Reflection on how Nove Scotia Acadians used commemorative historical pageants to deal with their traumatic history in the middle of the 20th century.

1. The Historical Pageant as Healing Ritual:
The Case of Mid-century Acadian Nova Scotia
Caroline-Isabelle Caron
Queen’s University
10th annual Holidays, Ritual, Festival,
Celebrations, and Public Display Conference
3 June 2006, Willimette University

2. Acadian History 101
• 1604
• Most immigration (Nova Scotia) btw 1632 and 1669
• Deportation, 1775-1763
– 10 000 to 18 000
• Return to Maritimes
• c1950:
– NS: 10%
– PEI: 4%
– NB: 37%

3. Clare and Pubnico
• Highest population and
concentration of Acadians in
Nova Scotia
• Still live and work in French
(acadjonne)

4. Mid-20th-century Pageants
• 3 community pageants, several schools pageants
– 1951, Pubnico, Village Tercentenary, historical
pageant
– 1955, Clare, Deportation Bicentennial, historical
pageant
– 1955, Clare, Deportation Bicentennial, religious
pageant
– 1955, Pubnico, Deportation Bicentennial, school
historical pageants

5. Reconciling with Traumatic History
• Vergangenheitsbewältigung
– Dealing with the past
– Coming to terms with traumatic past

6. Pageants as healing rituals
• Compensating for the horrors of the past
– The past was good
– Golden Age
• Compensating for marginalization
– Self-promotion and community consolidation
– Commemoration of assertion
• Compensating for discrimination
– Setting the record straight
– Rhetoric of progress and providence

7. Pubnico 1951: Participants

8. Clare 1955: Participants, historical pageant

9. Pubnico 1951: Opening

10. Clare 1955: Indians

11. Pubnico 1951: The arrival

12. Pubnico 1951: Philippe d’Entemont made
Baron at Port-Royal

13. Clare 1955: The King of France sends
colonists

14. Clare 1955: Engagement

15. Pubnico 1951: The happy life of our
ancestors

16. Pubnico 1951: The first wedding

17. Clare 1955: Engagement Dance (Folklore)

18. Clare 1955: Old Women’s Dance

19. Clare 1955: Dance des sabots

20. Pubnico 1951: Fire Dance

21. Clare 1955: Dispersion

22. Clare 1955: The Return Home

23. Pubnico 1951: Pirates Repelled

24. Clare 1955: War heroes

25. Clare 1955: Blessing of Grosses Coques Chapel

26. Clare 1955: Pavane des fleurs (Homage to the
Assumption)

27. Clare 1955: The Assumption protects
Acadia

28. Pubnico 1951: Apotheosis

29. Clare 1955: Apotheosis

30. Clare 1955: The Flag and the Nation
• The Assumption looks over
its eldest daughter, Acadia
• Modern and traditional
• Progressive and Providential

31. Commemoration of assertion
• Infuences later commemorations and festivals

32. Thank you