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Cleanup efforts

Who is this 64.152.159.xxx who is "trying to make Cajun into an enclycopedia article?" He's managed to mangle what he's touched so far. I can only hope he'll try harder -- without his contemptuous and gratuitous comments. step

Dear 64.152.159.xxx,

Try again. There's so much attitude in here that the facts are getting lost. To make the point only once, the Louisiana Cajuns are the descendants of the Acadians. There is nothing "purist" about this, it is plain historical fact.

The whole entry is full of this kind of error.

Best regards, Ortolan88

Don't blame 64etc for that! The original writing is mine and the attitude, along with it. To answer your objection, among the folks in the swamp, the way of life makes a person a cajun, not his ancestry. That is objective fact, if you have ever been in the area and talked with the people. They are not concerned with the fine points of an ethnologist's definition. To say that only people with Acadian ancesters are Cajun is not the whole of it.

Also, I'm new around here and haven't developed that elusive objectivity, which seems to be so important. Admittedly, I'm a tad feisty, too, especially when faced with intellectual arrogance. I'll have to work on that.

step

Dear Step,

I'm not looking for a fight. I'm trying to help make a good encyclopedia. If you want to fight, I will drop out. If you want to make a good encyclopedia, I will help. No one is impugning the Cajun heritage. If the definition of Cajun goes beyond the ethnological definition, why not say so? Such as:

"While the first Cajuns were descendants of the Acadians evicted from Canada in 1755 by the British, the Cajun culture today encompasses many people who do not fit this historical or ethnological definition. Both culturally and socially, the Cajun way of life dominates the area . . ." and so forth.

Tell how it happened. Tell what it means.

Here are some questions for you:

Does the history of oppression and injustice affect the way Cajuns view the world today?
What are the relationships between white Cajuns and black French-speaking people in the same area? Are they all considered Cajuns? I believe there are also Spanish-speaking settlements in the area. And of course outsiders and English-speaking whites and blacks.
What is the unique culture that has emerged from this mix of cultures?
How closely related are Cajun music, zydeco (which many people consider part of R&B), and the folk music traditions of the Acadians before their eviction?
What about the same mixture of cultures and the impact on food?
What are the unique elements of the Cajun culture and what impact does it have?
What makes a Cajun? Can anyone become one? How has the Cajun culture come to be adopted by people who don't fit the ethnological definition?

This isn't arrogance, it is the give and take that goes into making a reference work that everyone can use. Believe me, I have nothing against colorful entries, so keep it colorful, but an encyclopedia article about Cajuns has to explain things to people who don't have the advantages you have in understanding the Cajuns.

I'm not an old-timer here either. I try to imagine a 10th-grader or a college freshman researching a topic and figure out what they would need to know.

Best regards, Ortolan88

Sounds like you want a book and not an article for an encyclopedia. Go for it, dude, because the field is wide open. step

Just trying to help. Don't want to take over.Ortolan88

What Ortolan88 proposses seems reasonable to me, but step does have a point that the proposal is a bit much just for one article. The best thing to do is to just add and edit the article until it reaches a certain length and then it can be broken up into other articles for a more thorough discussion of each point. It would be nice though, if the person doing the moving would summarize the moved material into sections and then provide links to the more expansive articles next to those summaries. This article would then be a central place where all things Cajun could be introduced and other articles would then go into the details. --maveric149

Sorry step, mav, anybody else, if I caused confusion in my enthusiasm. They were just some of the questions that occurred to me, didn't mean that they all had to be answered, there's a lot of useful stuff in this entry already, plus a little bit of over-the-top prose.

I really like the approach you propose. It seems to me it would be worth a writeup "How to organize and present 'all things X'" and would benefit lots of other articles as well. Ortolan88, Sunday, June 23, 2002

Is that supposed to be "hardy and resourceful"? -phma

No improvements in this article in a long time. Still rife with problems, weak, lacking in information, non-NPOV. Ortolan88 07:09 Nov 15, 2002 (UTC)

I tried to improve some of this article but I am more familiar with Acadians than with Cajuns so I will leave the improvement to Cajuns like good eats etc. to someone else. -p. stoltz 132...

My understanding is that Cajuns came to the American South by way of France. That is, they were sent to France first, then they didn't like it there, so they came back to the American continent. (I am by no means knowledgeable on this subject, but I think that's what a PBS program about Cajuns said)

OK folks, I've applied Wikipedia:WikiProject Ethnic Groups Template. I think that is a good structure for this article. Given the semi-war above, I hope no one will hate me for this action. Again, my only concern here is structural, and I believe I have not removed any meaningful content that was there before. Have at it! -- Jmabel 23:46, 16 Feb 2004 (UTC)

This is really a great article right now. I enjoyed it, it seemed fairly cleanly-written, and I learned from it. More information is necessary, but I'm pleased with what's there so far. Good detail, good breadth. I want to go to Louisiana now. glasperlenspiel 04:41, Jun 16, 2004 (UTC)

From the Easter Section: pâque-pâque. This game is not traditionally played in large cities. This is not sourced. I am of Cajun descent, born in Lake Charles and we played it? Is Lake Charles not a large city? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.197.222.90 (talk) 05:19, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

The paragraph that begins with "Some believe Cajuns do not descend solely from Acadian exiles who settled in south Louisiana in the eighteenth century." is extremely weasel-y. Who are these 'some' people? 65.113.40.1 (talk) 00:01, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Population

The recently added population statistics look plausible, but no source is cited. -- Jmabel 17:29, Oct 7, 2004 (UTC)

Better numbers with sources added--Xj14y 17:47, 8 Oct 2004 (UTC)

How are these numbers derived, though ? One figure says 2-5 million total. What kind of range is that ? Surely someone has more accurate figures that narrow the range down to within, say, 100,000 people. Haryadoon (talk) 02:21, 21 January 2010 (UTC)

Also, what value does the list of regions with significant populations add if it only covers less than 10% of the total population (whatever the total population figure is) ? Haryadoon (talk) 02:21, 21 January 2010 (UTC)

I'm updating the population count for Louisiana to represent the total number of "French," "French Canadian," and "Acadian/Cajun" ancestries reported in the U.S. 2010 Census, which by my tabulation is 815,259, mostly in southern parishes. I'm not sure if it counts as WP:OR, but it's fairly simple to verify, and is more accurate than the current number (~450k). 74.192.16.169 (talk) 03:20, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

Gundula Krause

Does Gundula Krause actually have a connection to Cajun music? And if so, is she well enough known to be mentioned? -- Jmabel | Talk 18:43, Jan 15, 2005 (UTC)

I don´t know. But she is really an expert in this kind of music. Audax 12:14, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Another musical thingie

I cut the following recently added sentence: "On February 8, 2005 in music a Canadian folk band called The Duhks released an eponymous album featuring a traditional Acadian tune entitled 'Du Temps Que J'étais Jeune.'" As far as I know, this is not an album of enough importance to merit mention in a quick summary of Cajun music. If someone thinks I'm wrong, please explain here. -- Jmabel | Talk 01:09, May 18, 2005 (UTC)

  • The Duhks have gotten much airplay on NPR and have, in the past few months, developed a rabid following. One might say they are approaching cult status. They branch out into all of North America's rich cultural tradition in their music. But as yet, as you said, they are not important enough. I simply thought it relevant at that moment in time to mention that a band with national coverage had released an Acadian tune in its original French language. Benn M. 07:29, 2005 May 23 (UTC)

New France, which is today Québec.

This is not true... At its height, New France included territories from the Hudson's bay down to the gulf of mexico. In fact, less than half of today's Québec was undisputedly part of New France. Comments? (anon 23 June 2005)

Agreed, please edit accordingly. -- Jmabel | Talk 18:25, Jun 25, 2005 (UTC)

Cajunization

Be interesting to mention that Cajun culture encompasses more than descendants of the Acadian exiles.

"Cajun" culture, against all odds, got bigger than the Acadians themselves, if you know what I mean. After exile, privation, resettlement, cultural oppression, isolation, through mixing with native American and Spanish and Creole peoples...near the end of the 20th Century, Cajun becomes...cool, a dominant culture of SW Louisiana. There are more than a few Germans and Spaniards in Louisiana with Cajun accents who eat Cajun food and dance to Cajun music.

Mike Doucet told a story about Cajun musician Varise Connor (pronounced "connaire"). Mike asked him about his name -- "So is that Breton?" -- meaning from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. "Oh no" Varise said. "My grandfather was an O'Connor."

Great source on Acadians: Carl A. Brasseaux ("The Founding of New Acadia: The Beginnings of Acadian Life in Louisiana, 1765-1803"). DavidH 30 June 2005 03:30 (UTC)


Good articles for "Cajunization." - Mike

CAJUN MARDI GRAS: CULTURAL OBJECTIFICATION AND SYMBOLIC APPROPRIATION IN A FRENCH TRADITION. By: Sexton, Rocky L.. Ethnology, Fall99, Vol. 38 Issue 4, p297, 17p;

The Cajunization of French Louisiana: forging a regional identity. Cecyle Trepanier. The Geographical Journal July 1991 v157 n2 p161(11)

Good job on ancestry section

I think this section is very good now, gives a more complete picture of how Cajun encompasses various ancestries that became part of a common culture/ethnic identity in Louisiana -- DavidH July 7, 2005 21:07 (UTC)

Yes I agree is a great way to learn about cajun food and customs —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.84.85.49 (talk) 04:33, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

Shouldn't all the names of the prominent musicians be linked to their own entries? User:Bruxism 00:59, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

Yes, if they merit articles. -- Jmabel | Talk 05:26, July 16, 2005 (UTC)

Espères, cher.......

This article is very misleading on an array of topics--most notably about Cajun pronunciation. It is extremely short-sighted and plainly INCORRECT to say "this is the way Cajuns say this." There are no fewer than three main Cajun dialects (Prairie, St. Martinville, and Bayou) with countless other familial variations. My friends and I have been able to recall many different ways of saying the same thing--sometimes it's just a few phonetical differences and other times it's a completely different phrase.

Continuing on this linguistic trip, I don't know of ANY regions where the first person singular and plural pronouns are the same. I've heard "nous autres" and, on rare occasion, plain "nous" used for first person plural pronouns, but jamais "je." Hmmm.....

While there is undeniable truth to many parts of this article, the blatant facts are often interwoven with what I think are unintentional inaccuracies, which a careful, deeper study of the Cajun people and language would clear up. (User:Jeanamons 23 July 2005)

Good comments. Remember the Wikiway: Edit it yourself. If a scholar has actually named the three dialects you mention above, cite it. I'm sure there towns or parishes where more creole influence is heard, others where old Acadian French phrases survived more. What does Daigle's dictionary of Cajun French say about pronounciation, for example? The entry here will never be as complete as a separate article about "Louisiana French" could be, but that said, Be bold! Good luck, cher. (User:DavidH 24 July 2005)

Need evidence for "slavery" insert

An anonymous user added the following:

The Acadians were scattered throughout the eastern seaboard (where some became slaves in British colonies) [emphasis added]

There needs to be some supporting source for this. Many Acadians ended up in the northeast, where slavery was not practiced AFAIK, much less white slavery. Who enslaved them? What historian states this? Unless there is some evidence from a scholar like Brasseaux, this should be deleted IMO. DavidH 00:46, July 28, 2005 (UTC)

I don't have a major response, but yes, slavery was practiced in the Northeast. Slavery was abolished in New York in 1827. -- Jmabel | Talk 05:45, July 28, 2005 (UTC)
Ahh, thanks for that info. Do you know anything else about Acadian refugees being enslaved in the colonies where they wound up? I really want a source for this if it's documented, or to remove it if it's not. DavidH 20:31, July 28, 2005 (UTC)
Nothing specific to the Acadians, but in the early 1700s the line between slaves and indentured servants was probably still pretty blurry; 50 years earlier, it was non-existent. But you'll need someone who knows this specific history better than I to give you anything definitive. -- Jmabel | Talk 01:36, July 30, 2005 (UTC)

Dolores Hebert Legendre

The passage on Dolores Hebert Legendre currently reads like it came from a brochure for an art gallery. Could someone who knows something about this person (I don't) rewrite appropriately? Thanks. -- Jmabel | Talk 05:08, August 24, 2005 (UTC)

Differences

The following was removed from the section "some differences", anonymously and without comment. Given the lack of explanation, I'm reverting, but if there is a problem with any of it, please explain here. I'm not at all expert on this.

  • The same pronoun is used for first person singular and plural; je parle in French is the same in Cajun, but nous parlons in French is je parlons (in Cajun).
  • [a] is pronounced [ɑ] with tongue towards the back of the buccal cavity.
  • [k],[t] is pronounced [tʃ].
  • [d] pronounced [dʒ], as in the word Acadian.
  • [wa] pronounced [we], similar to Québecois French.

Jmabel | Talk 22:10, August 28, 2005 (UTC)

Houston in the "golden triangle"?

I wouldn't have thought the "golden triangle" included Houston, but it's not my part of the world, so I'm just remarking. -- Jmabel | Talk 02:00, 14 September 2005 (UTC)

first paragraph

The word "Cajun" is an Anglophone corruption of the French pronunciation of the word acadien

I'm no linguist--but isn't it a corruption of the English pronunciation of the French spelling? Maybe we pronounce it differently than they used to here in Canada, but to me the english "Ah-Kay-Dee-Un" can easily be slurred into "Ah-Kay-Jun" and "Kay-Jun". The final syllable in French, however, rhymes with the French words "bien" or "pain"(bread)--not a sound that has parallels in English or would led to "cajun". Dan Carkner 18:21, 9 November 2005 (UTC)

I changed it, but perhaps a bilingual person who understands IPA can put the pronunciation of Acadien in French and English in brackets. Dan Carkner 18:24, 9 November 2005 (UTC)

Good source of information. - Mike

From Acadien to Cajun to Cadien: Ethnic Labelization and Construction of Identity. By: Henry, Jacques. Journal of American Ethnic History, Summer98, Vol. 17 Issue 4, p29, 34p

When Cajun French speakers say "Acadien," it sounds a lot like ah-Kah-jen (and the "ah" can go unsaid). I take this from friends and recording of lyrics like "la musique Acadien." So I think the point is, the word "Cajun" is a made-up spelling of "Acadien," but the pronounciation of "Cajun" doesn't have to be explained in terms of the original word. DavidH 01:08, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

Just so you know Dan- 'pain' and 'bien' are different sounds, similiar but slightly different. (TAGE)

Prairie vs. Swamp Cajuns

I was talking with a Cajun today that said there are two subgroups of Cajun, the western being known as "Prairie Cajuns" and the East as "Swamp Cajuns". He also mentioned that the cuisine is different, east vs. west. Prairies more sausage and meat whereas the swamp cajuns rely more heavily on seafood. Can anyone else confirm this? Worth adding this to the article? He also told me that there is a major city that divides the east/west Acadiana.

Very interesting - what major city would that be? //Big Adamsky 03:04, 7 January 2006 (UTC)
Well, I guess it's not really a MAJOR city, just a sizeable city among the Cajuns. I can't remember the name, but I did some web research and saw that Eunice, LA is the capital or heart of Prairie Cajun country.Rhallanger 03:54, 7 January 2006 (UTC)
OK, I talked to him again, he said the city that divides the swamp cajuns from the prairie cajuns is Morgan City, LA. Does that sound about right? Rhallanger 03:07, 14 January 2006 (UTC)
(Prairie Cajun from Rayne here.) Eunice would not be a dividing line, but neither would Morgan City. Eunice is much too far west, and Morgan City is too far east. I'd say you could say the dividing line is around New Iberia. Jbenton 00:35, 3 March 2006 (UTC)
No, Morgan City, LA is too far east. I would even move the line further west than New Iberia. I would say Lafayette, LA is a good line for separating the Prairie Cajuns from the Swamp Cajuns. Lafayette is where the landscape starts to change to the prairie land, and when you start getting into the rice country, that's where the recipes start to change. 1ragincajun (talk) 02:13, 10 July 2010 (UTC)

On the distinction: this is inherent in the National Park Service's division of its Acadian Cultural Center into three units: Prairie Acadian Cultural Center in Eunice, Acadian Cultural Center in Lafayette, and the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux. CajunTX 4 May 2006.

A Cajun's Touch

Well it seems that this discussion is lacking the input of a Cajun. I my self happen to be one. Morgan City is a port city from what I'v gathered and deals both in seafood and industry. I grew up in Terrobonne Parish and curently reside in Lafayette Parish which are on either side of Morgan City. As far as I can tell economy is similar on both sides. With Terrebonne being a coastal parish it has a great seafood industry but it also is open to off shore drilling companies and plenty of companies catering to them. Lafayette seems to be more oil field oriented however. Perhaps it would be better to have one or the other seeing as how oil rigs are a major contributer to the destruction of louisiana's wetlands, marsh, swaps, and any other haven for seafood. As for "nonc" was it? I have never heard this word in my life, but alot of old people around here have alot of weird words for things. Sha is one of them but it was spelt different than I spell it but, where that spelling was found I have no idea. The accent here can get down right dirty and you can get a taste of it by any Katrina footage. We call it "flat" when....well there is no describing it really. It seems however that televsion crews seek these people out to make everyone else look ridiculous. I find it funny that someone actually apologized in 2003 for throwing a bunch of people out of Nova Scotia that we have never met. Personaly I would like to thank the crown for saving me from being a Canadian. I would be happy to give out some recipies for pralines or boudin if anyone would like.

Nonc = "Uncle". See Bruce Daigrapont's song, Nonc Willie. [1]. It's a contraction of the French oncle, (Actually mon oncle for my uncle they kept the "n" from the end of mon [my]). "Cher" is the French spelling of the term of endearment, "Dear," pronounced somewhere between "share" and "shar" in various parts of Louisiana. -- DavidH 01:29, 20 April 2006 (UTC)

No, it's pronounced more like sha (rhymes with baa). You'll see little high school girls writing the word "sha" in their notes to each other because they have no idea (knowing no French themselves) that it is a corruption of the French "cher". You actually see that a lot around here, use of French terms by people who speak no French (aside from a few Cajun French vocabulary items among their respective lexicons).--Drcomeaux 19:23, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

Yes I agree —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.84.85.49 (talk) 04:34, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

Cajuns and food

Nowhere in this article is there a discussion of the "crawfish boil," something I consider to be central to Cajun culture. I have added some bits to the "food" section, but I wouldn't be averse to them being edited for objectivity.

While no one in my family has spoken French for one-and-a-half generations (my father was forbidden to learn it, but he retains a remnant of the Cajun accent), and while I couldn't make a roux without having the fire department visit my home, I can certainly conduct a crawfish boil with no trouble. In fact, as a Texan, it's my last link to the culture my family voluntarily discarded along with Catholicism.

If anyone objects to my addition of the crawfish boil to this article, feel free to clean it up. I just felt obligated to include it.

Nothing wrong with adding crawfish boil. Can't have cajun without crawfish, but there's also crawfish stew, crawfish ettoufee, crawfish tart.... and when it comes to food gatherings, there's also the "boucherrie" (check that spelling) or a gathering to butcher a hog. Haven't attended one myself but know they're celebrated among some prairie cajun acquantainces. DavidH 04:18, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

Cajunization

Someone mentioned here how Cajuns and Cajun culture aren't always so "Franco-centric". My own Cajun family name was "Smith" (in Lake Charles, Louisiana, this is pronounced "Horse Thief").

It astounds me...the number of "Cajuns" who pronounce their last names "NOO-nez" or "GOO-terr-EZ". Obviously, these are people of Mexican or Spanish descent who married into Cajun families and adopted their traditions. Traditionally, this would make a lot of us...Creole?

Also, it's intersting to note the number of Heberts (AY-bears) who are of obvious African descent, but who call themselves Cajuns. As a sub-ethnic group, it appears to me that Cajuns are amongst the most democratic.

Is there any way to reflect this in the wikipedia article? While I have anecdotal evidence of all of the above, I have absolute no research to back it up.

You said it, cher: As a sub-ethnic group, it appears to me that Cajuns are amongst the most democratic.
There must be a published source, Brasseaux or one of the LSU professors, who have studied how people self-select "Cajun" as an acestry, or identify with that group even though they have ancestors who are Spanish, Mexican, Portugese. I'm convinced that people living in some of the strongly Cajun-associated places for several generations come to consider themselves Cajun, even though they may have only a drop of Acadian blood, or even none at all. See what was said in the "Cajunization" section above. DavidH 04:23, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

Two different etymologies

We take up etymology twice in this article, and while not outright contradictory, this should at least be consolidated.

In the lead, we write, "The word 'Cajun' is a corruption of the French word acadien, after Acadia, the name of their ancestral region in Nova Scotia; the name 'Cajun' was applied to them by English-speaking colonists when they settled in Louisiana." That much is presumably uncontroversial. Later we say, "The word 'Cajun' is the anglicised pronunciation of 'acadien' (Acadian in French). There is strong evidence that the word 'Acadian' itself is a derivation of a Mikmaq word 'cadique' meaning 'a good place to set up camp'." Asserting the existence of "strong evidence" is not exactly convincing. Citation? In any event, clearly Cajun comes from Acadian comes from Acadia; the question is whether Acadia comes from cadique. - Jmabel | Talk 04:17, 5 April 2006 (UTC)

The information comes from "Acadian Redemption from Beausoliel Broussard to the Queen's Royal Proclamation" by W.A. Perrin Your points regarding the potential confusion regarding the origin of the word are well taken. It was intended to add an extra bit of information. -JoeArc

Tone cleanup hints

I have been requested to specify what problems prompted me to add the cleanup-tone tag. I think most are in the Culture section. Examples:

  • However, so much of the culture is expressed in the lyrics that one cannot separate them from the music. (Also has NPOV problems.)
  • And, of course, to sop up the juices what would a meal be without cornbread?
  • There is also a fine book of short stories called "Bayou Folk" (1894). Apparently, the work of Ms. Chopin was rediscovered in the 1970s. (Also NPOV problems, needs citation.)
  • provided the fuel that early Cajun settlers needed for survival. (Colorful, but fluffy?)

The Food and Celebration sections in general sound like boosterism rather than a neutral description of the culture. -- Beland 17:19, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

Agree with your points. There is a natural tendency to enthusiastic and idiomatic expressions in the article. Overall, it's not much, but it's there. Perhaps we can move the tag to the specific section you mention, or use a section cleanup tag? -- DavidH 01:19, 20 April 2006 (UTC)

Acadian style homes, info and photo needed

If anyone has photos of Acadian style homes and information on Acadian architecture, that would be a great addition to this article. The Library of Congress has some so-so ones we could use, but I would rather get some fresher photos someone is willing to surrender as fair use. Thanks. Aaron charles 03:10, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

Correction on the Deportation

The latest historical research shows that the Acadians were not deported because of their refusal to pledge alligeance to the British Crown but rather to get rid of the catholic subjects of Nova-Scotia. There are numerous documents showing the Acadians had been British subjects since 1730 and that a group of them were even ready to pledge for a second time. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Oporto (talk • contribs) 14 September 2006.

Simply asserting "The latest historical research shows" is not a citation. Provide sources. - Jmabel | Talk 17:06, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
The British (including New England colonists) wanted the Acadians' land, and used the Acadians' refusal to swear an unconditional oath of allegiance to the British crown as a pretext for their deportation.
Actually, it's not quite this simple: The British were genuinely frightened of the Acadians, viewing them as potential wartime enemies; and they viewed Acadia as geographically important for strategic reasons having to do with the entire struggle for domination of North America (or at least the northern sections of North America, over which the British, French, and their Indian allies had clashed for generations). On top of this was persistent anti-Catholic, anti-French bigotry on the part of the British. And I'm sure there were other factors as well. Rarely is there one cause for any historical action.
But I would agree that a major reason for the deportation was the British desire for the Acadians' land, and that the Acadian refusal to swear allegiance to the British crown was used as a pretext for expulsion.
As for sources, see John Mack Farragher, A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadians from Their American Homeland (New York: Norton, 2005). This is the most recent research on the subject, and it is an excellent work, heavily endnoted. Sincerely, --Skb8721 20:32, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

bit removed

"Many ended up in French-colonized Louisiana, mainly in the American South."

I removed the bit in italics simply cos it doesnt make sense to me. Please explain if u can and rewrite it. --Echosmoke 14:26, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

It was not my writing, but Louisiana at that time extended clear up to the Dakotas. - Jmabel | Talk 05:28, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

French Creole

The term should be explained a bit more in the article and properly linked. Since its basic meaning is language related, but here obviously relates to people settling in Louisiana, it would be interesting to know where those people came from - carribean i guess? Did they really already speak a french-based creol language or were they just french speaking settlers from the americas? --Echosmoke 14:39, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

maybe link here Louisiana Creole people ? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Echosmoke (talk • contribs) 16:57, 17 December 2006 (UTC).

Cajun Wikipedians

I have created the following category for inclusion on user pages:

Category:Wikipedians who are Cajuns.

Sincerely,

--Skb8721 20:22, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

"related groups" info removed from infobox

For dedicated editors of this page: The "Related Groups" info was removed from all {{Infobox Ethnic group}} infoboxes. Comments may be left on the Ethnic groups talk page. Ling.Nut 16:51, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

The Cajun as a 3rd Class citizen

In the 18th, 19th, and throughout the 20th century Cajuns were third class citizens in Louisiana. In the past most of them lacked proper education's, a vast amount were not literate even into the 1960s. I think it is odd that none of the Cajun articles on wiki discus the mistreatment of Cajuns and the poor conditions they lived under in New Orleans and Louisiana in general. From the 19th century to the 20th century is was an insult to call someone a Cajun even if they were a Cajun. This did not end until Cajun life had a positive spin placed onto it. I study a vast amount of history and traveled a great deal, so I am sure someone else will know what I am talking about.--Margrave1206 (talk) 01:05, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

  • Yes, adding more information about this would paint a fuller picture. I suggest that somewhere between "Ethnic mixing" and "Modern preservation" is a gap about this darker time for Cajuns. If anyone has good references for that, we really need to address the subject. Thanks. Aaron charles (talk) 15:27, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

"Acadian" versus "Cajun"

Most historians draw a distinction between the words "Acadian" and "Cajun," with "Acadian" referring to the Cajuns' early ancestors in Acadia and Louisiana, and "Cajun" referring to the ethnic group into which the Acadians evolved after intermarrying with other ethnic groups in south Louisiana.

This intermarrying has been found to have occurred in notable numbers shortly after the Civil War.

As such, most historians refer to "Acadians" as those persons who lived before 1865, and to "Cajuns" as those who lived after 1865. (Of course, this is an oversimplification of events, but suffice it to say that Acadians evolved into Cajuns sometime between 1865 and the turn of the 20th century, probably sooner than later).

This is implied by the very title of Carl A. Brasseaux's esteemed book, Acadian to Cajun: Transformation of a People, 1803-1877. And, indeed, Brasseaux introduces the above theory in Ch. 6 (that Acadians morphed in Cajuns after the Civil War).

As such: I recommend that in this article the word "Acadian" be used in reference to the ethnic group before 1865; and that the word "Cajun" be used in reference to the group after 1865, with an explanation of Brasseaux's theory.

So, for instance, the article would no longer refer to "Cajuns" fighting in the American Revolution, because, historically, the Cajuns did not yet exist; the correct word would be "Acadian."

(Most historians, by the way, do not regard "Cajun" and "Acadian" as synonymous, because "Cajun" implies not only Acadian ancestry, but ancestry stemming from all the other ethnic groups with whom the Acadians intermarried in south Louisiana, including Germans, Spanish, French who came to Louisiana directly from France, instead of through Acadia, etc.)

--Skb8721 (talk) 01:08, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

In pop culture

The section of the Cajun article is becoming a list of mostly fictional characters. Since Wikipedia also frowns on pop culture references in general, I am suggesting that these be merged into the "Fictional characters" section of the List of Cajuns. Aaron charles (talk) 15:05, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

Cajuns or Cajun people

IMO one of these two would be a better title and more in line with other articles on ethnic groups. - Yorkshirian (talk) 04:32, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

re-addressing Ethnic mixing and alternate origins

My step-father was Cajun and spoke the language. He grew up in a time when people knew what a Cajun was. Cajuns are not mixed, Creoles are. Today people are calling anyone in South Louisiana who speaks French a Cajun, even if their not Cajun. Preceding unsigned comment added by Brenthere (talk • contribs) , in all of the refactoring of his comment, he accidentally removed his signature, courteously readded by Heironymous Rowe

Cajuns are a very mixed race people, with European, African, and Native American Ancestry. Many African Americans in South Louisisana have cajun names such as Arceneaux, Hebert, Picard, Landry, etc. Many "white" cajuns have definite non european skin coloring and features. The 3 french language groups you alluded to in an earlier post have been intermarrying for 300 yrs. And the Acadians, before they were expelled from Canada, had been intermarrying with the local Native American tribe(the Mikmaq) for 200 yrs. When they got to South La, they weren't "white". From the rest of your post(which you excised and caused an edit conflict when I originally tried to post here), I get the feeling that this bothers you, lol.Heironymous Rowe (talk) 23:24, 28 August 2009 (UTC)

Heironymous Rowe I edited my last post because it sounded racist, and I didn't want it to sound like racism.

Every Cajun i've met has looked white (and I have elderly Cajun speaking family members). I'm not ruling out that they have some indian admixture but it's probably been swallowed up among the genes.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Brenthere (talk • contribs) 12:29, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

As a Cajun from Southeastern Louisiana, I can assure you that we come in all different colors.. Especially in my family. I appear to be white, but my father is half Native American and half white, while my mother is white. Also, a great deal of our Native American population (the Houma Indians) are heavily mixed with black people (I say black and not African American, because there are some ancestors from Haiti as well). Netsirk1987 (talk) 00:34, 17 January 2012 (UTC)

Intro problems

IMHO, the intro needs to be reworked. The majority of it (the whole second paragraph) discusses Acadia which is only peripherally related. The discussion of Acadia in the first paragraph is — I think — sufficient. The lead does not, however, say very much about the content of the article: history in Lousiana, language, culture, etc.

--Mcorazao (talk) 00:53, 8 January 2010 (UTC)

Huh?

...during the bones of French and English hostilities prior to the Seven Years' War (1756 to 1763).

"Bones" – ?? Sca (talk) 15:31, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

Acadiens?

This article seems to be mostly about Cajuns in Lousianna, there are still loads of Acadians/Acadiens/Acadiennes here in Acadia/Acadie in Canada. Should this be separate article, or integrated into this piece? Also, are the majority of Cajuns/Acadians really in Lousianna (ie not in New Brunswick, for example)? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.190.134.245 (talk) 22:36, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

They should absolutely be separate. Cajuns have ~250 years of history outside of Acadia, and actually, I believe the Acadian migrants in Louisiana were always a minority at best; the majority of French people in Louisiana have always been "Creole" rather than strictly Acadian. Cajun culture has some similarities with Acadian culture, but most of us view the Acadians as an ancestral ethnic group, rather than members of the same ethnic group. Hangmanwa7id (talk) 05:15, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
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