Myth Busting: Episode Two
Myth Busting: Episode Two
For this installment of what I’ve termed “Myth Busting,” we’ll now turn to two images. These images are called “Homme Acadien” and “Femme Acadienne.”
These two images have been repeatedly shared online by people (including the Library and Archives Canada!) over the years and played off like they’re definitive proof of “Acadians” having been “Métis” people. This is in fact an erroneous assertion and serves as a perfect example of why people ABSOLUTELY NEED TO SEEK SOURCE MATERIAL when making conclusions based on historical material.
If one “gets to the root” of the situation, we find that these images are actually of Mi’kmaw people, not “Acadians.” The error in the conclusion that these two people were “Métis” stems from the fact that when taken out of context, the title of “Acadien(ne)” immediately makes one think of the “Acadians” as we know them today, the “peaceful, innocent farmers, who were tragically ripped from their homeland and deported.”
As many of you know, this is not a description that I agree with, as like with any group of people, the “Acadians” who lived in the different geographical locations of Acadia lived in many different ways based on the geography and activities that occurred in these areas (ex. Fur trading and higher rates of intermarriage with the Mi’kmaq along what is now known as the South Shore of Nova Scotia versus farming in the fertile lands of what is now known as the Valley of Nova Scotia). Basically, the “Acadians” were not the homogenous group of people that the history books have come to portray over the years, especially since the “Acadian Nationalism” movement of the late-1800s/early-1900s.
HOWEVER, with this being said, the “Homme Acadien” and “Femme Acadienne” images ARE NOT of “ACADIANS” as we know them! The proof of this assertion can be found in Jacques Grasset de Saint-Saveur’s 1796 publication of his voyages around the Americas entitled, “Encyclopédie des Voyages, Contenant l'abrégé historique des moeurs, usages, habitudes domestiques, religions, fêtes, supplices, funérailles, sciences, arts, et commerce de tous les peuples: Et la collection complette de leurs habillemens civils , militaires , religieux et dignitaires, dessinés d'après nature , gravés avec soin et coloriés à l’aquarellers. Par J. Grasset S.-Saveur, ci-devant Vice-Consul de la nation Française en Hongrie: Amérique.”
The two images can be found in a chapter entitled “Acadiens” and it is immediately evident based on what is written in this chapter that the Author/Artist who created this work, Jacques Grasset de Saint-Saveur is referring to/depicting the Mi’kmaq of the late 18th century.
We also need to take into account that the images found throughout this entire “Encyclopédie des Voyages” collection are of people who have very “White”/”Caucasian” features, which is simply the way in which Jacques Grasset de Saint-Saveur painted people from every race, ethnicity, etc. that he encountered all over the world. Also worth noting, is that First Nations Peoples of New France are referred to as “Canadiens” and “Canadiennes” in the section about these First Nations Peoples.
In conclusion, to end this installment of “Myth Busting,” I will simply say that it is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO SEEK SOURCE MATERIAL when conducting historical research and making conclusions relating to historical documentation. Basically, if something seems to be “too good to be true,” it usually is.
