Cultural Diversity

In terms of culture, our country is one of the most diverse around the world. People from all over the world come here in search of a better future. We as Americans should be grateful that we have the opportunity to be part of this great nation. We should embrace what makes this country so great; our diversity, as every group, culture and race has contributed to what our country is today.

In honor of my husband who was born in Louisiana and has a Cajun background, I have decided to write about the contributions of the Cajun culture and traditions to our nation. The term Cajuns refers to people who reside in southern Louisiana. Cajuns are descendants of French settlers who moved into Acadia in Canada in the early 1600s (Rudolphy, K, 2014). The territory that had gone back and forth between the French and the British became a permanent possession of the British in 1713. When the British took over the Canadian territory, they expected everyone including the Acadians to abide by their rules and adopt their religion. For forty year this group of people refuse to abide by the rules set forth by the British (Cajuns and Creoles, 2014). In 1750, exiled Acadians arrived to the Spanish colony in Louisiana, eventually more and more Acadians arrived to the area and settle there creating what became southern Louisiana. During the same time there were many other cultures that settle in the same area to include Spanish, Native Americans, French Creoles from the Caribbean and African slave descendants. Through out the years the interaction between all of these different backgrounds created what we now know as Cajun culture. The term “Cajun” is the French-based creole word for “Acadian”. French Creole was widely spoken in the area at the time. In the 1800’s, France took Louisiana from Spain, and three years later sold it to the United States (Rudolphy, K., 2014).

The Cajun people have contributed so much of their rich heritage to our culture, from food, language,...