Acadian Archives/Archives acadiennes

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so what is a picture of a book worth? The Acadian Archives has a rich collection of books and periodicals in addition to our archival and genealogical materials. These items span all age levels and a variety of topics, from local history to educational resources to childhood classics. If a title catches your eye, stop by the Archives, or reach out to us via email or phone.

Beginning in 1755, British colonial leaders forcibly removed thousands of Acadians from their homes in what are today the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Many Acadians were dispersed in Britain’s North American colonies; others were imprisoned in Halifax or sent to Europe. Yet more families escaped and found refuge in the St. Lawrence River valley. The deportation created a cycle of migrations that would last into the 1780s. Through this process, a people that had numbered 14,000—concentrated in the Bay of Fundy region and wishing to stay aloof of imperial rivalries—melted into small diasporic communities, isolated from one another, that spanned the length and breadth of the Atlantic Ocean.

There is no such thing as a cultural backwater. There are, however, under-resourced areas that lie beyond the reach of state institutions and that must blaze their own path. For generations, such was the case of the Upper St. John Valley.

Il n’y a pas de périphérie lorsqu’il est question de culture, chacune ayant sa légitimité. Il existe cependant des régions moins favorisées qui sont hors de la portée des institutions étatiques et qui doivent tracer leur propre chemin. Ce fut longtemps le cas de la vallée du haut fleuve Saint-Jean.