This is a list of notable Acadians, and people of Acadia origins.
To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Acadian or must have references showing they are Acadian and are notable.
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The Expulsion of the Acadians
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Expulsion of the Acadians - Part 1
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The Akkadian Empire and the Sargonic Dynasty (Excellent Presentation)
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The History of the Elamites (Facts and Theories)
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What You Need to Know About French Surnames | Ancestral Findings | AF-262
Transcription
"Where is the thatch-roofed village, the home of Acadian farmers,— Men whose lives glided on like rivers that watered the woodlands, Darkened by shadows of earth, but reflecting an image of heaven?" So asked Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his epic 1847 poem, "Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie." His answer was fittingly grim. "Waste are those pleasant farms and the farmers forever departed, scattered like dust and leaves." The story of the Acadians, the French colonists who in 1606 established themselves in present day Nova Scotia, that is prior to Jamestown, prior to Plymouth, warrants better understanding for several reasons. For one, this great upheaval, this movement, this attack on the French Acadians after almost 150 years of living there in Nova Scotia really qualifies as the first state-sponsored ethnic cleansing on the continent. Now in the early 1990s the United Nations Security Council created a commission of experts to explain exactly what ethnic cleansing is, and here's how they defined it. "Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas. To a large extent it is carried out in the name of misguided nationalism, historic grievances, and powerful driving sense of revenge. This purpose appears to be the occupation of territory to the exclusion of the purged group or groups." The term definitely fits in this particular case. The British expulsion of the Acadians was a question of policy; it was thought about and designed for years. It was authorized and advanced by the highest leadership in England. It was conducted with ruthless efficiency in the effort to separate husband and wife and parents and children, as the Acadians were torn from the land that they had settled but then also scattered all the way from Nova Scotia all the way down to Louisiana so that their way of life was utterly eradicated. Why did this happen after almost 150 years of settlement of the French Acadians? Well for one thing, there's the natural British and French antipathy. The British were the ones who took it away from people who had originally been French. There was also the fact that the Acadians flouted convention; they lived sort of outside the perimeter of state authority for a long time. They also flouted social convention by intermarrying with and living with the native Mi'kmaq. The Mi'kmaq were the native nation that already lived in the Nova Scotia region at that time. At the heart of the action, though, was the simple fact that they had created a wealthy and prospering life and the British had guns and it was easier for the British to raid where it had been easier for the Acadians to trade, and so the British took what the Acadians had. This was a devastating event obviously for the Acadians, but it started a longer trend, a trend of ethnic cleansing that continued on the continent. When I say it was a devastating event, approximately 55 percent of the Acadians lost their lives in the removal from this area as they were scattered all along the continent from Nova Scotia all the way down to Louisiana. It may have been the first of its kind, the state-sponsored action, but it certainly wasn't the last. In the following centuries you see, particularly in the 19th century in the era of Indian removal, the same process done again by the state because it could, taking private property out of the hands of private individuals and moving it to other private individuals simply because the state had the power to do so. And it was in the state's interest to make sure that the property was in the hands of its supporters and citizens. The removal era includes a number of military actions that relocated and decimated dozens of native nations. Perhaps the best known is the Cherokee Trail of Tears in 1838 and 1839, which caused the lives of somewhere between a quarter and third of the entire Cherokee population. There are a couple of conclusions we can draw about this. The first is that the long tradition of state-sponsored theft, removal, and cultural obliteration that has existed in North America since this time. It's part of the fabric of U.S. history. In fact, it predates U.S. history. And the fact the British had this by virtue of theft really starts the U.S. story in the colonial era with this kind of action. Though ethnic cleansing would reach its peak later in U.S. history, it sort of begins the whole story. The unsettling fact of the scale and size of the action, the fact that it took place over really the entire continent when you think of how far the Acadians were scattered and that it wiped out over half of them, really speaks to the fact that the kind of frontier thesis we see out of Frederick Jackson Turner, the kind of manifest destiny we see out of latter-day supporters of the notion of U.S. exceptionalism, really doesn't apply in this case, because in this example, in this particular issue—ethnic cleansing—the United States is not exceptional, and even its colonial history is not exceptional. It is a part of a larger world trend of atrocities against human rights. There is a second reason that the Acadian story is important, and in some ways I think it's the more important of the two reasons. Not only did it start a trend of ethnic cleansing, but it also marked an end to what could be an alternate history that could have developed. The Acadian example offers a different picture of how North America might have looked if this tragic event hadn't taken place. Over 150 years, the Acadians developed a culture based not on conflict and conquest, but on mutual respect and accommodation and interaction among different peoples. In other words, it was a culture based on trade and not raid. The Acadians interacted with, intermarried with the local Mi'kmaq, shared their religion. They developed a syncretic religion that combined elements of both cultures. They developed a language that combined elements from both cultures. And in fact the name "Acadia" is partially taken from the French and partially taken from the Mi'kmaq. What's more, the peaceful Acadians grew wealthy because of their adherence to a policy of free trade across national and ethnic boundaries. They weren't special revolutionaries in any way. They were basically just semiliterate farmers, but they understood that they were on the border of imperial authority. They had, in other words, the area in which to move in a kind of autonomous way, and so they took advantage of this fact by offering free trade without all of the inconvenience of tariffs and regulations that came with the mercantilist policies of either Britain or France. So they moved rum, and they moved furs and food and finished products and all sorts of things through their economy to various groups that they traded with and thus became very prosperous. With this prosperity grew an almost organic notion of individual rights. They realized that they were doing this for themselves. They were working and they were seeing the benefits of this, and so, essentially, they didn't recognize the right of any government to take their stuff that they were creating there. At different points in time over this 150-year period the area was sometimes considered to be part of England and sometimes considered to be part of France, and they didn't really recognize either one. They insisted on a policy of neutrality with either of these powers and other powers as well. They side-stepped officials who wanted them to state their allegiance either to Britain or to France or to pay taxes to either one of those. In a sense, they were de facto revolutionaries ahead of their time. They weren't looking for independence; they didn't articulate it this way. They just wanted to be left alone in their peaceful homes doing their peaceful things peacefully with all of the people they were interacting with. These unsophisticated people managed to articulate the belief that because they were doing this for themselves—they'd exercised rights they had recognized their own liberty—that continuing to do so was their birthright and that other powers didn't have the authority to come in and take that away from them. By common-law right they recognized what they made was theirs. The same arguments would lead the British colonies in 1776 to declare independence from Great Britain. But as I said, they didn't push their independence—the Acadians—they were just looking to be left alone. The sad thing is they weren't. In 1755 the British decided to accept the flourishing Acadian community no longer. They effectively destroyed this alternate vision of how North America could have unfolded, how its history could have been told. So a French community of up to 18,000 people—intermarried with and part of also the local Mi'kmaq culture—was forcibly removed and scattered again from Nova Scotia all the way down to Louisiana with the sole purpose of taking the property that had been Acadian and redistributing it to British individuals and also to eradicate the very way of life that they had developed so that literally they could not come back together anywhere else on the continent. What we have here then is proof that the North American story wasn't written in stone in 1492;it wasn't written in stone in 1607. There was a different way that the story could have gone if tolerance and trade could lead to generations of peace and prosperity, if people had acted more like the French Acadians and less like the nationalistic British. I recommend John Mack Faragher's A Great and Noble Scheme as an excellent work on the subject if you would like to know more.
Actors
- Matthew Steven LeBlanc – actor, known for TV show Friends. Both of his father's parents are of Acadian ancestry. Descendant of Daniel Leblanc.
- Robert Maillet – actor, professional wrestler from Sainte-Marie-de-Kent, New Brunswick
- Patricia McKenzie – actress born in Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine (Painchaud family)
- Philip Bourneuf - actor born in Somerville, Massachusetts. His parents, Ambrose Bourneuf and Josephine Comeau, are of Acadian ancestry. His mother was born in Clare, Nova Scotia as were his paternal grandparents.
- Ryan Doucette - actor from Clare, Nova Scotia.
Law and politics
- Aubin-Edmond Arsenault – former Premier of Prince Edward Island (1917–1919)
- Joseph-Octave Arsenault – first Acadian Prince Edward Island member of the Canadian Senate
- Télésphore Arsenault – Canadian politician, business manager and farmer
- Marcel Arsenault – Philanthropist Billionaire, donated all his wealth to charity
- Guy Arseneault - Provincial MLA and Former Member of the House of Commons of Canada (1988 to 1997)
- Michel Bastarache – Supreme Court of Canada (1997–2008)
- Léopold Belliveau - first Acadian mayor of Moncton, New Brunswick
- Edmond Blanchard – chief justice of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada, former politician
- Gérald Clavette – New Brunswick politician
- Ambroise-Hilaire Comeau - first Acadian from Nova Scotia to be a member of the Canadian Senate
- Gerald Comeau - former member of the Canadian Senate
- Chris d'Entremont – Nova Scotia MLA, Minister of Health and Acadian Affairs :)
- Ray Frenette – former Premier of New Brunswick (1997-1998)
- Brian Gallant – former Premier of New Brunswick (2014-2018)
- Arthur J. LeBlanc - former Justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (1998 - 2017) and Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia (2017)
- Dominic LeBlanc — Canadian MP and cabinet minister (son of Roméo LeBlanc)
- Neil LeBlanc – Consul General to Boston, Massachusetts, and former Nova Scotia MLA, Minister of Finance
- Roméo LeBlanc – politician and journalist, former Governor-General of Canada (1995-1999)
- Viola Léger – former senator and actress
- Pascal Poirier – first Acadian member of the Canadian Senate (served from 1885 to 1933)
- Louis Robichaud – former Premier of New Brunswick (1960-1970)
- Camille Thériault – former Premier of New Brunswick (1998-1999)
- Robert Thibault – Canadian Liberal MP
- Peter J. Veniot – former Premier of New Brunswick (1923-1925)
Military veterans
- Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste
- Alexandre Bourg[1]
- Joseph Broussard (Beausoleil)[2]
- Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour
- Bernard-Anselme d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin
- Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin
- Joseph d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin
- François Dupont Duvivier
- Joseph-Nicolas Gautier and his wife
- Joseph Godin dit Bellefontaine, Sieur de Beauséjour – Commander of the Acadian Militia of the St-John River valley (St. John River Campaign)
- William Johnson (Guillaume Jeanson) – Battle of Bloody Creek (1757)
- Bernard Marres 'Marc' dit La Sonde – fought the British at Canso, Nova Scotia (1718)
- Abel LeBlanc – Petit de Grat, NS, West Nova Scotia Regiment, wounded while in combat in Italy.
- Joseph LeBlanc, dit Le Maigre[3]
- Charles Raymond
- Pierre II Surette
- Joseph Winniett – supported the British; grandchild of Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste
Musicians
- Angèle Arsenault – singer-songwriter, media host
- Marcel Aymar – singer
- Édith Butler – singer-songwriter
- Zachary Richard - singer-songwriter
- Julie Doiron – singer-songwriter
- Patsy Gallant – singer and actress
- Boozoo Chavis – singer-songwriter
- Wilfred Le Bouthillier – singer
- Lisa LeBlanc – singer-songwriter
- Anna Malenfant – contralto and composer
- Natasha St-Pier – singer
- Radio Radio – hip hop group; Jacques Doucet, Alexandre Bilodeau, Gabriel Malenfant
- Fayo – singer-songwriter
- Yvette Tollar – jazz singer, composer
- Roch Voisine – singer-songwriter
- P'tit Belliveau – singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer
- [Herman Pierre Daigle] - singer, guitarist
- Clarence White – guitarist
Sports
- Louis Cyr – weightlifter, "Strongest Man in the World"
- Eric Cyr – MLB player
- Paul Cyr – NHL player
- Jean Béliveau – Hockey Hall of Fame, Montreal Canadiens
- Luc Bourdon – NHL player
- Leo Burke (Leonce Cormier) – wrestler
- Jean-Louis Cormier (Rudy Kay) – wrestler
- Rhéal Cormier – Major League Baseball pitcher
- Yvon Cormier (The Beast) – wrestler
- René Duprée – wrestler
- Yvon Durelle – boxer
- Suzanne Gaudet – curler
- Ron Guidry – Major League baseball pitcher
- Lance Cormier - Major League Baseball Pitcher
- Bobby Hebert- NFL Quarterback New Orleans Saints
- Camille Henry – NHL player, winner of the Lady Byng Trophy and the Calder Memorial Trophy
- Bobby Kay (Romeo Cormier) – wrestler
- Jacques LeBlanc – boxer
- Robert Maillet – wrestler
- Roland Melanson – NHL goalie
- Chad Ogea – Major League Baseball pitcher
- Dustin Poirier – Mixed martial arts fighter
- Henri Richard – Hockey Hall of Fame, Montreal Canadiens
- Maurice Richard – Hockey Hall of Fame, Montreal Canadiens
- Ryan Theriot – Major League Baseball infielder
Visual artists
- Anne-Marie Sirois – artist
Writers
- Gilbert Buote – educator, publisher and author[4]
- Anselme Chiasson - Catholic priest, educator, writer
- Herménégilde Chiasson – writer, ex-lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick
- Joey Comeau – writer, comic creator
- France Daigle – writer and playwright
- Andrea Doucet – sociologist and writer
- Clive Doucet – writer
- Placide Gaudet - historian, educator, genealogist and journalist. His research and papers play an important role in the preservation of the Acadian history.
- Valentin Landry – journalist and educator[5]
- Émilie Leblanc – Acadian activist and educator[6]
- Gérald Leblanc – poet
- Louis Haché – writer, translator, historian
- Antonine Maillet – writer and playwright; Prix Goncourt 1979
- Alden Nowlan – poet, novelist, and playwright
- Marie-Colombe Robichaud – writer and playwright[7]
Media
- Phil Comeau – film and television director; 92 film awards, Order of Canada, Order of New Brunswick
- Lyse Doucet – news correspondent and presenter, BBC World
Pre-deportation
- David Basset – trader and privateer
- Joseph Broussard (Beausoleil)
- Noel Doiron – leader of the Acadians; died in the single greatest tragedy of the Expulsion, the sinking of the Duke William
- Joseph-Nicolas Gautier – merchant trader and Acadian militia leader
- Daniel LeBlanc – immigrant and progenitor of the LeBlanc family, the largest Acadian family at the time of the deportation
- Pierre LeBlanc – early settler of Pointe-de-l'Église, Nova Scotia
- Bernard Marot (fl. 1590–1650), French surgeon and ship's captain.
- Philippe Mius d'Entremont – Lieutenant-major under Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour, who, in 1653, awarded him the first fief in Acadia, the Barony of Pobomcoup (currently Pubnico, Nova Scotia ). He later became the King's Attorney in Acadia
- Joseph d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin – military officer and Abenaki chief
- Pierre II Surette – Acadian resistance leader and co-founder of Ste. Anne du Ruisseau, Nova Scotia
- Jeanne Dugas – wife of Pierre Bois, one of the co-founders of Chéticamp, Nova Scotia
See also
- List of First Nations peoples
- List of Cajuns
- List of Louisiana Creoles
- List of people by nationality
References
- ^ d'Entremont, C.J. (1974). "Bourg, Belle-Humeur, Alexandre". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. III (1741–1770) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- ^ Brodhead, John Romeyn (1858). "List of Veterans named by Governor of Boston". Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York. Vol. 10. Albany: Weed, Parsons and Co. p. 155.
- ^ Pothier, Bernard (1974). "Leblanc, Le Maigre, Joseph". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. III (1741–1770) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- ^ Arsenault, Georges (1994). "Buote, Gilbert". In Cook, Ramsay; Hamelin, Jean (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XIII (1901–1910) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- ^ Ross, Sally (1998). "Landry, Valentin". In Cook, Ramsay; Hamelin, Jean (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XIV (1911–1920) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- ^ "Open letter – Marichette". McCord Museum.
- ^ "Festival des cultures francophones" (PDF). Dalhousie University.