, the British who now had a fort in Halifax, saw them as a threat and possible French traitors. Aware that many Acadians had refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the British, and taking no chances, the military governor of Nova Scotia decided to expel the Acadians from the area altogether.

The Expulsion

Between 5,000 and 6,000 people were deported to areas along the Eastern seaboard, such as New England from 1755-1763. Some were sent back to France. Others landed in Louisiana and eventually became known as Cajuns. A map on the museum’s wall charts where the ships landed after leaving Acadia. Large red arrows point to about a dozen different places all across North America and Europe. For many, it was the last time they saw their land and their family.

But not everyone settled into their new ‘homes’. Obviously, the Acadians were furious with their treatment. They saw Acadia, now part of the renamed Nova Scotia, as their true home. Eventually, a small group of Acadians made their way back, covering thousands of miles in the process. Those who returned were given land but it was unsuitable for farming. Before being exiled, the Acadians had some of the best farming lands around and were expert farmers. This land now belonged to the British.

Unable to make a sustainable living farming, a number of Acadians resorted to a life in the fishing trade, settling in coastal communities throughout Atlantic Canada.

Evangeline

Perhaps the most recognizable part of Acadian culture is Evangeline, a fictional character created by American writer Henry Longfellow in 1847. His love story about a young Acadian couple, who reunite years after being separated during the Expulsion, is a piece of folklore genius that spawned world-wide recognition and pride among Acadians.

Commercialization of Longfellow’s character didn’t hurt its success either. A copy of the book sits behind a glass partition in the museum’s section dedicated to Evangeline, surrounded by Evangeline stamps, washboard, ginger ale, comic books and tobacco. Nevertheless, the tale helped Acadians form a new identity and ensured the injustices they suffered 250 years ago would not be forgotten.

Today’s Acadians

Most, you’ve never heard of because becoming a household name outside New Brunswick and Quebec is a feat only a select few Acadians have accomplished. Acadian poet and playwright Herménégilde Chiasson is a notable exception. Considered one of Canada’s biggest cultural icons, Chiasson’s picture hangs on the wall in the museum’s final section which is dedicated to the accomplishments of today’s Acadians. New Brunswick’s current Lieutenant-Governor, Chiasson teaches only a few hundred meters away from the Acadian Museum at the Université de Moncton.

Surrounded by Acadian communities growing up, I never fully appreciated the amount of pride the Acadian community has until visiting the museum. And although it isn’t as large as I expected – about the size of two basketball courts placed side by side – its dedication to preserving the Acadian history is immeasurable.