Who are the Cajuns?

[@OrwellwasaProphet]

I am 62 years old, born in Sacramento, California. My father was born in Rayne, Louisiana. My siblings and I are the quintessential example of this video. Not only did my father not teach his children the language, he did everything in his ability to hide his Cajun Culture from us. Other than a few summer trips back to see Aunts, Cousins, and Grandparents, we were never exposed to our culture. I was 55 when I discovered that my 7th Great-Grandfather was Joseph Broussard (Beusoliel). I'm so hurt and angry that this incredible heritage has been taken from me; And even more so that I have virtually nothing to pass down to my children and grandchildren of that rich and historically important heritage.

[@uncleruckusnorelation6705]

i feel your pain. joseph broussard was my 5th greatgrandfather. i feel the same way.

[@hnb1113]

I loved this conversation. For years I was adamantly told that my family was Cajun and that my great-grandmother Estelle spoke Cajun French. When I started to dig into my family's history I realized that we were also Creole French, Spanish, African, and Native American. It's been amazing to see the beautiful diversity of South Louisiana reflected in my family.

[@PuffDaMagicMonkey]

I am a Creole from Southwest Louisiana. My ancestry is black, white, and Native American. I remember my grandmother speaking Cajun French.

[@khalilshahyd9063]

Your grandma probably spoke Louisiana Creole... an actual language. Not cajun, which is just a pidgin of classical French and not a language. Creole culture is derived from West Africa with Indogenous influences.

[@JaysonBernardo-ch9fv]

Me too from new Jersey 75% white 23% black 2% native older family members had some Asian and middle eastern but it was to dilute to show up in my DNA test I'm proud to tell people I have ancestors from every continent

[@mj9949]

I’d definitely say Bi-racial

[@mkdubose]

It doesn't actually work like that. Those percentages are actually more like likelihoods.

[@PeachyKeen3.0]

What I’ve found quite interesting is that some of us Creoles are also Cajuns. It was never discussed growing up. I found out when we did our ancestry. I was surprised but then again it makes sense as we have a high percentage of French blood. I imagine Creoles and Cajuns intermingled quite a bit back in the day.

[@nytn]

Lots of intermingling 🥰

[@bluetinsel7099]

Many Creoles were fathered by Cajun men as the Cajun were Roman Catholic French Canadians descendants also known as Acadians that were in New Scotland(Nova Scotia). When you look at genealogy like Beyoncé or Don Lemon who are from Louisiana Creoles they have Cajun men in their lineage. Créole used to mean fathered by a French or Spanish man, and now many just take it to mean mixed. They include Mestizo as Creole because many mestizo were fathered by Spanish men some possibly French or even Basque area which was French and Spanish in Europe being from southern France and northern Spain and they mostly would have been Roman Catholic as opposed to Protestant. The British who were predominantly Protestant drove out the Cajuns of the areas they were in to where they ended up in the Louisiana Bayou.

[@Richard-gp5tg]

DEPORTED to Louisiana by the Brits. Read "Evangeline".

[@presterjohn1697]

Yes they did intermingle and there's ample cultural overlap.

[@sissybushnell7959]

Same here

[@brett6239]

Thank you for this. I'm part Cajun and this has been a source of confusion for a long time. I look white but my father looks closer to Hispanic. And I was surprised how many of my Cajun cousins also looked more Hispanic or mixed when I visited Louisiana in the 80s. I also noticed while the younger people were often very racist, the old timers were not at all. I suspect the distinction between Cajun and Creole was made during Jim Crow as a way of distinguishing between white and black.

[@krazyjnva2up2down55]

What does a Hispanic look like? Hispanic has nothing to do with race or phenotype . The only problem I see here is that last comment you made about "Jim Crow". Let me get to the root of the problem. Those ANGLOS (ANGLO-SAXONS both WHITE and BLACK /BLACK AMERICANS) severely damaged your culture! A CREOLE as anybody that descends from Latin people anywhere in the America's or New world. The updated term is literally Latino and its the French that coined the term "Latin America " under Napoleon and Michel Chevalier

[@edgardovilla199]

Don’t forget Spaniards were also in Louisiana at some point, so that probably explains why certain family members may look Hispanic.

[@edgardovilla199]

Look up the “Isleños” of Louisiana. There’s some well known ones throughout Louisiana’s history like Leander Perez and Paul Sanchez.

[@krazyjnva2up2down55]

@@edgardovilla199 Hispanic is not a race or phenotype lol

[@edgardovilla199]

@@krazyjnva2up2down55didn’t ask you

[@Nefertiti1206]

I just finished Shane K. Bernard's book "Teche: A History of Louisiana's Most Famous Bayou" and your interview with him was a nice surprise! In the book, he talks about Andre Masse, the Frenchman who owned my ancestors in the Attakapas St. Martinville, Louisiana area, and freed them in the late 1700s, around the same time as the arrival of the Acadians there, led by Joseph Broussard. Actually, I think there was some type of land dispute between Andre Masse and some the Acadians. Masse and his slaves from Senegal were some of the first to settle the area, after the Atakapas and other native groups.I learned a lot about the history of the Bayou Teche and the land of my Creole ancestors in this book. I highly recommend it.

[@nytn]

Thats awesome! I cant wait to get mine in the mail. I have some ancestry from Attakapas, but have not done a lot of research there yet.

[@TexasKayjun]

He’s right. Southern Louisiana is an amalgamation of a whole bunch of cultures. I’m mixed with almost everything.

[@nytn]

User name checks out 😅

[@OhDatsJaVion]

Y’all are just as mix as your average black American!! The only difference is y’all put a name to it 🥴, ain’t nothing unique when you really break it down

[@cajunred8272]

😂​@@nytn

[@dystar112]

I am Australian and I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. I am fascinated by the whole Southern region. Tge people, tge cultures, the place names - everything ! ❤

[@nytn]

Thank you!! I would love to learn more about Australia on here

[@yeryoutubestuff2955]

H

[@yeryoutubestuff2955]

​@@nytnYou would probably be especially interested in the original Tasmanians. I would LOVE to see you do a segment on them

[@rebeccasunflower]

Same, I’m also Australian. This is fascinating. My first degree was in Intercultural Studies, so it’s something that has interested me for many years. I equally loved all of the Melungeon and Redbone history you covered. Even as an outsider, it is history that has always intrigued me.

[@stephenjames2690]

I like that he calls it Americanization.

[@nytn]

me too!

[@Me2Lancer]

From 1980 to 1986 I worked for a company that had a large number of employees from south Louisiana who self-identified as Cajuns. Many were from Cameron, Lake Charles, Lafayette and Houma. I made a business trip to Cameron once and the locals served us Cajun food.

[@Myopinionmattersthemost]

The writer Ernest Gaines, educated me alot about Cajun, Creole and Louisiana living. His most famous book was the Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.

[@Stradioti]

Another good read is "The Cajuns: A People's Story of Exile and Triumph" by Dean W. Jobb.

[@dawnyoung8]

Oh thank goodness for this man ! I’m so happy for you .

[@lancer2029]

People forget Spanish Creoles. A lot of Spanish came between 1763 and 1803.

[@khalilshahyd9063]

What defines Creoles is not the European link, i.e. French or Spanish. It is the West African ancestry and cultural heritage that defines us. Not association with European culture

[@KAH-7]

Actually, that's not surgically acute. Creole was the term derived by the Imperial Colonial West Europeans, mainly France but Spain: Criollos simply to denote a person b. in the New World, in the beginning for European people.

[@khalilshahyd9063]

​@KAH-7 no you're wrong... the English term, "creole" is derived from the Portuguese term "criolo" which was STRICKLY used to define enslaved Africans born in the western hemisphere. In fact, in Brasil the term is still TODAY used exclusively to refer to Blacks. The term creole was similarly applied here. White French and Spanish heritage people didn't start using that term in Louisiana until after the influx of Anglos into the territory. The used it to differentiate themselves from the Anglos.

[@Epopteya]

Criollo simply means "born in the place". So, yeah, I guess it can be used to name either a black slave born in American continent or a high status person of European descendant. In Spanish- speaking countries it has been always the latter.

[@Epopteya]

​@@khalilshahyd9063what if the link is the language they spoke? if that black or mulato people spoke Spanish or French.. there you go.

[@wendyraby3134]

The difference between the Cajun and the creole people are the creole people have African admixture in them. That was the biggest thing separating everybody because of the Jim Crow laws and all the other things that black people had to go through the cajuns wanted to separate themselves. Both groups are descended from the French peoples who move to the Americas. It's really crazy how the one drop rule really affected a lot of people's ethnicities. People will do everything to deny the African part because that was the part that would get them hurt killed or discriminated against. It's not just these 2 groups who have gone through this. Any group where there is African in the mix People would want to claim the other group or distance of the South from the African ness. It's what kept people from being killed and what allowed them to persevere. I find it very interesting that the anti blackness was not brought up at all why you are talking about this because that is the biggest factor here. Most of the black creoles have a cajun ancestor or many cajun ancestors as well but because of whatever little bit of that africaneness they have in them that cajun part will be canceled so they can be labeled black.

[@AlexThunderwolve]

Good morning from NY Keep up the good that you put into these videos👍🏼

[@nytn]

Thank you! Just a New Yorker trying to navigate southern heritage… 😅

[@markbackus1449]

Very good interview.

[@presterjohn1697]

Some Cajuns even went to Saint-Domingue (Haiti) and other french caribbean islands.

[@krazyjnva2up2down55]

Huguenots were there also as well as Louisiana. People really need to tighten up on their history

[@presterjohn1697]

@@krazyjnva2up2down55 interesting...

[@corderomiles3769]

@@krazyjnva2up2down55 bi names . Another bi name. Jacobites.. now.. who were the jacobites. Could the (jacobites) ppl/loyalists possibly be from america that help fight a war in europe, scottland specifically?

[@hermitfrodo7730]

As a teen, I knew about Cajun because of Doug Kershaw, and the old movie "The Fighting Kentuckian"/ Learned about Zydeco in the 80s.

[@DiegoBamMorrison]

There are different types of creoles all around the world all throughout the Caribbean islands, especially in North, South and Central America, but just because they are all called creoles they still don’t have nothing to do with Louisiana, but Cajuns are Cajuns and Creoles are creoles, sure there may have been some intermixing but on a general scale that doesn’t change who these people are as a collective, that’s exactly why they call them specifically Louisiana Creoles and Creoles of Color and Cajuns, and also Haitians, to differentiate and identify each groups specific history, culture, traditions and heritage, calling Cajuns creoles may not affect the Cajun history and heritage, but it will affect the creoles and creoles of color because they don’t have the same history and they’re different people, Cajuns are descendants of Acadians who had their own country in Canada called Acadia, they mixed with other Europeans and native tribes so another people in Canada you may want to research are the Métis and the Mi'kmaq they are very similar to the Cajuns except that they identify more with the tribal side of the First Nations, also due to mixing sure there are Black Cajuns who identify more with their Cajun ancestors than their Creole ancestors, depending on where they are from and how they we’re raised.. so again there are plenty of creoles like Spanish Creole’s, Alaskan creoles, Russian creoles, Asia creoles, African creoles, Jamaican Creoles, Trinidadian creoles, Haitian Creoles, Sierra Leone Creoles, but they are not the same as Louisiana Creoles they have their own creole history and cultures for wherever they are from, I hope that helps you clear up some of the confusion. Because Cajuns are a type of Creole but they are not the same as Louisiana Creoles they may have mixed with some creoles whether the white or black, those specific families can claim whichever culture how they was raised but you can’t generalize everybody because everybody didn’t mix with the different people or cultures also they didn’t even live near each other, they lived in their own separate segregated communities, Cities and towns and even States.

[@krazyjnva2up2down55]

Lol. Stop starting in history were you want to start and start from the beginning. The entire area was New France before Louisiana Territory. Present day Nova Scotia - Louisiana-Alabama -Mississippi were all the same

[@DiegoBamMorrison]

@@krazyjnva2up2down55​​⁠ No they wasn’t stop lying, each group mixed with different people and tribes in in all of those different locations, even the different groups of people from France was different from each other based upon the different regions in France, with their different ethnicities, but you may not know anything about France, and then when they came to Canada and allied with different groups of Natives a lot of them didn’t come straight from France a lot of them came from the Caribbean islands, in Africa and Asia, they mixed with those people then created their own form of creole and that helped establish a totally new culture then passed laws based upon Whiteness, but many of their mixed race children were still able to prosper because they were military officers, government officials and religious leaders of missionaries but not all of their children were so fortunate even the white ones who were born in Europe because certain parts of France was looked down upon because they were lower caste and lower class and or of rival oppositions, then when the French Revolution occurred more ethnicities in France became equal but not all of them until after Napoleon and France changed its government to a republic all of those events played a major factor and then you also can’t forget about the Haitian Revolution and the French and Indian wars, and you can’t forget about the immigrants with the French East India Company, who had people from India and other parts of Asia and the Spanish did the same thing along with the Portuguese and the Dutch, perfect example when the Dutch lost their colony in South America to Brazil where did those Dutch & French immigrants immigrants immigrate to? Some of them went to the other colonies in South America and the Caribbean islands while many of them went to Louisiana the New Netherlands new Amsterdam which is New York some even went to the Carolina’s after the British conquered and annexed those colonies as well forcing them to assimilate or migrate to Canada history is way complicated and complexed than what you are led to believe, because along with everything that I mentioned you also have to factor in the Laws that these groups of people were casted in and had to live under, and the Cajuns from Acadia were one of the last groups that was formed to vacate their territory and migrate to different territories the British were famous for that because they did that to everybody the Métis, the maroons of Jamaica, the Free People of Color, the Maroons and Native groups in America all were pushed off of their land and had Laws passed against them and lost everything they owned because they had to leave the State within a month or less or be subjected to be sold into slavery so a lot of People from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama & Arkansas have ancestors who migrated there for work & a better opportunity or they were sold there regardless of their race & ethnicity from New York, Virginia, Maryland, North & South Carolina and they don’t even know because they assimilated and mixed into the population, so when people do their genealogy & find out they have ancestors from the Northeastern coast of America & don’t understand how that’s possible here’s your answer some people also arrived their on prison ships as prisoners of war, a lot of those prisoners were also shipped to Devils Island in South America, and you also can’t forget a lot of people in Louisiana are descendants of pirates and last but not least we can’t forget about the many descendants of the conquistadors, and all of the many different tribes already there, so again for the record emphatically and absolutely no no no they all were not the same people.

[@krazyjnva2up2down55]

@DiegoBamMorrison All of the nonsense you wrote doesn't matter. You can say the same about the US yet your still a US National right ? 😆.. When are you going to talk about the Eglise Reformee aka Huguenot in Louisiana.. because that's the French I descend from .

[@DiegoBamMorrison]

@@krazyjnva2up2down55 What are you trying to insinuate that British west Florida was a Huguenots country?, even though there were many different groups of people from all across Europe especially Greeks & Turks from the Ottoman Empire, and are you trying to mix them in with the regular French people that were Creoles and Creoles of Color?, who had and still have their own distinct history & culture from the Cajuns, and yes the Huguenots did thrive under the British and founded their own towns and settlements in various parts of the British Colonies because they were Protestants while the Creoles & Cajuns are Catholics, so feel free to elaborate more on your family history, so if they were Huguenots did they become Catholics in British West Florida? And if so what was their relationship with the Creoles and Cajuns or were they Cajuns that became Protestants? And no you can’t compare the creation of the U.S.A. With the history of Louisiana those are two totally different things that took place in history part of Louisiana was conquered and the rest was brought & paid for, the U.S. were rebellious British colony’s that revolted and were victorious enough in their rebellion to declare themselves an independent Nation and then went on to conquer and acquire the French the Spanish and the Natives territories, while assimilating all of the people at the same time. So yes everything that I said in my post does matter because it’s real history not no fake made up fantasy that’s some secret spooky mystery that nobody knows & nobody ever heard about.🤣😂🤣

[@HuesoAmarilloAfricana]

😊😊😊

[@leonardgaudet8947]

Hello. Again I am so proud of my Cajun/Acadian/Creole cousins in Louisiana. There are so many similarities to me growing up here in Canada. My part of the Acadian family comes from Havre-Aubert, Îles-de-la-Madeleine, now part of Québec. I descend from Paul Gaudet, the younger brother of Louis Gaudet who went to Louisiana in 1785. Before the second world war, my family left the Magdalen Islands to Nova Scotia for work. I grew up here going to school strictly in English. Then go home I only heard French. I always knew I was French, and treated as less than the predominate English and Scottish students. I never knew I was Acadian until I was in Jr. High, when in history class, there was a small paragraph in the history book about the Acadians.

[@cajuncultureking]

I’m Cajun/Creole and I have token many dna test. One of the ones we’re: 22.8% Acadian (French) 21.4% Spanish 17.8% Native American 12.1% West African 5.2% Irish 6% Scottish 4.3% Italian 7% Greek/Aegean Island 1% English 3% Romansh Swiss 2% Welch 8% Egyptian 4% Iranian 3% Iraqi 3% Chinese 2% Korean 2% Filipino. 2% Indian 🇮🇳 3% Mongolian 2% Russian 3% Polish 4% Hungarian 3% German 8% Jewish

[@mariacorrales6386]

Creole simply means a hybrid language and predominently based on some other European language. And interestingly it was the French who originally coined this phrase used towards people who were mixed, a French person descendent from Spanish or Portuguese. Then, the term spread wide wherever colonies existed as well; anyone French descendent from an African. Regarding the term Cajun, its always rooted to a region specically, Louisiana and again a hybrid language as well and very closely related to same used in Missouri, New England and Canada but, specigically a dialect used in northwestern France.

[@KingJasmine-sp5xv]

I thought we refer to ourselves as Cajun Creole because we knew we were mixed

[@adamcohen2632]

So much of the confusion stems from the dual definitions of the term Creole that are both equally valid. In New Orleans in particular, the world Creole can be used to define a white person that descended from a European ancestory (typically French or Spanish) that lived in Louisiana during its colonial period prior to the Louisiana Purchase. The second definition which is more generally understood outside New Orleans is that the term Creole refers to someone of mixed race, more typically someone who descended from a Free Person of Color. Cajuns are residents of South Louisiana that are descended from French Canadians after being expelled from the eastern provinces of Canada when they refused to pledge allegiance to the English crown. There are people of French ancestry in Louisiana that are not Cajuns and there are also even some people in Cajun families that have ancestry that is not strictly French and is sometimes German or Irish. This may be hard to easily understand for those outside Louisiana, but its second nature for us and nothing about it seems unusual to us.

[@JonDoeNeace]

The only White Creole are white people who are descendants of Creole.(African origin)

[@nichmon3221]

I was born and raised in north Louisiana. My stepmom was from the southern part of the state. She spoke fluent French. She only died about five years ago.

[@JuanWoolfolk-kz6qb]

I'm an African American Man from N.O.LA who has Cajun ancestors (From Nova Scotia to SW Louisiana) and Creole ancestors. However, culturally I'm not Creole nor Cajun. I'm 5 generations removed from relatives speaking Cajun French or Creole French (Kreyol) ... being Creole or Cajun has more to due with cultural practices and relativeness to time rather than a DNA mixture.

[@KAH-7]

I don't but someone feels compelled to delete my comments❓

[@mikemclendon4962]

Oldest friend was a white Cajun . He was a most unusual person. A life long friend , We met and lived in Panama City Fl. in 1967 at school. A Cajuns make great and loyal long term friends.

[@9thGenerationCajun]

You should watch a documentary about Cajuns and Creoles called "First Cousins" The reason King Philip of Spain gave Cajuns land grants was because of our DNA, Most of the original Acadians that were exiled from Nova Scotia were half or mixed with Mik'kmaq Indian. They were used as a buffer between hostile Indian tribes and New Orleans. Something else you might not be aware of is George Washington also had a large group of Acadians in his army during the Revolution one of my great uncles is listed.

[@nytn]

oh this sounds good!

[@LeslieLannanshoshana365]

I learn so much here. 😊 I researchered the term "Creole" and I also learned that it can refer to people of European descent born in a European colony (like Alexander Hamilton).

[@presterjohn1697]

Damn. This was an amazing show.

[@nytn]

he knew more than I could keep up with!

[@presterjohn1697]

@@nytn Same here and I consider myself somewhat versed on the topic.

[@nytn]

@@presterjohn1697 I hope he reads this! :)

[@presterjohn1697]

@@nytn fingers crossed

[@coreylevine8095]

My grandfather were born in Opelousas,Louisiana he and his brother move to Port Arthur,Texas in the 1940's

[@tramos8264]

Really great episode as usual.

[@gordiasgordian925]

Good interview. I have been enjoying your channel. I lived 2 doors down from Shane for a couple of years when I was a child.

[@dawnyoung8]

I have Cajun on my dads moms side . I didn’t grow up in Louisiana at all , don’t speak French . My French Acadian grandfather was sent to Paris for education came back and built ft Chartres her in Illinois .

[@bluetinsel7099]

The Cajun were Roman Catholic descendants in Acadia as opposed to being Protestant.

[@chloemartel9927]

​@bluetinsel7099 erm....they were Hugenots that were persecuted in France for their beliefs. They were exiled to Nova Scotia where a number of them decided to become RC in a mistaken belief that life would be easier for them. Then they got kicked out of Nova Scotia also. You will find that a great many Cajuns are Protestant as well as RC. Technically I am Creole because my ancestors were in Louisiana before the time period that is considered a cutoff to be able to claim you are creole. I am also cajun because my family came to Louisiana from Nova Scotia in the exile. Has nothing to do with color at all. Although there is a trend in Louisiana in the last century to think creole means people of mixed color.

[@bluetinsel7099]

@@chloemartel9927 You should write encyclopedia Britainica and let them know what you are saying, because they even go over the Cajun being Roman Catholic and it lends great understanding as many people with French and Spanish dads grew up Catholic land you still see it to this day. So some may have been Huguenots, but not all were. Also Huguenots were known to have Hebrew links and that would show up in dna as there were different sects of people. But Cajun were more specifically said to be descendants of Roman Catholics. Also universities classified creole as a type of mix, but people often use creol to mean just mixed. So when you study this in certain universities you have to know the different types of mixes and who they descend from.

[@chloemartel9927]

@bluetinsel7099 dude,my family went to Novia Scotia as exiled Hugenots and then became RC to hopefully escape religious persecution there. It didn't save them.

[@bluetinsel7099]

@@chloemartel9927 If your family went to escape persecution then your haplogroups should match Hebrew groups and not Hamitic lines as many others do. The converts to Catholicism were typically the Hebrew during those times and the inquisition shows that. If you have your haplogroups that can give you more understanding as there were also sojourns with the Hebrews who were not of Hebrew bloodlines, so your haplogroups can help you understand your lines better.

[@nytn]

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[@bluetinsel7099]

The mixes were more specifically to mean Fathered by a French or Spanish man for creole and Cajun would have been the French side and mestizo would have been more so the Spanish side. They use creole to mean mixed and when they include mestizo under creole that could explain the Alaskans if they were Inuit. Mestizos came from Asian moms and European dads and typically those dads were Spanish. The Creoles like Beyoncé or Don Lemon as their genealogy shows were fathered by Cajun French men and Indigenous Black Americans as opposed to Hamitic African women, and the haplogroups are different for Africans and indigenous black Americans as the Africans are L3 which is a Hamitic lineage of what the natives also go back to. So the dna shows a difference as L3 is the mother haplogroup of modern native groups like X, A, C, B, D etc. either way créole meant fathered by a French or Spanish man and that is why mestizo mixes are now included under creole. Native American in old definitions was descendants of Europeans born in the Americas which was a change from the original meaning when you go more in that. In the Americas there is also L1 and L2 in addition to L3 for haplogroups. So knowing the mixology of people shows what the definitions are saying. Creaoles when just meaning mixed is to come from French or Spanish men, creole as a mixology like Beyoncé lineage would be French or Spanish men with Black Indigenous American Women (they were not L3). Mestizo would children of Asian moms (from L3) with French or Spanish men possibly some Cajun men who were also Roman Catholic, but many Spanish men as many mestizo are still Roman Catholic. The Cajun were Roman Catholic descendants like those of France and Spain and Basque which was southern France and northern Spain. They are not the descendants of Protestants as other groups such as Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist , etc. would be. You have to remember that it was predominantly men sent over from the “Old World” prior to women coming. So that is why knowing that the mix is typically Fathered by a French or Spanish Man. In places like Brazil they were predominantly fathered by Portuguese and they may use the term creole to mean mixed. Maternally for the Brazilians they have more L3 and L1 although they do have some L2 just not as much as L3 and L1. Also in Brazil later there were other Europeans especially to include German, but that was later than the prior Portuguese.

[@KAH-7]

Dude what kind of puedo science are you attempting to pull on Everyone here? I read so many holes in your take it's embarrassing.

[@bluetinsel7099]

If you don’t get it, that’s fine, it’s easy to go over some peoples heads especially when they don’t know the difference in the mixes that had to be learned in universities. It’s easy to call something pseudo science when you don’t understand the real science behind it. The term creole meant fathered by a French or Spanish man and creole as a mixology group was fathered by french or Spanish men with Black (non-Africa and non-Asian) American indigenous women. Mestizo was Asian moms with typically Spanish men and when you get into Cajun they typically were fathered by French men and had moms that were Eurasian or Asian with haplogroups like X in addition to others that go back to L3’s. The Cajun from the Acadian were like French Mestizos when you look at the dna. The difference was that one was fathered more specifically by French and the other more specifically by Spanish and those men produced creole children as a mix with Black (non-African and non-Asian, non-European) women known at that time as a indigenous American women. So the mother groups are different. Later you get to creole being mixed and including various mixes, but it was first fathered by French or Spanish men and the mixes included under creole in the genealogy show they came from French or Spanish men. So it’s understandable when you don’t know the different mixes that you would think it’s pseudo science even though real science backs up what was posted especially with haplogroups and genealogy.

[@KAH-7]

I just don't want to flood this video going back and forth with you over this. Now if this were my own video, I'd indulge?

[@bluetinsel7099]

Again haplogroups give more on who people descend from and there isn’t much to indulge in with them as they are more specific on lineages. So if a person is maternally from L3 or it’s descendants then that is their mitochondrial DNA which shows the women people descend from. There is nothing to indulge on, it is what it is.

[@Ice-c-o8q]

Another great video. 👍🏾 Fascinating content. 😁✌🏾

[@1ajene]

My daddy was born in 1950 in vermilion parish and back then calling someone Cajun was fighting words. Some of these "cajun" historians are just now supporting the fact that we're all Louisiana Creole. How much Acadian ancestry does someone need to consider themselves "Cajun"? Thank you for having these talks.

[@TexasKayjun]

I’m Cajun on my dad’s side and creole/cajun on my mom’s.

[@nytn]

I’m still trying to untangle it all

[@bluetinsel7099]

@@nytn Cajun were the descendants of Roman Catholics and in universities that are Princeton and Cambridge aligned they state in their text books that creole is a type of mix as well as often used to generally mean mixed. So when looking at the type of mix they use creole to mean Fathered by a French or Spanish man when you go farther into the mixes mestizo were those of Asian moms and creole were typically those of non-Asian American Indigenous moms (Black non-African moms). Emblem of America in British museums show the women that were non-Asian and non-African and the haplogroups also differ. Either way Cajun were the French descendants of Roman Catholics. Both French and Spanish had Catholics, busy the Hebrew lines were converts to Catholicism and some in France would be the Huguenots. So Roman Catholics and Hebrews were different groups and some Hebrews were converted to Catholicism especially during the inquisition. A Hebrew couldn’t be a slave unless they were first converted to Catholicism and they were sent to West Africa from Europe as the inquisition was the beginning of slavery. They had to convert them because they were taking children and giving them godparents to make them slaves. They were sent to West Africa where they were relabeled as Africans, their haplogroups are different from Africans though as they are not L3’s lineage. So it’s confusing but if you know the different mixes then it’s easier. Also the Spanish and Portuguese inquisition can help with understanding as that gets more into the Huguenots, Roman Catholics and Hebrews etc.

[@Windwhisper79]

I find this interesting. My grandmother’s side of the family came from Canada - Acadia. They moved to Connecticut and the North East. My great uncle, her brother, would say that made that side of the family Cajun. They were also part Abenaki, which is a tribe that extends from Canada to the North East of the US. My grandmother had an olive complexion and I always thought that was the reason for it. They were discriminated against in this country for being French Canadian and grandma was hit in school for speaking French.

[@jocejosh1]

this is very interesting! There was an entire research program on Creoles carried out a few decades ago by UNESCO. Have you had a chance to check out any of that information through the UNESCO Library and Archives? Sorry that was before KZbin...

[@PuchoWebSolutions]

Hello from New York City! How does the definition of the the Spanish word "Criollo" differ from the English word "Creole?" Thank you for your informative video.

[@KwameMitchell]

Just to add about what he said about Creole I once heard someone say that Creole is basically the french version to the soanish word criollo but that word was originally used to describe people of Canary Island origin.

[@gazoontight]

Excellent video. One of your best, and that's saying something, given how much work and research you put into each one.

[@thedronesperspective]

That title is fighting words for my landlord 😂😂😂

[@nytn]

LOL, you can give him shanes info, keep mine outta that. JK!

[@LeeToucheck]

My ancestral background is French, Spanish, English, Native American and African i was born in South Louisiana a city that my Spanish ancestors from Spain came on a boat and were the founding families of my birth city (New Iberia)

[@Richard-gp5tg]

Gaines was an excellent writer.

[@terrenceliburd8655]

Dang he is kinda dark ain't he? 😊

[@dbprice100]

I love Avery Island. Live briefly in Lafyette and my school class went there as a field trip.

[@jivespeaker]

I'm about a decade behind this guy and by that time in Louisiana schools we were started on French in 2nd grade (private) and 4th grade in public schools. Funny how things change in a few short years. I'm curious to hear more about the Cajuns. When I visited as an adult, I went on a tour in NO and the guide told us the Cajuns were black (he was black), which totally confused me as that was news to me. When I ran into another local who asked about my heritage, I responded with "Spanish and French" and she said, " Oh, a real Cajun!". So, even in the late '00's I guess people were confusing /arguing over who is what...

[@WizardOfAILand]

GREAT SHOW!!!!!!! Have a look at one of the most notorious and well-loved Louisans the late Gov. Edwin Edwards.

[@youforget1000thingsaday]

I'm Puerto Rican, didn't learn Spanish until I turned twenty. I'm Anishinaabe, I'm still struggling with my Anishinaabemowin. We're all learning, lol. ❤

[@cajunconjuror]

Cajuns are many different races and national origins with various backgrounds that merged to create our unique culture.

[@eohippusone]

I was born in Port Arthur, TX, 1945. Lot's of "Cajuns" there! Those were white, of French descent but also included other elements (e.g., Spanish from New Iberia). The term "Creole" was less clear, seemed mostly food-related. It seemed to have black racial influences. I earned PhD, lived in France, speak French. Je parle français pas mal. 😊

[@nytn]

That’s awesome, you are well-learned!

[@sr2291]

That is where Janis Joplin was born 1943.

[@jdee3421]

@@sr2291 Also Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson, who went to school with her.

[@KAH-7]

You're the same age as my father!

[@eohippusone]

@sr2291 I lived 5 blocks from her but didn't know her, at least not well.

[@richardwilliamswilliams]

Good morning from Copperhill Tn. 😊

[@nytn]

Good morning!

[@tevincoolbeats]

im relative to bernard family cousin matches on my dad side

[@rustyarmendariz1584]

Also the acadians were the first ( & possibly only) European ppl to live in harmony with indeginous americans without war or forced religious conversion. Many & maybe all cajuns have indeginous lineage from the eastern canadian natives (mi'kmaq tribe) & lousiana natives. Im proud to be cajun, Im proud to be mexican, & Im proud to be spanish. Siempre. Toujours.

[@nytn]

I love that you embrace it all!

[@rustyarmendariz1584]

@@nytn Thank you. I could never choose "to identify as" one & not thee other. It would be like denying my mother, father, grandparents, etc.

[@nytn]

@@rustyarmendariz1584 I feel the same way!

[@manitoulady5208]

Fascinating

[@nicolebenton2283]

Exellent video ❤❤❤❤❤

[@stephanienwadieiiamhybasia]

My Mother’s family started out in Opelousas, Louisiana .( 😅Definitely descended from Creole French speaking Catholics. ( Indigenous, African, and many mixtures ). Creoles we be.

[@JonDoeNeace]

Cajun is defined by being French-Acadian. Creole is defined by Afro-European heritage from before American presence in a certain region. These things intersect REGULARLY but they aren't the same thing.

[@terrenceliburd8655]

I must admit, all these comments are 💯💯💯

[@eustatic3832]

Watch the Thunder Bay movie! Golden Shrimp! Lol

[@nytn]

Haven’t heard of this!

[@breakthroughnow]

Ancestry dna lists some as both cajun and creole. I knew a popular creole lady who was a publishhed French-speaking story teller. She said creole french was different from cajun french (language).

[@khalilshahyd9063]

It is different. As the people are also different. We're not kin, not cousins. Not friends.

[@username-kb7yf]

But nows not the time to focus on race . We got to realize we are pretty much all creole now and accept it. History is interesting but lets get along. United we stand divided we fall

[@HotaruGlaive]

The one thing I loved about growing up in South LA is they are kind of self-deprecating in their humor. So some might see his shirt as offensive, but cajuns don't take themselves too seriously so it's also hard for me to take the shirt maliciously. There's even a Wiki for Boudreaux and Thibodeaux jokes. We all grew up on Justin Wilson jokes too.

[@jdee3421]

17:55 - Two other British colonies that remained loyal during the American Revolution were West Florida and East Florida.

[@KAH-7]

Maybe West Florida but after East Florida was free of Spain, it was Independent until the U.S. won it over?

[@jdee3421]

@@KAH-7 Both Floridas were ceded by Spain to Great Britain after the Seven Years War, then back to Spain after the Revolutionary War.

[@KAH-7]

Okay, but Come on man, how long is this period of time❓ 1763-1784

[@jdee3421]

@@KAH-7 Yes, and the American Revolution occurred all within that time frame. The two Floridas were Tory strongholds.

[@brendamallard7313]

Cajun are a group of French people who immigrated and settled in South Louisiana which their French Language was and still in passed down to their Louisiana Generations.

[@liliacreativity1751]

So what do you put in the cences? Mixed or ? Feel like as a culture in the US we really are no longer white but mixed at this point.

[@jdfriloux]

I am both, Cajun and Creole, though I have never really self-identified as that. My family, specially my Dad's side, who lived closer to New Orleans, have been Americanized for some time now. My mother's parents spoke French, but only when they didn't want the kids to know what they were saying, and they didn't let their kids speak French.

[@A.LeBlanc]

I’m glad this video was made! I wish more people still identifying as Cajun would start to identify as Creole. All Cajuns are Creole, not even all Cajuns are Cajun (Acadian descent). However, not all Creoles are Cajun (Acadian descent). This is largely due to American influences separating Creoles of color from White creoles based solely on color.

[@whoahna8438]

How are you gonna wish to change how they identify?

[@A.LeBlanc]

I don’t wish to change anything. I do wish that the understanding of Cajuns as being Louisiana Creole was more widely understood. A lot of the time, people that think something is Cajun, is actually just Creole. This narrative erases the Louisiana Creole identity. Also with that unifying thought, we could create a more unified identity and contribute together to one cause. Yes there were Acadians, but they for the large part assimilated into Creole culture.

[@whoahna8438]

@@A.LeBlanc Cajuns have a name tied to a specific history tied to a specific place than some made up name like Créole that's all over the place. They do right to identify as Cajun. The crazy part people who majority enslaved African descent give up their African heritage wishing to tie themselves to Créole and have Cajuns be one with them all the whole separating themselves from other enslaved African descendants. "Cajun" represents who they are, LOUISIANA born exiled from ACADIA originating from FRANCE. What does "Créole" say about the people especially those who are majority enslaved African descendants?

[@astrobreaux]

creole was originally a term used by the spanish for spanish citizens born in one of the spanish colonies.

[@dawnyoung8]

I have Bernards in my tree to 🤔

[@dawnyoung8]

The Acadians were building and establishing trade . So constantly moving . My grandma saucier came from mobile Alabama from France then moved to Louisiana with bienville

[@sissybushnell7959]

I have the name Saucier in my Ancestry match😀

[@cynthiapickett7403]

I have both Cajun and Creole ancestry.

[@dawnyoung8]

You’re Acadian .Cajun If you have French Canadian relatives whether they married any other ethnic American.

[@KentPetersonmoney]

I'm about the same age as you are being born in the 80's. When I was a kid I hung out with kids of all races. I always assumed my parents did the same thing. Never put much thought into it until I was older. My parents told me they didn't hang out with white people as kids. They did as adults because I remember that.

[@kareneaker6304]

My mama had her mouth washed out with soap in the 40s for speaking French at public school.

[@Stradioti]

Yes, you could say that Cajuns are technically a subset of Creoles. The Cajun's French ancestors arrived much earlier, and their language & culture is/was different. I understood that Creole was more of a linguistic term. That the Creoles spoke a more proper French, as opposed to Cajuns. All of my grandparents came from Cajun Louisiana and heard Cajun French at all family gatherings until the 80's.

[@KentPetersonmoney]

My 3rd great grandfather is listed as cerole but he wasn't from Louisiana. He wasn't even American he was from the Bahamas. Maybe the people in the Bahamas also used that.

[@patrickgabriel242]

And the zydeco came from the Atakapas Ishak which was Creole ppl

[@MDGant-ot9fn]

Interesting. I was born in the late 50's in San Francisco. Our family has a deep history in Louisiana and Southern Mississippi - Natchez (maternal). Our paternal side was heavy Louisiana with a lot being forced into Arkansas. Since the age of 2 (earliest that I remember) our family would Summer in New Orleans. The difference between Creole and Cajun I was told was city vs bayou or country. All of the Cajuns that I met and knew were Black. I was always told that we were Creole. We are Black with both sides (paternal and maternal) having Choctaw ancestors as far back as the 1700's. Both of my great grandfathers are full blood Choctaw. They both have their oldest ancestors on record having one name that is hyphenated. Our European record goes back to France and the Iberian Pennisula. That was backed up by DNA. Of course there is African, heavy Nigeria. I was told White Cajuns had their roots in France, immigrated to Canada and became Arcadians, then migrated to the bayous of Louisiana.

[@kharyvines6971]

HAVE YOU ADDRESS THE NEANDERTHALS

[@dawnyoung8]

Dive in to French Canadian settlers now . See where they settled !

[@barrypayton2832]

Justin Wilson was not a Cajun. He used a Cajun persona to push his cooking chef career. I guarantee.... New Orleans don't really have a serious Cajun culture, we have our Creole way of life. In South Louisiana, Cajuns differ from Delacroix to Chauvin to Grand Chenier.

[@lancer2029]

His mother was Cajun. Everything else you are correct.

[@nytn]

I just found out about him

[@lancer2029]

My grandparents had all of his comedy albums in the 1960’s. My grandmother was from Louisiana. She was from a French creole background.

[@barrypayton2832]

@lancer2029 He actually said his mother was French Huguenot, and he's half French Louisianian. But he accepted that people saw him as a Cajun. We saw him speak down here at a lecture and talk so proper. I think genuinely he respected the Cajun culture at its core.

[@barrypayton2832]

@lancer2029 That's cool. A real funny humorist. We watched on him WYES channel 12 on the weekend. Great show by the way.

[@ellove370]

Love your channel. My mom and most of her siblings were always called "yellow" by other black people who didn't care for them because of their skin tone, it was hurtful. My grandmother's dad was biracial from Ireland. From me to you, KZbin isn't fair and what you'll need to do is probably on your channel is to use code words or they'll never leave you alone

[@Thomas_Oklahoma]

When I look up Cajun on Google image search, a bunch of culturally appropriated cuisines pop up, lol (Half of it Indigenous American influenced, and the rest Eurasia influenced). When I look up Cajun People on Google, the vast majority of them are French People or have high French admixture. With a quick google search, I found that Cajuns are found in other countries across the Americas too, and for the most part, they got along with and traded with many Indigenous peoples. Except for the French fearing the powerful Natchez Nation of the area now known as Mississippi State, and perhaps other Indigenous Nations who were protective of their sovereignty. Would this be accurate?

The Cajuns have alot of Mik'maq admixtures and adopted alot of cultural elements from First Nations. They didn't ''appropriate'', they embraced those cultural elements before they even existed as the ''Cajun''. Culture isn't something you own.

I was taught by my creole family that cajun meant white skin . The two groups are different since cajuns are usually pure white people and creoles are mixed people . Nobody confuses the two groups unless they are not from louisana because we know who we are .

[@LeeToucheck]

I didn't know he lives in my home town I still live in New Iberia and Avery Island is 10 miles from my house

[@johnkelly3886]

I suspect the distinction is primarily linguistic. A person might speak French only, or Creole only, or English only. Or any of the 8 combinations. It is the speakers mother tonged that determines their identity. If your mother tong is French then you Cajun, if Creole then your Creole, if English then you are Anglo. The relative weighting of the use of each language, gives rise to many intermediate types. Other aspects of ethnicity probably play a lesser role.

[@corderomiles3769]

What's the difference between a puertoguese and a cape verdean.. since cape verdeans are mixed with european, african origin..

[@maggielandow2686]

I thought these groups included Spanish dependents.

[@CreoleLadisBluesLounge-kg8wu]

That wouldn’t have been offensive to the black panther party. They were adamant about making sure all people had pride in their heritage(s). Not just Black.

[@darkangelproject]

Cajun foundation is Canada type wyts that made it here. They mixed races with indigenous blacks. It is not a root black. Raging Cajun is new it was bulldogs. They only created that in early 90s. They are not the same root

[@Shadowbannddiscourse]

Funny thing, Daniel, the same way he's talking about creoles. I'm thinking the same way for the term. Latin and Latino, why aren't Italians called latinos? Why aren't even French people called latinos or Romanians? I've been asking myself that question. I know people will say that those are Latin. Americans that you know, like the Spanish-speaking. But at the same time, they're all under the same language and culture family.So very interesting conversation.Also, there are Asian creoles like the Filipinos.Some of them are creoles as least. In new orleans those types of filipinos were

[@rocketreindeer]

I know Acadians from New Brunswick. They had a big reunion one year where Acadians and Cajuns got together and it was apparently very emotional as people sorted out actual family connections between the two groups. I think partial First Nations ancestry isn't uncommon, as mixing in Canada was normal. I have an Acadian friend who looks Native, and has First Nations features and natural, long, black hair, but whose Mi'kmaw heritage goes back seven generations. She is proud of being Acadian but would fit in on a rez fine, though culturally she would be more knowledgeable about a French-speaking culture. Anyways the mixtures were normal but today the color-block system wants to slot people into non-complex designations.

[@nytn]

I’m working on a Metís video, if you have any suggestions!

[@rocketreindeer]

@@nytn Oh okay, if you're not clear about anything let me know in chat or through email. I'm not Métis but know zillions of people that are (apparently my adopted mom was either Cree or Métis) and grew up around it. They're mainly descended from French, Scottish, Cree, and Saulteaux/Ojibwe people who mixed and developed their own culture. They have their own language called Michif which has French nouns and Cree verbs. One mistake people make is saying Métis people are half French and half Native, but it's more complex. It's its own culture and is considered a nation. Mixing was so common in Canada that the British didn't like it and tried to inject structural racism to turn it into something "bad". One big problem was that people were living communally in a pro-environmental way which meant they weren't living in that "make money off the environment" way and would stand in the way of British man-over-nature culture. Louis (pronounced Louie) Riel was one of the main guys who opposed what the British were trying to do. He was a devout Christian. If you've ever heard of Terry Fox, a guy who ran across Canada to raise money for cancer, he was Métis and descended from one of Louis Riel's leaders in his provisional government that tried to stop the British from taking over their land. The book, "A Fair Country" by John Ralston Saul talks a lot about the Métis and mixed heritage of Canada that made it culturally different than the USA, like the way cities were laid out tended to be more in Indigenous patterns that were more harmonious with environmental features and so people would interconnect and stuff. Anyways just let me know, I don't know it all but do know some stuff. Maarsii! (Michif for thanks)

[@nytn]

@@rocketreindeer ahh yes! I knew you were not Metís but connected to folks in the community, I will send you an e-mail soon. Thank you!!

[@dawnyoung8]

They’d already done it in Acadia , that’s why Acadians gave it to Spain so the British can’t have it . My British 3/4 were killing my French Canadian 1/4

[@KAH-7]

I have no Anglo even if from England!?

[@darkangelproject]

So many lies. Thank goodness we still have old people telling truth. If french colonized how you are told not to speak it. Makes no sense. French never left

[@creoleladisallthatjazznblu6952]

Cajuns are simply descendants of French Canada. Acadians. Cajuns. Cajun is an ethnicity. Not all of them are White. A Black person can also be partially of French Canadian (Cajun) descent. If a person is majority or all French Canadian descent … then yes. They would be considered White in America. I’m Creole and so is another woman that works in my office. My boss and another woman in the office are both Cajun. My boss and the other Cajun person are both White. The other Creole lady and I are both Black. This is usually the case but not always. I am also part Cajun descent. My great great grandmother on my mom’s side was Cajun. So, I’m Creole but a tiny bit of Cajun descent.

[@KAH-7]

What State do you reside?

[@creoleladisallthatjazznblu6952]

@PremyeDaernaer-cq1mx Very well put.

[@creoleladisallthatjazznblu6952]

@@KAH-7 I live in Louisiana’s capital. Baton Rouge.

[@KAH-7]

Do you know Don Lemon's mom?

They are descendants of Acadia. ''French Canada'' or the original Canada is another region of New France

[@corderomiles3769]

I like this guy.. very informative.. from my understanding cajuns werent just only considered white back then..but of mixed ppl. they were cajuns. Coming from acadia how long they were there? . Who mixed also with natives and siberians in canada..when did the cadiens leave canada? ( 1755 to so on) possibly metis etc mikmaq etc (FRENCH(also scots)and INDIAN war? French (cajun) and indian (injun 17th century) relations). Then the louisiana purchase? 1803?.. before louisiana was named that it was mexico and west fla..creole history so called first africans in louisiana so called brought there in slavery..starting 1719 (creole slaves (mixed ppl slaves)( puertoguese history in fla 1513) Just got caught up into the color coding as well. But in 1918 thousand of american negroes went to france and was treated equally.. due to "history" and relations. Can't give all info. But those who know. Knows.. and ignore history like the "hellfighters" wasnt doing there thing. also sounds like how he said it was when he was kid in louisiana everybody getting alone peacefully..but yes today cajun folk are now simply white.. but...so much more

[@dinkster1729]

Dr Bernard is not well versed on the history of l'Acadie, I'm afraid. L'Acadie (Acadia) passed between the French and the English several times in its short history before ending up in British hands in time for the expulsion. The Acadians expelled by the British with American militia help were in farms along the Bay of Fundy. Some of the Acadians escaped to the St John River valley (between Maine and New Brunswick), Quebec and northern New Brunswick and to Cape Breton Island (Ile Royale) protected by Louisburg. When the Acadians were allowed to return to the Atlantic provinces af the defeat of the French in northern North America, but not to the farms they had occupied, they scattered to different settlements in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island & the West Coast of Newfoundland and St Pierre and Miquelon. Dr Bernard doesn't seem to get it, either, that it wasn't only the British who wanted rid of the Acadien/nes, but also the New Englanders because they wanted their farms. When the British captured Louisburg the first time--it's quite the fort--they didn't destroy it and it was given back to the French. When the British captured Louisburg the 2nd time, the New Englanders made sure it was totally demolished so it couldn't be passed back to the French a 2nd time. Americans like to excuse American culpability in the Grand Derangement (the Expulsion of the Acadians), but the New Englanders were instrumental in destroying L'Acadie, torching the farms and killing the animals and annihilating the crops in the field.. Read the historical accounts.

[@dinkster1729]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3nKpH6brZeYmqs Good video on the history of Acadie and the history of the English & French wars and the effect of these wars on the Maritime Canadian region with a little talk of the French in Newfoundland. Much more complicated history than Dr Bernard tells us about.

[@dinkster1729]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaXZco1qiLSgqdWcttps://kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaXZco1qiLSgqdU Oh, wow! Of course, the British and the Yankees wanted rid of the Acadians. They were supplying food to Louisbourg, the French fortress on Cape Breton Island. Some of them were also found in Fort Beausejour when it was captured by the British so expelling the Acadians was collective punishment for a few Acadians being affiliated with the French forces. Amazing how little has changed in this world, right?

[@dinkster1729]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2mTap6lf9t0gJI Another video of the history of the Acadians with new information on the deportation and how the Acadians arrived in Louisiaana.

[@sandrinelavigne7599]

Yeah, hearing his side of the story made me unconfortable because it wasn't even close to what I've learned from Acadians in New Brunswick or French-Canadian in Québec in history classes or museums. And when he's talking about acadians with acadian surname marrying as often non-acadian and acadian, I thought to myself : wasn't the great expulsion specifically sending acadian men to Louisiana to facilitate assimilation of the women and children who stayed in Acadia, and the assimilation of the men by forcing marriage unions to other ethnic groups ? I mean that's what I learned, and that's what the acadian song Évangéline is about I think.

[@dinkster1729]

@@sandrinelavigne7599 I've never heard about the Acadians marrying out was to force assimilation. The priests were very concerned about in-breeding because the founding population in Quebec was so small and I imagine they were concerned about that in Acadia as well so they examined the lineages when a couple were about to be married to be sure that there wasn't a close family connection between the man and the woman. Also, a lot of the Acadian men didn't have many European women available so they married native women frequently or Métis women. They were used to marrying women who were not French, not from their racial group.

[@pete6300]

It's kind of funny to here him talk about his feeling of integration. I went to school in 80s nearly every single child I went to school with had parents that experienced integration. The left over animosity from our parents was palpable in elementary and middle school. Many fights happened because parents that disliked each other would encourage their children. By high school we realized how stupid it was and the vast majority of people I knew out right rejected their parents worldview.

[@nytn]

Wow that is really important, thank you for sharing. So much that we experience is trickle down from the previous generations

[@pete6300]

@@nytn it was actually pretty wild and interesting from a people watcher perspective. Many people were identified by their family name. Like one of my good friends was a Kelly. He was a black kid and our families worked agriculture together. My dad and his dad used to fight the country boys together in the 60s during integration. So I would back him up in the 80s. Lol

[@coolkoshki93]

Cajuns are not necessarily “white.” Most Cajuns sought to be identified and recognized as of European ancestry because it was advantageous to do so. However, both ancestral studies and DNA have proven that the majority of modern day Cajuns are of mixed race descent: European (French, Scottish, English) and North American Indian (Mi’kmaq and Innu Cree, also once known as Montagnais). Spanish ancestry is often part of the mix. All of these and more are reflected in my own Cajun ancestry.