The New Acadia Project/Projet Nouvelle-Acadie in Loreauville, Louisiana received a $52,000 grant from the Coypu Foundation. The money will be used to purchase sensing equipment to identify areas of interest that may lead archaeologists to the original camp and burial sites of the first Acadian settlers.
The multi-year project is spearheaded by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. It is an archaeological/historical initiative that aims to locate the original mid-18th-century settlements of the first group of Acadian exiles in the Louisiana territory. Their descendants today comprise more than 500,000 Cajuns in Louisiana and throughout the world.
Oral tradition says descendents of Joseph Broussard — the Acadian freedom fighter more commonly known as Beausoleil — are buried along the Bayou Teche near Loreauville.
Next year will be the 250th anniversary of the Acadians settling in the area. Plans are underway for a celebration that will include educational presentations and tours in the Loreauville area.
You can follow the project’s progress on the New Acadia Project/Projet Nouvelle-Acadie Facebook page or on the project web page.
