Nicholls to host “Last Acadian Coast” Event

Nicholls State University will host a symposium on the unique history and culture of Acadian descendants in Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes.

“The Last Acadian Coast: A Symposium on Acadian History and Culture in the Lafourche-Terrebonne” will be held on Wednesday, October 5th, at the Jean Lafitte Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux.  The event is free to the public, but registration is recommended.  You may register at www.nicholls.edu/GrandReveilAcadien-LafourcheTerrebonne.

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 east bank of the Mississippi River, most of the 1785 Acadian immigrants were settled here along the upper reaches of 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 Last Acadian Coast” celebrates that history and enduring culture of the people of Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes with a public event delivered by notable speakers on the wetlands Acadians.  Speakers and their topics include:

• Glen Pitre–Historic Lifeways in the Lafourche-Terrebonne
• John Doucet–The Last Acadian Coast: Settlement and Succession of the Wetlands Acadians
• Windell Curole–Shaped by Tide and Thunder and Terror: Historical Storms and the Shaping of Coastal Settlement in the Lafourche-Terrebonne
• Nathalie Dajko–French on Shifting Ground:  Development of Unique Language in the Lafourche-Terrebonne
• Donald (Don) Davis–Historical Wetlands Seafood Culture and Industry
• Patty Whitney–A Cultural Gumbo: Terrebonne Parish’s 200th Anniversary
• Shana Walton & Helen Regis–Living off the Land in Lafourche:  Hunting, Fishing, Planting and Community

“The Last Acadian Coast” is hosted by Nicholls State University, the Nicholls Coastal Center, the Center for Bayou Studies at Nicholls, the Lafourche Heritage Society, and the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center.  The event is part of the Grand Réveil Acadien 2022, a multi-parish experience celebrating the lasting cultural impact of the Acadian people, held this year on October 1-8 across southern Louisiana.  For further information on events in Lafourche parish, visit www.nicholls.edu/GrandReveilAcadien-LafourcheTerrebonne or call Jenny Schexnayder at (985) 448-4442.