The Unwritten Rules of History

A Guide to Online Resources for Teaching and Learning Acadian History in K-12

A map of Beaubassin in 1755

A map depicting the Beaubassin region of Nova Scotia in 1755. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Once again, I have stuck to sources that are produced by institutions, museums, archives, and historical societies. This is again to ensure that the sources presented are authentic and their provenance clear. In order to keep this guide to a manageable size, I have excluded websites that are narrative-based,  rather than providing primary sources and/or learning tools. While I have included material from a range of different periods in Acadian history, the majority of this material deals with Acadian history in Canada. In other words, you won’t find information here about what happened to Acadians who were deported and never returned. Also, considering the subject matter, I have indicated the languages in which each resource is available. There will be three separate guides: one for educators working in K-12 institutions; one for educators working in higher education; and one that provides an introduction to the field of study.  For this particular guide, I have focused exclusively on material that will be of interest primarily for educators working in K-12 institutions, but some duplication is to be expected.

This guide assumes you have a basic familiarity with Acadian history. If you don’t, or would like to brush up on what you know, I would highly recommend the CHA booklet on Acadian history, written by Caroline-Isabelle Caron.


Since this blog post is a bit of a monster, you can simply click on each one of those headings below to navigate to a specific section of this page.  To return to the top of the page, click on the link that says “Back to the Top,” located at the bottom of each section. Here’s how the blog post is arranged:

 


Online Exhibitions

  • 1755: L’Histoire et Les Histoires (Études acadiennes, Université de Moncton)
    • Language: English, Français
    • Created under the direction of Maurice Basque, this website holds more than 4,000 digitized documents relating to the Acadian deportation. The documents are integrated into several sections, including a nine-part narrative of Acadian history, a directory of Acadian families, and a history of specific areas. Also included is a section on commemoration and the arts. However, this website is archaic (from 2007), and it has not been maintained. So while some of the digitized documents still work, many of the links are broken. This includes the entire section that allows you to search them thematically. But one of the sections that still works is the one with student/teacher resources. This section contains a series of classroom exercises and activities to help k-12 students learn more about this history. The teacher’s section in particular is organized into a primary and secondary section, to help users chose appropriate activities. Requires Flash.
  • France in America (Library of Congress/Bibliothèque nationale de France)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is a series of online exhibits created around French settlement in Canada generally speaking. There is a section dedicated to Acadian history specifically, which can be accessed here. If you click on the tabs labelled “History,” “Critical Thinking,” and “Arts and Humanities,” you will find additional explanatory texts, primary sources, and discussion questions on a number of themes. While most do not deal with Acadian history specifically, many can be adapted.
  • Voyage en Francophonie Canadienne (Association Canadienne d’éducation de langue française)
    • Language: Français
    • This is an online exhibit about the history of French Canadian communities across the country, including the history of Acadia. There are four different ways to use the site. The first involves an interactive map, the second is a chart with information on French-language schools, the third is a timeline, and the fourth is a textbook. The activities are designed to be used by students between the ages of six and seventeen. There are also a number of activities that have been created specifically to use with this website, available here, though most deal with the history of French Canada in general.
  • Acadien au Québec (Musée Acadien du Québec)
    • Language: mostly Français, some English available
    • This is an online exhibit about the history of Acadians in Quebec. It’s mostly based on explanatory texts, particularly the English version (available here). The French version also contains a special section with additional material about the different areas in which Acadians settlement in Quebec, available here. Visitors can select from a number of different areas, and each contains additional information about institutions, monuments, and individuals.
  • Les Capsules Acadienne (Université Sainte Anne)
    • Language: Français
    • This is an online exhibit that looks at the history of Acadian communities in Nova Scotia across a number of different themes, ranging from the economy, to dance, to history, and more. Each theme contains a number of entries on that particular theme, with images, primary sources, music, and explanatory text, as well as supplementary materials and recommended readings. It’s hard to capture just how in-depth this online exhibit is in a few words.
  • Cape Breton’s Diversity in Unity – Acadian Music Traditions (Beaton Institute)
    • Language: mixed
    • This online exhibit is designed to showcase how music unites different parts of Cape Breton’s population (Acadian, Mi’kmaq, Gaelic, coal miners). There is a specific section for Acadian music, with explanatory texts, a photo gallery, and detailed information about a significant number of Acadian songs. Under the section labelled “For Educators,” there is detailed information for teachers in both English and French, including a list of proposed exercises.

 

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Primary Sources

General/Various

  • The Port Royal Habitation: Four Hundred Years of European Settlement in North America (Nova Scotia Archives)
    • Language: English
    • This is a virtual exhibit dedicated to the history of the area currently known as Port Royal, which is a twentieth century reconstruction of Samuel de Champlain’s original settlement from 1605. The exhibit itself contains forty-eight images related to Port Royal, from 1609 to 1967, documenting the original settlement and the research involved in its reconstruction.
  • Acadian Cemeteries – Sally Ross Research Collection (Nova Scotia Archives)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is a digitized fonds of nearly 2,000 photographs and contact sheets documenting sixty post-Deportation Acadian cemeteries, along with colour prints of the oldest surviving cemetery St. Pierre Catholic Church in Chéticamp on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. This is not a comprehensive collection, as it contains a sample of gravestones and monuments dating from 1817 to 2002 that were selected by the fonds creator (Sally Ross) for various reasons. Included with the photographs are English translations of French inscriptions. The collective is organized by community and by church, and is text-searchable.
  • This is Our Home: Acadians of Nova Scotia (Nova Scotia Archives)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is a collection of around thirty-six images showing the history and traditions of the Acadian people. Most of these are from the middle of the twentieth century.
  • The Leprosy of Tracadie (Musée Historique de Tracadie Inc./Virtual Museum of Canada)
    • Language: English
    • This is a community stories project on the Virtual Museum of Canada website, documenting the establishment of a lazaretto on Sheldrake Island in 1844, which was subsequently moved to Tracadie in 1849. The online exhibit contains 115 images with either explanatory text or audio (requires plugin), as well as series of selective narratives called “Stories” on a number of select topics. It is also text-searchable. Requires Flash.
  • Standardbearers of Acadian Identity (Centre d’études acadiennes/McCord Museum)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is a web-tour of images, with explanatory texts, on political activism by Acadians beginning in the late eighteenth century (after Deportation). There are twenty-nine images in total, including digitized primary sources and images of material objects, dating from 1768 to 2000.
  • A Changing World: Education in New Brunswick (Centre d’études acadiennes/McCord Museum)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is another web-tour like the first, only focusing on how Acadians fought for French-language education in New Brunswick. The material included covers the second half of the nineteenth century.
  • The Acadian Renaissance (Centre d’études acadienne/McCord Museum)
    • Language: English, Français
    • Again the same thing, but this one focuses on how Acadians worked to revitalize their culture and traditions, largely through the medium of commissions.
  • McCord Museum
    • Language: English, Français
    • If you’ve been reading Unwritten Histories for any length of time, you know I have a deep and abiding love for the McCord Museum. Their fantastic online collection contains numerous historical items, including texts, images, and material objects, relating to Acadian history, drawn from their own collections, as well as the Musée acadien of the Université de Moncton, the Centre des études acadienne, and the New Brunswick Museum, Guelph Museums, Musée minéralogique et minier de Thetford Mines, North Vancouver Museum and Archives, and Sir Alexander Galt Museum and Archives. They also maintain a list of material specifically dedicated to Acadian culture, available here.
  • Maps Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Language: English
    • The Library of Congress holds several maps in particular that are of interest to the study of the history of Acadia. Searching is a bit of a pain, because most of the relevant images are not labelled at Acadia, but instead refer to the specific geographical location represented (like coast, city, region, etc..) But this list, of their online Canadian holdings, is a good starting point.
  • Gallica (National Archives of France)
    • Language: French, English, Italian
    • This suggestion comes from friend of the blog and Brock University historian Daniel Sampson. There are many documents pertaining to the history of Acadie and New France in the French national archives (some more difficult to find than others), but Danny informs us that Gallica is especially useful for maps that haven’t necessarily been copied by North American archives.

Textual Documents

  • Acadian (Library and Archives Canada)
    • Language: English, Français
    • Included among their research guides for particular ethno-cultural groups by LAC is this one on the history of Acadians. Though Stephanie would like to point out that the accompanying image is simply that of a French solider at Louisbourg. The sources listed here primary sources from their collection, both online and offline, that are useful particularly for genealogists. Of particular note here are passenger’s list for individuals going to Acadia in 1717, 1732, 1747 and 1749-1758.
  • Isaac Deschamps (Nova Scotia Archives)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is an online collection of records both created and collected by Isaac Deschamps, a trader, judge, and politician, (possibly of Swiss origin) who influenced the Acadian Deportation, particularly in the area around Ford Edward. There are forty-one digitized textual documents in this collection, and including correspondence regarding Acadians, and lists of Acadia prisoners.
  • Louis de Mezangeau (Nova Scotia)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is an online collection of material documenting the career, life, and family of Louis de Mezangeau, a French seaman who was involved in the resettlement of the Acadians following deportation. Out of this collection of twenty digitized textual documents, several deal with his military career.
  • Acadian Heartland: The Records of British Government at Annapolis Royal, 1713-1749 (Nova Scotia Archives)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is a digitized, transcribed, and fully text-searchable collection of the earliest surviving records from the British government in Nova Scotia. Included are the Governor’s Letter books from the period, a commission book from 1720-1741, the original minutes from His Majesty’s council from 1720 to 1739 and 1736 to 1749. Accompanying each is an index to allow for easier searching, and you have the option of searching the indexes together or individually.
  • Acadian Heartland: Records of the Deportation and Le Grand Dérangement, 1714-1768 (Nova Scotia Archives)
    • Language: English, Français
    • Accompanying the previous entry, this is a database of digitized and text-searchable primary sources relating to the Acadian deportation. Included in this collection are selections from the Public Documents of the Province of Nova Scotia, selections from the Andrew Brown collection, and selections from the journal of Colonel John Winslow from the summer and fall of 1755. Again, each of these sources can be search together or individually. There are also digitized images of some of the individuals listed in the documents and nineteenth century illustrations of the Deportation. (Note from Stephanie: these textual documents should not be treated as a complete history of the deportation. This is a fraction of the story. Many more documents can be found at LAC and at the UK’s National Archives.)
  • Canadiana Online
    • Language: English, Français
    • As I’ve mentioned in my Loyalist history guide, this is a database of documents relating to Canada that were printed prior to 1950. There is a ton of material to use, even by using the search term “Acadian,” going back to 1613. While there is a new interface, this database is still an absolute pain in the arse to use.
      • Note: Early Canadiana and Canadiana are currently in the process of merging.

Oral Histories

  • Returning the Voices to Kouchibouguac National Park (Ronald Rudin, Concordia University)
    • Language: English
    • This website accompanies Ronald Rudin’s book, Kouchibouguac: Removal, Resistance and Remembrance at a Canadian National Park.Twenty-six stories are collected here, organized into ten regions that eventually became part of the park, told by affected individuals in video format.
    • An overview of historical representations in and around the park, also by Rudin, is available here.
  • Graver La Parole (Centre acadien, Université Sainte-Anne)
    • Language: There are both English and French sites, but their content is different (depending on the language of the speakers available.)
    • This is an ancient website that contains extracts from digitized recordings of interviews with Acadians in Nova Scotia, originally recorded in the 1970s. The recordings deal with the occupations, customs, social life, and folklore of the Acadians from Argyle, Cheticamp, Clare, and Isle Madame. The recordings are in .ram format, and must be downloaded to your computer, but they do actually work.

Databases of Names

  • An Acadian Parish Reborn: Post–Deportation Argyle – First 50 Years of Catholic Parish Records 1799-1849 (Nova Scotia Archives/Argyle Township Court House and Archives)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is a searchable database with the names of all Roman Catholic individuals who were baptized, married, or buried between 1799 and 1849 in the township of Argyle in Yarmouth County. There are over 4500 entries, each accompanied by descriptive information, a digitized image of the page upon which the original registry entry is located, and a full transcription. All of the registry entries are in French, and while the relevant information is listed on the page, the full transcription has not been translated. Also on the website is an index that allows researchers to search by family name, a separate transcription of the baptisms and marriages recorded by Abbé Charles-François Bailly de Messein during his missionary visit to Argyle in August 1769, and various explanatory texts, including one on the challenges of transcribing this material.
  • An Acadian Parish Remembered: The Registers of St. Jean-Baptiste, Annapolis Royal, 1702-1755 (Nova Scotia Archives)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This database is based on one of only two surviving pre-Deportation parish registers from Annapolis Royal, covering baptisms, marriages, and deaths from the parish of St. Jean-Baptiste from 1702 to 1755. There are over 3550 registry entries included, and each entry is accompanied by description of the entry and a digitized image of the page upon which the original entry is located. The database is fully text searchable, and also allows individuals to search by last name.

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Lesson Plans/Teacher’s Guides

  • Leprosy on Sheldrake Island (Lost Stories)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is a lesson plan dedicated to the thirty individuals (mostly Acadian) with leprosy who were sent to Sheldrake Island in 1844. There is an accompanying video explaining the history of the Island as well as the commemorative art installation that was constructed as part of the Lost Stories project. There are three lessons in all, designed for students in grade seven through ten, though the instructions note that younger and older students may also use this material, depending on additional support. The first lesson is about the different between history and the past, the second is about historical narratives and evidence, and the third is about the use of markers for the purpose of commemoration. Supporting documentation includes more PDFs about the history of leprosy in New Brunswick, how to use primary sources, and rubrics.
  • Jerome: The Mystery Man of Baie Sainte-Marie (Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History)
    • Language: English, Français
    • This is unit is dedicated to a man named Jerome, who was found on a beach by the Acadian community of St. Mary’s Bay in September 1863, unable to speak and having had both his legs amputated. He was taken in, and cared for him for the remainder of his life. This particular mystery is designed to help students critically consider primary source with opposing evidence, how to separate fact from fiction, and how individuals with disabilities were treated in Canada in the nineteenth century. It designed around seven lessons, each taking between one and four classes. Students and teachers are provided with relevant primary sources, and there is also a teacher’s guide and historical interpretations guide walking you through the entire process. The lessons are designed for students in grades ten to twelve, with information on how the unit fits into various provincial curriculums.
    • There are also three mysteryquests, which are condensed lessons designed to be completed individually or in a group, though additional information about adapting them for use by the entire class is also provided. Each one contains all of the information needed, as well as grading rubrics and a teacher’s guide. The first, for students aged 14 to 16, asks students to compare historical narratives.The second, also for students aged 14 to 16, asks students to consider why Jerome’s story has become a legend in New Brunswick. And the third, for students aged 16 to 18,asks students to determine whether or not Jerome was mistreated by the standards of the day.
  • The Acadian Expulsion: A Canadian Tragedy (Historical Atlas of Canada)
    • This is a really old interactive map/Historical GIS project that allows students to see population movements both before and after the Deportation as well as download relevant population data. There are instructions showing you how to use this, but only the Acadian Deportation Experience, 1755-1785 map seems to work. I include this more for the sake of completeness than anything else.
  • The Acadians (CBC Archives)
    • This is a lesson plan designed for students of all grades regarding the causes and results of the Acadian Deportation. Students are asked to watched a series of videos from CBC Archives, and then complete a chart about the causes and results of the Deportation, and any remaining questions they have.
  • Our Ancestors – Sharing the Journey (Canadian Geographic Education)PDF
    • Available in French here
    • This is a lesson plan designed to teach students about the history of the Acadian deportation. It is designed for students in grade six, and takes places over the course of two to three periods. The main activity requires students to learn how to study maps, as well as brainstorm, graph statistical data, and discuss.
  • Deportation of the Acadians (Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario)
    • This is a lesson plan that uses physical play and performing acts to teach grade seven students about the history and culture of Acadians, as well as the Acadian Deportation. Students are asked to role play the day in the life of an Acadian, to read and understand a primary source, consider historical significance, and share information. There are also suggestions here for modifying the lesson for English Language Learners and options for students who are not comfortable doing performance activities.
  • Bho Ghlùin gu Glùin | From Knee to Knee (Nova Scotia Museum)
    • This is a lesson plan developed for grade five students in a social studies class taking approximately one and a half hours.. Students are asked to consider how we learn about the past with respect to Acadians, African Nova Scotias, Gaels, Mi’kmaq, and more. Students read Bho Ghlùin gu Glùin | From Knee to Knee, about the learning traditions of the Gaelic people, and talk about the difference between history and myth, connect their family histories to larger histories, and learn to tell each other stories in the oral history tradition.
  • The Music that Shaped America (Teach Rock)
    • This is an exercise for k-12 students generally that is designed to teach them how the Acadians used music and dance to maintain their community and cultural traditions following the Deportation. Students play the role of ethnographers and learn about the history of the Acadians, Evangeline, the group that relocated to Southern Louisiana, the history of the French and Indian War, triangular trade routes, and Cajun culture and community. They are asked to discuss two videos featuring performances of Acadian/Cajun music, examine how the Acadians have been mythologized, connected Acadian history to larger global histories, and consider historical change and continuity.
  • Documentary Lesson Plan for The Dikes (National Film Board of Canada)
    • Developed by teacher Andrea Burke, this lesson accompanies the NFB film The Dikes (linked below) and asks students to demonstrate historical thinking, decision making, problem solving, research, and communication. It is designed for students in Cycle 2 of secondary school. Students watch the film, and discuss the history of Acadian dykes, use maps and research to understand the Acadian deportation, build their own dykes and levees, and use role play to understand dike maintenance.
  • Evangeline – A Story of Empowerment (Prince Edward Island)PDF
    • This is an extensive lesson plan developed for grade seven students around the idea of power structures, structured around watching a performance of Evangeline. The lesson includes introductory activities to set up the lesson and post-performance activities to allow for additional learning. While obviously not everyone has access to a performance of Evangeline, I think it can easily be substituted by reading the poem aloud or watching a recorded performance. Though it does deal with the now controversial poem, the lesson was developed in accordance with the Historical Thinking Project, and so approaches history with a critical eye.
  • How have struggles for sovereignty defined Canada, and how do they continue to define Canada? (Nova Scotia)PDF p. 98-99
    • This is the officially curriculum guide for teaching Canadian history 10 in Nova Scotia, from 2002. This lesson on sovereignty asks students to complete three exercises on three different subjects in order to understand how different groups have articulated sovereignty. The groups are Newfoundland in 1948-9 (how they negotiated entering confederation), the Acadians (using art forms to reflect their struggles), and the Métis (political struggles). The last section on the Métis includes a problematic suggestion for a debate, but the section on Acadian asks students to critically consider Acadian literature, music, art, dance, and traditions and how they reflect their struggles, and use different art forms to present their findings. An extension activity asks students to apply what they have learned to assume a character and then presenting what they learned through a creative exercise.
  • How has Canada struggled for a just and fair society? (Nova Scotia)PDF p. 144
    • Like the previous exercise, this one is generally about the issue of justice, and the impact of displacements. Teachers are asked to divide their classes into 6 to 8 groups, each assigned a different case of displacement (the Acadian Deportation being one of them). They are provided with relevant resources for their topic, and the students then answer four questions about displacement.
  • Randonnée D’un Océan À L’autre (Association Canadienne d’éducation de langue française)
    • Language: French
    • This activity asks students to create a trivia game to help learn about the history of Francophone and acadian communities across the country. It has been designed for students between the ages of twelve and thirteen. Students are broken into thirteen groups, one for each territory and province. They research the history of Francophone communities in their area. They then present this information to the other students, before creating trivia cards, using an actual deck of cades, with information from their presentation. The students then compete to see who can answer the most questions.
  • Détermination et énergie (Alliance des femmes de la francophonie Canadienne)
    • Language: French
    • This is a classroom lesson designed to teach students about Acadian history in PEI, particularly the experiences of women in the last thirty years of the twentieth century. This lesson first asks students to read through this text about Acadian women’s activism in PEI. Students are then asked a series of comprehension questions. The remainder of the lesson involves group activities, largely based around three traditional Acadian songs. There are also extension activities about how historians conduct research, the history of women’s work, the Deportation of the Acadians, and Acadia’s relationship to the Francophonie.
  • Activités d’animation pour la preparation du Grand Tintamarre Jeauness 2017 (Heritage Canada)PDF
    • Language: French
    • This is a detailed guide of activities designed mostly for students between the ages of six and twelve. They are designed to prepare students for the Grand Tinatamarre, but can easily be used in a classroom. There are three main sections. The first provides information about the history of the Acadians. The second contains simple games and quizzes to learn about Acadian history based on the material from the previous section. The final section contains more significant activities, mostly around art projects. The second activity in this section is a little problematic, since it emphasized the myth of peaceful relationships btween Acadians and the Mi’kmaq, so I would avoid it.
  • The History of Acadians in Canada (ESRI Canada)
    • This activity has been designed for students in grades two to twelve. When you click on exercise, you will be asked to download a folder containing the lesson overview, the activity itself, and relevant ArcGIS data. The activity is broken into two sections. The first asks students to create ArcGIS maps documenting various periods in Acadian history. The second asks students to use the material they just created to make a Story Map of Acadian history, demonstrating its historical significance.
  • Intolerance: A Lesson Plan (Historica Canada)
    • Language: fully bilingual
    • This assignment is designed to teach students about intolerance in historical and contemporary Canada, including the Acadian Deportation. Students are tasked with using primary sources to research their subject in a critical fashion, writing a response, creating a check list about intolerance, and finally, creating a public service announcemenet about the checklist.
  • Becoming American: The British Atlantic Colonies, 1690-1738 (National Humanities Centre)
    • Though this site is more specifically about American history, the section labelled Europeans II: The Continent explores the diverse nature of European colonists in the Americas, including the Acadians. This exercise contains primary sources from six different ethnic groups (Acadians are represented here as French Catholics in Nova Scotia) for students to use, and a series of discussion and framing questions.

 

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Media

Films

  • Roger Blais, dr., Les aboiteaux, (Montreal: National Film Board of Canada, 1955)/Roger Blais, dr.,The Dikes, (Montreal: National Film Board of Canada, 1955).
  • Michel Brault and Pierre Perrault, drs. Acadia Acadia?!? (Montreal: National Film Board of Canada, 1971)

Podcasts

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Blogs

If you’re looking for blog post to use as course readings, here are some great suggestions:

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Social Media

Twitter

Facebook

 

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3 Comments

  1. Daniel Samson

    This is a fabulous resource. One additional suggestion, particularly for maps, is the French National Archives Gallica website. The Library of Congress and other collections have most of the major 18th-century maps, but Gallica also has dozens of smaller mpas and surveys, particularly for Isle Royale, Isle St-Jean, and Canso.

    https://gallica.bnf.fr

    • Stephanie Pettigrew

      Thanks Danny! I’ll be sure to add it.

  2. Ronald Rudin

    Thanks so much for making this wealth of material about Acadian history better known — and just in time for Acadians’ national holiday, le quinze août (pronounced quinzou). While French-speaking Quebecers chose the fête de St-Jean-Baptiste for their holdiay, Acadians wanted one of their own and selected the Feast of the Assumption, which marked the passage of the Virgin Mary (the patron saint of Acadians) to heaven. I discuss such matters of Acadian identity in the book, Remembering and Forgetting in Acadie, and the associated documentary film (directed by Leo Aristimuño) Life After Île Ste-Croix: https://www.nfb.ca/film/life-after-ile-ste-croix/

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