Editing Cajuns (section)

==Edwin W. Edwards, Constitution of 1974==
[[File:Edwin Edwards (1986).png|thumb|200px|Louisiana's Cajun governor, [[Edwin Edwards]].]]

Perhaps the greatest proponent and catalyst for reclaiming Cajun and French history of Louisiana is four-term former Louisiana Governor [[Edwin Edwards]]. Selected to serve as honorary chair of the Eighteenth Century Louisiana panel of the 2014 academic Enlightenment Conference in Montréal,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://scedhs2014.uqam.ca/fr/programme.html|title=UQAM – Société canadienne d'étude du dix-huitième siècle – Programme|author=Desrosiers, Nicolas|access-date=May 3, 2016|archive-date=March 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305195432/http://scedhs2014.uqam.ca/fr/programme.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> the former Governor in a video address<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUY5c9IrAHE| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/GUY5c9IrAHE| archive-date=2021-10-30|title=Edwin W. Edwards Honorary Chair, Enlightenment Conference, Montreal, 18 Oct. 2014|date=October 21, 2014|access-date=May 3, 2016|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> said,<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.academia.edu/8919778 |title = Introductory remarks by former four-term Louisiana Governor Edwin W. Edwards, Honorary Chair, Montreal Enlightenment Conference, October 18, 2014|last1 = Eaton|first1 = Fernin}}</ref> "One of the legacies of which I am most proud is Louisiana's 1974 Constitution and its provision that the 'right of the people to preserve, foster, and promote their respective historic linguistic and cultural origins is recognized'."<ref>{{Cite web |title=State Constitution of 1974 > Article XII:  General Provisions |url=http://senate.legis.state.la.us/documents/constitution/Article12.htm |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20230923134626/https://senate.legis.state.la.us/documents/constitution/Article12.htm |archive-date=2023-09-23 |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=senate.legis.state.la.us}}</ref>

As the late LSU Law Center professor Lee Hargrave wrote, in reference to the protection of cultural heritage, "Proponents of the section were primarily Francophones concerned with the protection of the French Acadian culture. Representatives of the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana appeared before the committee several times to urge some recognition of cultural rights, and delegates from Lafayette and Lake Charles worked strongly for the proposal."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hargrave |first=Lee |title='Statutory' and 'Hortatory' Provisions of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 |journal=[[Louisiana Law Review]] |volume=43 |issue=3 |year=1982 |pages=647–689 |url=http://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4729&context=lalrev }}</ref>

Montréal panelist and New Orleans Créole historian Jari Honora explained that Edwards "is a perfect commentator for this panel given his advocacy for Louisiana's Francophone cultural communities during his four terms as governor. After several decades of 'Americanization' and suppression of French language and culture in Louisiana, Governor Edwards' conscious self-identification as an Acadian descendant marked a high-point for the Cajun/Creole cultural renaissance in this state."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/8786621|title=Edwin W. Edwards, four-term former Governor of Louisiana, to chair Enlightenment panel in Montreal|author=Fernin Eaton|access-date=May 3, 2016}}</ref>

{{anchor|Culture}}