Acadiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Further information: Cajun
Acadiana, also called Cajun Country, is the official name given to the traditional 22-parish Cajun homeland of Southern Louisiana, United States.
This region of Louisiana is unique in that it is defined by its historic residents and local cultures, more than its geography alone.
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[edit] History
Acadiana describes the French Louisiana region that is home to a large population of Cajuns, the descendants of Acadian exiles from what are now Canada's Maritime Provinces, particularly Nova Scotia, while those in New Brunswick managed to stay hidden.
In 1755, with war imminent between France and England, British authorities demanded that the French Acadians renounce their Catholic faith and swear allegiance to the British Crown. This was unacceptable to the great majority of French Acadians, and they were forced to leave Acadia. Early emmigrated French Acadians moved to New England, the West Indies or even back to France. Many eventually migrated to Louisiana where they had discovered that they were welcome.
By 1971 the Louisiana state legislature officially recognized the area for its unique Cajun and Acadian heritage (Louisiana House Concurrent Resolution No. 496), and made Acadiana the official name of the 22-parish region. The word Acadiana has become emblematic of the Cajun and other cultures that share the region.
[edit] Origin of the term
The word Acadiana reputedly has two origins. Its first recorded appearance dates to the mid-1950s, when a Crowley, Louisiana, newspaper, the Crowley Daily Signal, coined the term in reference to Acadia Parish, Louisiana. However, KATC TV-3 independently coined "Acadiana" in the early 1960s, gave it a new, broader meaning, and popularized it throughout south Louisiana.
Founded in 1962, KATC was owned by the Acadian Television Corporation. In early 1963, the station received an invoice erronously addressed to the Acadiana Television Corp. Someone had typed an extra "a" at the end of the word "Acadian." The station started using it to market their identity.
Not copyrighted or trademarked, the state of Louisiana officially adopted the term. Today, there are numerous businesses and non-profit organizations that utilize Acadiana in their names, e.g., The Times of Acadiana newspaper, Acadiana CARES, Acadiana Symphony Association and Young Professionals of Acadiana.
[edit] Flag
The Acadian flag was designed in 1965. The three silver fleur-des-lis on the blue field represent the French heritage of Acadiana, the gold star on the white field symbolizes Our Lady of the Assumption, patron saint of Acadiana (the star also symbolizes the active participation of the Cajuns in the American Revolution, as soldiers under General Bernardo de Gálvez, Spanish governor of Louisiana). The gold tower on the red field represents Spain, which governed Louisiana at the time the Acadians arrived.
[edit] People
Cajuns prevail among the visible cultures, but not everybody who lives in Acadiana is culturally Acadian or speaks Cajun French, nor is everybody who is culturally Acadian or "Cajun" descended from the Acadian refugees.
In addition to the Cajuns, Acadiana is home to several Native American tribes and enclaves of black Louisiana Creole people.
German settlers also found their way to Acadiana as early as 1721, preceding even the Cajuns [4]. More recently, political refugees from southeast Asia (Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, among others) have brought their families, cultures, and languages to the area, and have contributed significantly to its fishing industry.
- For more details on this topic, see Cajun.
[edit] Geography
Despite the frequent association of Cajuns with swamplands, Acadiana actually consists mainly of low gentle hills in the north section and dry land prairies, with marshes and bayous in the south closer to the coast, increasing in frequency in and around the Atchafalaya and Mississippi basins. The area is also filled with fields of rice and sugarcane.
Acadiana by Louisiana law refers to the area that stretches from just west of New Orleans to the Texas border along the Gulf of Mexico coast, and about 100 miles inland to Marksville. This includes the 22 parishes of Acadia, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Calcasieu, Cameron, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jeff Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Pointe Coupee, St. Charles, St. James, St. John The Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, Terrebonne, Vermilion, and West Baton Rouge.
Of those 22, eight parishes make up the Cajun Heartland, which is the central portion of Cajun Country initially settled by the majority of relocated Acadians. These parishes include Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, and Vermilion.
Three of the parishes, St. Charles, St. James, St. John The Baptist, are considered the River Parishes, along with occasionally included Ascension Parish. Present-day St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes also made up an area once called the German Coast of Louisiana.
[edit] Most Populous Areas
The largest metropolitan area in Acadiana is Lafayette (the hub city of Acadiana), followed by Houma-Thibodaux, and then Lake Charles. All three of these metropolitan areas are among the six largest metropolitan areas in Louisiana. Other large cities and towns within Acadiana are Abbeville, Crowley, Donaldsonville, Eunice, Franklin, Morgan City, New Iberia, Opelousas, Rayne, and St. Martinville.
[edit] Transportation
The traditional industries of the area: tourism, agriculture, and petroleum initially drove the need for transportation development. In recent years, hurricane evacuation plans for the area's growing towns and cities have hastened the planning and construction of better roadways. The abundance of swamps and marshes previously made Acadiana difficult to access, a major reason for the near isolation of the early Cajun people, until oil was found in the area in the early 1900s.
- Land
- High capacity, modern highways are the lifeline of the region. US Highways 90, 190, and 167 (now partially replaced by I-49) were the main connectors through south Louisiana until the 1950s. Interstates 10, 210, 55, and 49 now play the major role in transportation. US and state highways also cross the region.
- Rail transport through the area is limited by the difficult terrain and the sheer number of bridges required to build over every little stream and bayou. A robust railroad system was being built at the time of the American Civil War, but much of it was destroyed during the conflict. By the end of the war, river transport via paddlewheeler had taken over as the preferred mode of travel. The major railway in operation through the region is the Southern Pacific Railroad, now part of the Union Pacific Railroad.
- Water
- Waterways are vital to the commercial and recreational activities of the region. Seaports, rivers, lakes, bayous, canals, and spillways dot the landscape, and served as the primary source of shipping and travel through the early 1930s. The Mississippi River is important to the eastern section, the Atchafalaya River to the middle, with Calcasieu River flowing through Lake Charles, and the Sabine river enabling shipping traffic to the western portion. Fresh and saltwater lakes, along with almost the entire Louisiana portion of the Intracoastal Waterway, enable the flow of people and materials.
- Air
- The area's larger airports in Houma, Lafayette, and Lake Charles provide regional leisure travel. Most air travel in the area, not counting the extreme amount of flyover traffic from hubs like New Orleans and Houston, is local in nature and provided by small planes and helicopters. Many hours of flight time is logged by helicopter pilots servicing the oilfields in the Gulf of Mexico. Small planes are used for short trips and agricultural needs. There are small regional airports seving communities throughout the area.
[edit] Natural disasters
The eastern Acadiana region was among those affected by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. The western Acadiana region and eastern Texas were most affected by Hurricane Rita on September 26, 2005.
On October 3, 2002, central Acadiana region suffered a direct hit from category two Hurricane Lili. She caused most of Lafayette to lose power — some high-rise buildings in downtown had windows broken and many homes had roof damage.
[edit] See also
[edit] Sources
Footnotes
- ↑ Shane K. Bernard, The Cajuns: Americanization of a People (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2003), p. 79.
- ↑ Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission
- ↑ Cajun Flag
References
- Shane K. Bernard, The Cajuns: Americanization of a People (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2003)
- Kara T. Bernard, The Encyclopedia of Cajun Culture, Encylcopedia of Cajun Culture, s.v. "Acadiana".
[edit] External links
- Complete Listing of all cities and communities in Acadiana
- UL Lafayette Center for Louisiana Studies
- Map of Louisiana regions
