Because it is impossible to conceive of
a culture without being able to speak its language.
Because
the French language as it has been handed down to us from generation
to generation is the profound source of our identify, by this document,
we declare that our objectives are to support the French language
in Louisiana, to establish its continuity, and to ensure that all
Cajuns have the knowledge of their heritage.
The
future of the Cajun people of Louisiana is their children speaking
the language of their ancestors. The history of the French community
of Louisiana for the last 50 years is tragic given the destruction
of the language by the public schools. The violent punishment of
Cajun children for speaking French at school compromised their identity
and language. In order to reestablish the language as well as the
identity, bilingual education is fundamental.
The
only truly efficient means of learning French is through immersion.
Therefore, we demand that French immersion and bilingual education
be made available to every student who desires to participate in
one of these programs in all of the 22 parishes of Louisiana officially
recognized as Acadiana.
Because
our future is undeniably tied to our past, we wish to promote the
teaching of Cajun history in order to ensure that all citizens can
obtain knowledge of their Cajun heritage.
Because
our identity is impossible to maintain without understanding our
past, we demand that Cajun history be taught in the public schools
of Acadiana in such a manner as to explain and to increase understanding
of the Cajun history and to sustain the collective memory of the
French experience of Louisiana.
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