Vive l'Acadie de l'Île

Deportation, cultural assimilation: Acadians have seen their share of struggles since they first settled on Prince Edward Island, which they named Île St. Jean, in 1719. They founded the first permanent European settlement at Port-la-Joye, across the harbour from what is now Charlottetown.

There were 100 people in that first group, and the colony grew slowly until international events made it a refuge. As the British took control of what became Nova Scotia in the 1750s, Acadians there fled to the Island in advance of and during the first major deportation in 1755.

By 1758, there were more than 4,000 Acadians on the Island, but safety on Île St. Jean was short lived. Louisbourg fell to the British that year, and another deportation followed, this time from what would be renamed Prince Edward Island. At the end of the war between the British and the French, the British reported just 30 Acadians had escaped deportation.

On the 250th anniversary of that deportation, CBC P.E.I. is commemorating the event with an in-depth look at Acadian life on the Island.

CBC Radio reporter Nancy Russell explores what it means to be an Acadian in 2008 on Prince Edward Island. She discovers that the tragedy of the expulsion from Île Saint-Jean still resonates with some Acadians, and talks to historians who debate whether the Queen still needs to formally apologize. 

She also investigates more modern troubles the community has faced. When schools were consolidated in 1970, dozens of Acadian schools were closed and their students were assimilated into English programs. 

She finds that once again, the Island's Acadian communities are re-establishing themselves.

The series will take listeners into living rooms and kitchens, where families are choosing to speak to their children in French, sometimes a generation or two after French stopped being the predominant language in the home. Nancy will also visit French language schools, including École la belle Cloche. The school, located in Souris, will celebrate its first graduation in 2009 with a graduating class of one. There will be stories of tension between Anglophones and Francophones in years gone by and young Acadians will talk about how they feel about their language and culture today.

Several stories will also air on Le Reveil, P.E.I.'s morning radio show on Radio-Canada. The series wraps up in mid-December with a live broadcast featuring many of the people who have been a part of Vive l'Acadie de l'Île. It will coincide with the official end of the year commemorating the deportation of 1758.