Crossing Acadian borders

The intention of this article is to use ethnographic data to advance a greater understanding of the Acadian diaspora, and the existence of peripheral communities, from within the discipline of ethnic studies. To that end, we present the Upper St John Valley in northern Maine as a culturally marginalised Acadian borderland, featuring discussions elucidated from ethnographic-style interviews conducted in 2018 with local Maine residents. These interviews focus on (1) the community value of the French language, (2) the challenges of living along an international border, and (3) how those issues manifested in co-hosting the Congrès mondial acadien in 2014. The reflections offer readers a nuanced, lived experience of the realities of Acadie and are discussed within a framework that presents the manifestation of power relations through an intersection of diaspora and borderlands.