The church at Grand-Pré

Grand-Pré, UNESCO World Heritage site. Photo Credit Claire Campbell.

Once again, I have stuck to sources that are produced by institutions, museums, archives, and historical societies. This is again to ensure that the sources presented are authentic and their provenance clear. In order to keep this guide to a manageable size, I have excluded websites that are narrative-based,  rather than providing primary sources and/or learning tools. While I have included material from a range of different periods in Acadian history, the majority of this material deals with Acadian history in Canada. In other words, you won’t find information here about what happened to Acadians who were deported and never returned. Also, considering the subject matter, I have indicated the languages in which each resource is available. There will be three separate guides: one for educators working in K-12 institutions; one for educators working in higher education; and one that provides an introduction to the field of study.  For this particular guide, I have focused exclusively on material that will be of interest primarily for educators working in K-12 institutions, but some duplication is to be expected.

This guide assumes you have a basic familiarity with Acadian history. If you don’t, or would like to brush up on what you know, I would highly recommend the CHA booklet on Acadian history, written by Caroline-Isabelle Caron.

Since this blog post is a bit of a monster, you can simply click on each one of those headings below to navigate to a specific section of this page.  To return to the top of the page, click on the link that says “Back to the Top,” located at the bottom of each section. Here’s how the blog post is arranged:

 

Online Exhibitions

  • 1755: L’Histoire et Les Histoires(Études acadiennes, Université de Moncton)
    • Language: English, Français
    • Created under the direction of Maurice Basque, this website holds more than 4,000 digitized documents relating to the Acadian deportation. The documents are integrated into several sections, including a nine-partnarrative of Acadian history, a directory of Acadian families, and a history of specific areas. Also included is a section on commemoration and the arts. However, this website is archaic (from 2007), and it has not been maintained. So while some of the digitized documents still work, many of the links are broken. This includes the entire section that allows you to search them thematically. But one of the sections that still works is the one with student/teacher resources. This section contains a series of classroom exercises and activities to help k-12 students learn more about this history. The teacher’s section in particular is organized into a primary and secondary section, to help users chose appropriate activities. Requires Flash.
  • The History of Acadians at Mount Allison University (University Archives, Mount Allison University)
    • Language: English
    • This is a virtual exhibit showcasing the long history of Acadians students, staff, and faculty at Mount Allison. There is information about and primary sources on students, staff, and faculty, as well as a number of aspects of campus life. Also included are lists of relevant publications by Mount Allison students and faulty, a list of relevant collections from the Mount Allison University Archives, and recommended readings.
  • France in America (Library of Congress/Bibliothèque nationale de France)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is a series of online exhibits created around French settlement in Canada generally speaking. There is a section dedicated to Acadian history specifically, which can be accessed here. If you click on the tabs labelled “History,” “Critical Thinking,” and “Arts and Humanities,” you will find additional explanatory texts, primary sources, and discussion questions on a number of themes. While most do not deal with Acadian history specifically, many can be adapted.
  • Voyage on Francophonie Canadienne (Association Canadienne d’éducation de langue française)
    • Language: Français
    • This is an online exhibit about the history of French Canadian communities across the country, including the history of Acadia. There are four different ways to use the site. The first involves an interactive map, the second is a chart with information on French-language schools, the third is a timeline, and the fourth is a textbook. The activities are designed to be used by students between the ages of six and seventeen. There are also a number of activities that have been created specifically to use with this website, available here, though most deal with the history of French Canada in general.
  • Acadien au Québec (Musée Acadien du Québec)
    • Language: mostly Français, some English available
    • This is an online exhiit about the history of Acadians in Quebec. It’s mostly based on explanatory texts, particularly the English version (available here). The French version also contains a special section with additional material about the different areas in which Acadians settlement in Quebec, available here. Visitors can select from a number of difference areas, and each contains additional information about institutions, monuments, and individuals.
  • Les Capsules Acadienne (Université Sainte Anne)
    • Language: Français
    • This is an online exhibit that looks at the history of Acadian communities in Nova Scotia across a number of different themes, ranging from the economy, to dance, to history, and more. Each theme contains a number of entries on that particular theme, with images, primary sources, music, and explanatory text, as well as supplementary materials and recommended readings. It’s hard to capture just how in-depth this online exhibit is in a few words.
  • Cape Breton’s Diversity in Unity – Acadian Music Traditions (Beaton Institute)
    • Language: mixed
    • This online exhibit is designed to showcase how music unites different parts of Cape Breton’s population (Acadian, Mi’kmaq, Gaelic, coal miners). There is a specific section for Acadian music, with explanatory texts, a photo gallery, and detailed information about a significant number of Acadian songs. Under the section labelled “For Educators,” there is detailed information for teachers in both English and French, including a list of proposed exercises.

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Primary Sources

General/Various

  • The Port Royal Habitation: Four Hundred Years of European Settlement in North America (Nova Scotia Archives)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is a virtual exhibit dedicated to the history of the area currently known as Port Royal, which is a twentieth century reconstruction of Samuel de Champlain’s original settlement from 1605. The exhibit itself contains forty-eight images related to Port Royal, from 1609 to 1967, documenting the original settlement and the research involved in its reconstruction.
  • Acadian Cemeteries – Sally Ross Research Collection (Nova Scotia Archives)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is a digitized fonds of nearly 2,000 photographs and contact sheets documenting sixty post-Deportation Acadian cemeteries, along with colour prints of the oldest surviving cemetery St. Pierre Catholic Church in Chéticamp on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. This is not a comprehensive collection, as it contains a sample of gravestones and monuments dating from 1817 to 2002 that were selected by the fonds creator (Sally Ross) for various reasons. Included with the photographs are English translations of French inscriptions. The collective is organized by community and by church, and is text-searchable.
  • This is Our Home: Acadians of Nova Scotia (Nova Scotia Archives)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is a collection of around thirty-six images showing the history and traditions of the Acadian people. Most of these are from the middle of the twentieth century.
  • The Leprosy of Tracadie (Musée Historique de Tracadie Inc./Virtual Museum of Canada)
    • Language: English
    • This is a community stories project on the Virtual Museum of Canada website, documenting the establishment of a lazaretto on Sheldrake Island in 1844, which was subsequently moved to Tracadie in 1849. The online exhibit contains 115 images with either explanatory text or audio (requires plugin), as well as series of selective narratives called “Stories” on a number of select topics. It is also text-searchable. Requires Flash.
  • Standardbearers of Acadian Identity (Centre d’études acadiennes/McCord Museum)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is a web-tour of images, with explanatory texts, on political activism by Acadians beginning in the late eighteenth century (after Deportation). There are twenty-nine images in total, including digitized primary sources and images of material objects, dating from 1768 to 2000.
  • A Changing World: Education in New Brunswick (Centre d’études acadiennes/McCord Museum)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is another web-tour like the first, only focusing on how Acadians fought for French-language education in New Brunswick. The material included covers the second half of the nineteenth century.
  • The Acadian Renaissance (Centre d’études acadienne/McCord Museum)
    • Language: English, Français
    • Again the same thing, but this one focuses on how Acadians worked to revitalize their culture and traditions, largely through the medium of commissions.
  • McCord Museum
    • Language: English, Français
    • If you’ve been reading Unwritten Histories for any length of time, you know I have a deep and abiding love for the McCord Museum. Their fantastic online collection contains numerous historical items, including texts, images, and material objects, relating to Acadian history, drawn from their own collections, as well as the Musée acadien of the Université de Moncton, the Centre des études acadienne, and the New Brunswick Museum, Guelph Museums, Musée minéralogique et minier de Thetford Mines, North Vancouver Museum and Archives, and Sir Alexander Galt Museum and Archives. They also maintain a list of material specifically dedicated to Acadian culture, available here.
  • Maps Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Language: English
    • The Library of Congress holds several maps in particular that are of interest to the study of the history of Acadia. Searching is a bit of a pain, because most of the relevant images are not labelled at Acadia, but instead refer to the specific geographical location represented (like coast, city, region, etc..) But this list of their online Canadian holdings, is a good starting point.
  • Gallica (National Archives of France)
    • Language: French, English, Italian
    • This suggestion comes from friend of the blog and Brock University historian Daniel Sampson. There are many documents pertaining to the history of Acadie and New France in the French national archives (some more difficult to find than others), but Danny informs us that Gallica is especially useful for maps, some of which have not necessarily been copied by North American archives.

Textual Documents

  • Acadian (Library and Archives Canada)
    • Language: English, Français
    • Included among their research guides for particular ethno-cultural groups by LAC is this one on the history of Acadians. Though Stephanie would like to point out that the accompanying image is simply that of a French solider at Louisbourg. The sources listed here primary sources from their collection, both online and offline, that are useful particularly for genealogists. Of particular note here are passenger’s list for individuals going to Acadia in 1717, 1732, 1747 and 1749-1758.
    • Note from Stephanie: The LAC only lists the Acadian parish records post-1700. If you want to find pre-1700 Acadian parish records, see this book.
  • Isaac Deschamps (Nova Scotia Archives)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is an online collection of records both created and collected by Isaac Deschamps, a trader, judge, and politician, (possibly of Swiss origin) who influenced the Acadian Deportation, particularly in the area around Ford Edward. There are forty-one digitized textual documents in this collection, and including correspondence regarding Acadians, and lists of Acadia prisoners.
  • Louis de Mezangeau (Nova Scotia)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is an online collection of material documenting the career, life, and family of Louis de Mezangeau, a French seaman who was involved in the resettlement of the Acadians following deportation. Out of this collection of twenty digitized textual documents, several deal with his military career.
  • Acadian Heartland: The Records of British Government at Annapolis Royal, 1713-1749 (Nova Scotia Archives)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is a digitized, transcribed, and fully text-searchable collection of the earliest surviving records from the British government in Nova Scotia. Included are the Governor’s Letter books from the period, a commission book from 1720-1741, the original minutes from His Majesty’s council from 1720 to 1739 and 1736 to 1749. Accompanying each is an index to allow for easier searching, and you have the option of searching the indexes together or individually.
  • Acadian Heartland: Records of the Deportation and Le Grand Dérangement, 1714-1768 (Nova Scotia Archives)
    • Language: English, Français
    • Accompanying the previous entry, this is a database of digitized and text-searchable primary sources relating to the Acadian deportation. Included in this collection are selections from the Public Documents of the Province of Nova Scotia, selections from the Andrew Brown collection, and selections from the journal of Colonel John Winslow from the summer and fall of 1755. Again, each of these sources can be search together or individually. There are also digitized images of some of the individuals listed in the documents and nineteenth century illustrations of the Deportation.
  • Canadiana Online
    • Language: English, Français
    • As I’ve mentioned in my Loyalist history guide, this is a database of documents relating to Canada that were printed prior to 1950. There is a ton of material to use, even by using the search term “Acadian,” going back to 1613. While there is a new interface, this database is still an absolute pain in the arse to use.
      • Note: Early Canadiana and Canadiana are currently in the process of merging.

Oral Histories

  • Returning the Voices to Kouchibouguac National Park (Ronald Rudin, Concordia University)
    • Language: English
    • This website accompanies Ronald Rudin’s book, Kouchibouguac: Removal, Resistance and Remembrance at a Canadian National Park.Twenty-six stories are collected here, organized into ten regions that eventually became part of the park, told by affected individuals in video format.
    • An overview of historical representations in and around the park, also by Rudin, is available here.
  • Graver La Parole (Centre acadien, Université Sainte-Anne)
    • Language: There are both English and French sites, but their content is different (depending on the language of the speakers available.)
    • This is an ancient website that contains extracts from digitized recordings of interviews with Acadians in Nova Scotia, originally recorded in the 1970s. The recordings deal with the occupations, customs, social life, and folklore of the Acadians from Argyle, Cheticamp, Clare, and Isle Madame. The recordings are in .ram format, and must be downloaded to your computer, but they do actually work.

Databases of Names

  • An Acadian Parish Reborn: Post–Deportation Argyle – First 50 Years of Catholic Parish Records 1799-1849 (Nova Scotia Archives/Argyle Township Court House and Archives)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is a searchable database with the names of all Roman Catholic individuals who were baptized, married, or buried between 1799 and 1849 in the township of Argyle in Yarmouth County. There are over 4500 entries, each accompanied by descriptive information, a digitized image of the page upon which the original registry entry is located, and a full transcription. All of the registry entries are in French, and while the relevant information is listed on the page, the full transcription has not been translated. Also on the website is an index that allows researchers to search by family name, a separate transcription of the baptisms and marriages recorded by Abbé Charles-François Bailly de Messein during his missionary visit to Argyle in August 1769, and various explanatory texts, including one on the challenges of transcribing this material.
  • An Acadian Parish Remembered: The Registers of St. Jean-Baptiste, Annapolis Royal, 1702-1755 (Nova Scotia Archives)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This database is based on one of only two surviving pre-Deportation parish registers from Annapolis Royal, covering baptisms, marriages, and deaths from the parish of St. Jean-Baptiste from 1702 to 1755. There are over 3550 registry entries included, and each entry is accompanied by description of the entry and a digitized image of the page upon which the original entry is located. The database is fully text searchable, and also allows individuals to search by last name.

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Lesson Plans/Teacher’s Guides

Please note that this is not a complete least of all of the lesson plans or teacher’s guides available, just the ones that I think can be easily adapted for use in higher education.

  • Leprosy on Sheldrake Island (Lost Stories)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is a lesson plan dedicated to the thirty individuals (mostly Acadian) with leprosy who were sent to Sheldrake Island in 1844. There is an accompanying video explaining the history of the Island as well as the commemorative art installation that was constructed as part of the Lost Stories project. There are three lessons in all, designed for students in grade seven through ten, though the instructions note that younger and older students may also use this material, depending on additional support. The first lesson is about the different between history and the past, the second is about historical narratives and evidence, and the third is about the use of markers for the purpose of commemoration. Supporting documentation includes more PDFs about the history of leprosy in New Brunswick, how to use primary sources, and rubrics.
  • Jerome: The Mystery Man of Baie Sainte-Marie (Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is unit is dedicated to a man named Jerome, who was found on a beach by the Acadian community of St. Mary’s Bay in September 1863, unable to speak and having had both his legs amputated. He was taken in, and cared for him for the remainder of his life. This particular mystery is designed to help students critically consider primary source with opposing evidence, how to separate fact from fiction, and how individuals with disabilities were treated in Canada in the nineteenth century. It designed around seven lessons, each taking between one and four classes. Students and teachers are provided with relevant primary sources, and there is also a teacher’s guide and historical interpretations guide walking you through the entire process. The lessons are designed for students in grades ten to twelve, with information on how the unit fits into various provincial curriculums. I’ve used other mysteries in past first year courses, and they’ve always adapted well.
    • There are also three mysteryquests, which are condensed lessons designed to be completed individually or in a group, though additional information about adapting them for use by the entire class is also provided. The third of these, designed for students aged 16 to 18, asks students to determine whether or not Jerome was mistreated by the standards of the day. I have used this final mysteryquest successfully in several first year survey classes as well.
  • Documentary Lesson Plan for The Dikes( National Film Board of Canada)
    • Developed by teacher Andrea Burke, this lesson accompanies the NFB film The Dikes (linked below) and asks students to demonstrate historical thinking, decision making, problem solving, research, and communication. It is designed for students in Cycle 2 of secondary school. Students watch the film, and discuss the history of Acadian dykes, use maps and research to understand the Acadian deportation, build their own dykes and levees, and use role play to understand dike maintenance.
  • The History of Acadians in Canada (ESRI Canada)
    • This activity has been designed for students in grades two to twelve. When you click on exercise, you will be asked to download a folder containing the lesson overview, the activity itself, and relevant ArcGIS data. The activity is broken into two sections. The first asks students to create ArcGIS to create maps documenting various periods in Acadian history. The second asks students to use the material they just created to make a Story Map of Acadian history, demonstrating its historical significance.

 

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Media

Films

  • Roger Blais, dr., Les aboiteaux, (Montreal: National Film Board of Canada, 1955)/Roger Blais, dr.,The Dikes, (Montreal: National Film Board of Canada, 1955).
  • Michel Brault and Pierre Perrault, drs. Acadia Acadia?!? (Montreal: National Film Board of Canada, 1971)

Podcasts

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Blogs

If you’re looking for blog post to use as course readings, here are some great suggestions:

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Social Media

Twitter

Facebook

 

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