Nicholls to host Last Acadian Coast Symposium

Fill your revitalization toolbox at the 2022 Louisiana Brownfield Conference
October 3, 2022
Terrebonne Bicentennial Celebration hosts History of Architecture in Terrebonne Parish presentation
October 3, 2022
Fill your revitalization toolbox at the 2022 Louisiana Brownfield Conference
October 3, 2022
Terrebonne Bicentennial Celebration hosts History of Architecture in Terrebonne Parish presentation
October 3, 2022

Grand Réveil Acadien presents the Last Acadian Coast Symposium celebrating the unique history and enduring culture of the people of Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes. GRA 2022 is a multi-parish experience celebrating the lasting cultural impact of the Acadian people. The local symposium will take place on October 5, 2022, from 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. at the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux.

The migration of Acadian exiles to Louisiana largely concluded in 1785 with the landing of seven passenger ships in New Orleans carrying nearly 1600 persons. Following earlier establishments of the First and Second Acadian Coast settlements along the Mississippi River, most of the 1785 Acadian immigrants were settled along Bayous Lafourche and Terrebonne. Their arrival marked not only the largest single migration and settlement of Acadians in the world but also the final mass re-settlement of Acadians in history. Over time, these Acadians migrated south along the bayous toward the Gulf Coast, founding not only the bayouside cities, towns, and villages we know today but also forging their own history and developing a unique wetlands Cajun culture.


The following is a schedule of events:

  • Introduction and Welcome: 9:00-9:10 a.m.
  • Glen Pitre: Historic Lifeways in the Lafourche-Terrebonne: 9:10-10:00 a.m.
  • John P. Doucet: The Last Acadian Coast: Settlement and Succession of the Wetlands Acadians: 10:00-10:50 a.m.
  • Intermission: 10:50-11:00 a.m
  • Windell Curole: Shaped by Tide and Thunder and Terror: Historical Storms and the Shaping of Coastal Settlement in the Lafourche-Terrebonne: 11:00-11:50 a.m.
  • Lunch- 11:50 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
  • Nathalie Dajko: French on Shifting Ground: Development of Unique Language in the Lafourche-Terrebonne: 12:50-1:40 p.m.
  • Donald (Don) Davis: Historical Wetlands Seafood Culture and Industry: 1:40-2:30 p.m.
  •  Intermission: 2:30-2:40 p.m.
  • Patty Whitney: A Cultural Gumbo: Terrebonne Parish’s 200th Anniversary: 2:40-3:30 p.m.
  • Shana Walton and Helen Regis: Living off the Land in Lafourche: Hunting, Fishing, Planting and Community: 3:30-4:20 p.m.
  • Closing: 4:20 -4:30 p.m.

Registration to this event is free and can be completed online. The Wetlands Acadian Culture Center is located at 314 Saint Mary Street in Thibodaux.