primroseburrows | (no subject)

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Current Location: northerly on the loop current
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gulf oil faucet

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Oil threatens French-speaking Cajuns, native Choctaw

...aaaand once again the conquerors trample on native cultures. And wreck the future for my grandbabies.

Oh, and also: You can watch a live feed of the Deepwater Horizon faucet here. Gee, thanks BP.

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Dear BP: Who in the world would want to watch millions and billions of gallons of oil constantly, ceaselessly destroying the environment because of the abject incompetence of two companies? Did you feel like you would achieve your crowning glory by making sure that everybody with internet access would be hopelessly depressed? I hate you. Please suffer irredeemably for the rest of your corporate existence. -- Me

I think the federal government made them produce the video (and they hemmed and hawed for quite a while before they did it), although I don't know if the live stream was part of the, erm. Request.

Does that make Acadians/Cajuns like me a native culture or an invading conqueror? Just curious.

But seeing as most of my family makes its living fishing, just like generations of Acadians and Cajuns have before us, this oil spill is downright terrifying. It'll destroy our entire culture, which has always been centered around the water.

Does that make Acadians/Cajuns like me a native culture or an invading conqueror? Just curious.

Big Oil is the invading conqueror. I never saw Acadians as an invading conqueror. They were banished from their homeland and settled in a new one. I don't know the whole history (I'm working on it), but it seems like there was more adapting and intermarriage than conquering going on.

Oh, and a book rec: The Acadians: In Search of a Homeland by James Laxer. I've been in the process of reading it for a while now (this is what happens when one has umpteen books going at once), and so far it's excellent.

:)

Yeah, the Acadians had a very peaceful history of cooperation with native populations in their area. To this day, the Micmacs and Acadians have a close cooperation in Nova Scotia, and when the Acadians fled to Louisiana, they blended right in.

And I see what you mean, oil companies as the invader. I didn't quite get your angle at first.

I've never heard of that book, but I may have to read it now. Every Acadian is an amateur genealogist and historian, but it's always good to learn more. THANK YOU for actually knowing who we are! Most people have no clue.

I've never heard of that book, but I may have to read it now.

James Laxer is made of awesome. It took me just a few days to plow through The Border. I'm pretty sure I want to read every word the guy has ever written.

THANK YOU for actually knowing who we are! Most people have no clue.

Acadian history is some of the most interesting stuff I've ever read. I've added a couple more books to my Wish List, just today. :D Rhode Island has its own francophone people, but they're not Acadians. They came from Québec to work the mills in Woonsocket. Also interesting stuff. [/history dork]

I'll definitely hunt down his books. :D

Yeah, the Acadians have a unique history. I'm just glad someone remembers us. ♥

Aww, lots of people do! Otherwise there wouldn't be so many books out there! :D

I'm going to Ottawa at the end of next month and I'll be sure to hit a Chapters. James Laxer is a Canadian author, so If you want anything, let me know!

Ooh, for the history of the Acadians from France to the grand dérangement, John Mack Farragher's A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the Acadians from their American Homeland is very good, far, far better than the title suggests. It has a lot of discussion of the relationships between the Acadians and the Mi'kmaq too.

Woah.[cue X-Files theme]I seriously just added this book to my wish list today. Which means that the universe is telling me to buy it, y/y? Y!

Y/Y=Y! I read it for my comps last winter and I really enjoyed it. Despite its title, it goes back to the origins of Acadian settlement and through the first couple of decades after the deportation. It was fascinating! I'm super excited for the day I can work it into a lecture for my students.

I don't know if you saw my comment below, but the icon is by

montrealais. I forget where I shamelessly ganked it from, so I definitely can't extend any personal claim to it beyond being Canadian and totally relating.

I'm super excited for the day I can work it into a lecture for my students.

Dude. I want to take your class.

*steals icon* Not Canadian at all, but I go there a lot. Not to mention that Fire and Ice says that out of all Americans we New Englanders are closest to being Canadian. Hmm. Maybe it's our really dry wit?

OMG, your icon. Please may I steal it? Seriously, I'm trying not to choke laughing right now.

Is that not the best icon ever? I would love to steal it, too. :D

Seeing as how I shamelessly stole it from somewhere myself, I don't think you need my permission! I'm pretty sure the icon is by

montrealais, although I don't remember where I got it. It cracks me up too, every time I see it. BECAUSE IT'S SO TRUE.

YAY!!!

*steals icon*

We Acadians never got to steal anything, so I don't feel too guilty. LOL!

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