Acadiana Nylon Flag

About Our Acadiana Nylon Flag

Acadiana (French and Louisiana French: L'Acadiane), also known as the Cajun Country (Louisiana French: Le Pays Cadjin), is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that has historically contained much of the state's Francophone population. Many inhabitants of the Cajun Country have Acadian ancestry and identify as Cajuns or Louisiana Creoles. Of the 64 parishes that make up the U.S. state of Louisiana, 22 named parishes and other parishes of similar cultural environment make up this intrastate region. In 1965, Thomas J. Arceneaux designed a flag for Acadiana. Arceneaux was a professor at University of Southwestern Louisiana, now University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He derived the flag from the university seal. In 1974, the Louisiana legislature officially adopted Arceneaux's design as the official Acadiana flag (House Concurrent Resolution 143, passed 5 July 1974). The three white fleurs-de-lis on the blue field represent the French heritage of Acadiana, the gold star on the white field symbolizes Saint Mary, Our Lady of the Assumption, patron saint of Acadiana; and the star also symbolizes the active participation of the Cajuns in the American Revolution, as soldiers under General Bernardo de Gálvez, Spanish governor of Louisiana. The gold tower on the red field represents Spain, which was governing Louisiana when the Acadians arrived, after the French had ceded their territories in North America. The flag is used in a variety of ways in the Acadiana region. Some local governments fly the flag of Acadiana with their respective local colors and the American flag. Many residents of Acadiana fly the flag on their homes or businesses. Many consider it a symbol of the historic and present socio-economic ties that bind the region.