Abstract
The Congrès Mondial Acadien (CMA) is a 10-day event established 30 years ago as a means of building bridges between Acadians from throughout its diaspora. It provides an arena for Acadians to express their cultural vitality through a sense of mutual collectiveness. However, the CMA also unveils the identity politics within the diaspora. Acadian historian Ronald Rudin emphasized this point: “Festivities interest me […] because they offer the opportunity to choose what story to tell.” Critical studies of the CMA have revealed the festivity to promote a ‘French-first’ rhetoric that privileges the Acadian communities of Atlantic Canada, namely in the officially bilingual province of New Brunswick. The goals of the CMA create a false representation of the rich cultural and linguistic diversity of the Acadian diaspora. This is particularly true for American Acadians living in more rural, borderlands regions where education policies such as Maine’s ‘No French’ law of 1919 contributed to diminishing the once-thriving French language along of northern Maine which marks the international Canada-U.S. border. I seek to understand the eco-cultural ideology that resides within the very structure of the CMA. To do this, I begin by questioning how the lived experiences of English-speaking Acadians are represented and celebrated. This paper begins by discussing the CMA through a theoretical lens of cultural tourism and economic production. It then details the results of an anonymous survey conducted in 2024 where I explore the CMA’s promotes the inclusion those who identify as English-speaking Acadians currently residing along the Canada-U.S. border.
Presenters
Christina KeppieDirector of the Center for Canadian-American Studies, Western Washington University, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Organizations as Knowledge Makers
KEYWORDS
Acadie, Language, French, Diaspora, Membership, Festivities, Celebrations, Ideology
