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The Founding of Acadia
The Deportation
Cajun Culture
Dates of
Louisiana history
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In the late 1960s, a grassroots backlash against the suppression of Cajun
culture developed. Like many American minorities, young Cajuns, particularly
college graduates and students, began to assert a new ethnic pride. In 1968,
responding to mounting political pressure, the state legislature established
the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL) to reverse
the decline of Cajun culture. The legislature subsequently designated the
French-speaking region of southern Louisiana as Acadiana in honor of the
area's Acadian settlers.
Although efforts to restore the French language within the community met
with only limited success, other aspects of Cajun culture enjoyed a
renaissance beginning in the late 1960s. Cajun music gained increasing
popularity throughout the United States. In 1974 CODOFIL established the
Festival de Musique Acadienne, an annual celebration of Cajun folk music, in
the city of
Lafayette,
Louisiana. In 1977 the Festival de Musique Acadienne, the Louisiana Native
and Contemporary Crafts Festival, and the Bayou Food Festival joined
together to form Festivals Acadiens, held every year during the third
weekend in September. In the 1980s restaurants throughout the world began to
feature Cajun dishes, such as jambalaya, gumbo, and crawfish etouffee. Most
Cajuns now view their heritage with great pride.
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