LOREAUVILLE, La. --- The Acadian Heritage and Culture Foundation Inc. and the Famille Beausoleil Association announce a new fundraising effort to support the New Acadia Project/Projet Nouvelle Acadie.
The New Acadia Project is an archaeological/historical initiative that aims to locate the original mid-eighteenth-century settlements of the first group of Acadian exiles in the Louisiana territory. Their descendants today comprise over 500,000 Cajuns in Louisiana and throughout the world.
The New Acadia Project is spearheaded by University of Louisiana at Lafayette archaeologist Mark Rees, Ph. D. He and his students conducted the 2003 Amand Broussard archaeology research project near Loreauville, La., where Acadian artifacts dating from the 1780s were unearthed. Amand Broussard was the son of Acadian hero and leader Joseph Broussard who was called Beausoleil.
The New Acadia Project seeks to locate artifacts, which will help establish the locations of these Acadian settlements, evidenced to be near the Teche Ridge/Teche River, as early as 1765. The 2003 research project identified several areas of interest. This project is one of urgency due to ongoing and anticipated land development.
Identifying the original settlements would hopefully also lead to the discovery of the burial site of Beausoleil and of the first Acadians to settle in New Acadia/Nouvelle Acadie. Locating the original settlements would establish where Cajun culture began, 11 years prior to the birth of the United States.
A steering committee has been formed to lead a fundraising effort for the New Acadia Project. The members of the committee are as follows: Barry Ancelet, Ph.D.; Donald Arceneaux; Shane Bernard, Ph.D.; Darrell Bourque, Ph.D.; Loreauville Mayor Al Broussard; Alan and Brenda Broussard; Corwin and Kim Broussard; David Cheramie, Ph. D; Michael Doucet, Ph.D.; Nelwyn Hebert; Broussard Mayor Charlie Langlinais; Chef Patrick Mould; Representative Stephen Ortego; Louis and Cheryl Broussard Perret ; Warren and Mary Broussard Perrin; and Ray and Brenda Comeaux Trahan.
This project will significantly benefit Acadian culture preservation, cultural tourism and the cultural economy of south Louisiana. A goal of $100,000 has been set by the steering committee to address the long-term funding needs of this project.
To lend your financial support to the New Acadia Project, write a check to the Acadian Heritage and Cultural Foundation, Inc. and mail to P. O. Box 53597, Lafayette, Louisiana, 70505, care of "The New Acadia Project." For more information, visit Ucs.louisiana.edu/~mar4160/nap.html, or contact the New Acadia Project Steering Committee at 337-233-5832, or Mark Rees, 337-482-6044, rees@louisiana.edu
