Contact information:
Catalog Record:
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject and listed alphabetically therein.
Organized by format into the following series: I. Manuscripts; II. Sound Recordings; III. Graphic Materials; IV. Moving Images.
The Maine Acadian Cultural Survey Collection was the result of Maine Acadian Cultural Survey Project, an eight-week study conducted in 1991 as a joint project of the American Folklife Center and the North Atlantic Regional Office of the National Park Service to research information to be used in planning an Acadian Cultural Center in Maine.
No further accruals are expected.
The collection was processed by the American Folklife Center staff between 1991 and 1996. Nora Yeh revised and coded the collection finding aid in EAD format in May 2012.
Copies of the collection are also available in the Acadian Archives / Archives acadiennes at the University of Maine at Fort Kent.
Duplication of the collection materials may be governed by copyright and other
restrictions. Access restrictions apply; some or all content may be stored
offsite. To request materials, please contact the Folklife Reading Room at
Maine Acadian Cultural Survey Collection (AFC 1991/029), Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The Maine Acadian Cultural Survey Project was conducted in 1991 as a joint project of the American Folklife Center and the North Atlantic Regional Office of the National Park Service. In 1990 the U.S. Congress passed the Maine Acadian Culture Preservation Act (P.L.101-543), mandating that a study of Acadian culture in Maine be conducted for the purpose of providing data to be used in planning an Acadian Cultural Center in Maine. As a result of this act, the Park Service invited the Center to join them in undertaking such a study. The Maine Acadian Cultural Survey Project is the fifth major collaborative project between the Park Service and the Center, and the design and execution of the project were largely based on knowledge gained through earlier projects.
Under the terms of the cooperative agreement between the Park Service and the Center, the Center developed and administered a study of Acadian culture in Maine, produced a draft report with findings of the study and recommendations for future research and cultural programming, and provided the Park Service with a reference copy of the field data.
Eight weeks of field research by five researchers, interviewing residents and documenting aspects of traditional culture in context, in the St. John Valley yielded an ethnographic collection consisting of 5,081 photographic images, 3,600 pages of print materials, fieldnotes, manuscripts and catalogs, 42 computer discs, 40 hours of audio recordings, 50 pages of sketches, and an assortment of ephemeral material. These data were used to compile a 199-page report, titled
The ethnographic collection of the project has been added to the Archive of Folk Culture, Library of Congress. A reference copy of the collection was donated to the Archive acadiennes at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, where it is readily available to the residents of the study area.
The project also proved to be a successful vehicle for creating or strengthening ties between the Center and cultural agencies and individual researchers in Maine. Project personnel worked closely with the Archives acadiennes, the Maine Arts Commission, the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, the Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History, and the University of Maine at Fort Kent. In addition, researchers had considerable contact with a large number of local historical societies and other cultural organizations based in the study area.
Agreement between American Folklife Center and National Park Service. Draft of agreement and signed final agreement, with related correspondence. 27 pp.
Various documents. 52 pp.
Drafts of the act; testimony for and against; legislative history. 186 pp. and two copies of enacted bill.
Prepared by David Taylor. 13 pp.
May 7, 1991, memo from David Taylor about survey of Acadian cultural resources in Maine. 2 pp.
January 29, 1991, letter from David Taylor. 1 p.
January 30, 1991, letter from David Taylor. 1 p.
75 pp.
Blank copies. 3 pp.
Letters to and from Brassieur, C. Ray; publications. 22 pp. and two publications.
34 pp.
Compiled by Lisa Ornstein and Julie Bayley. 36 pp.
Blank copies of certificate sent to project informants. 12 pp.
Master copies of three types. 3 pp.
Forms signed by informants. 33 pp. All contents have been moved to case files.
List of individuals and institutions with information about Acadians in Maine. Compiled by Camila Bryce-Laporte. 8 pp.
Miscellaneous. 11 pp.
Prepared by David Taylor. 42 pp.
Letter from David Taylor. 1 p.
Letters from Alan Jabbour. 2 pp.
List of documentation equipment used during field survey. 3 pp.
Preliminary accounting of expenses. Invoices, purchase orders, and other documents. 133 pp. Purchase orders have been moved to case files.
Assessment of the Maine Acadian Cultural Survey Project, by David Taylor. Report and executive summary for AFC Board of Trustees. 28 pp.
Hand-outs, in French and English, about the field survey. 14 pp.
Letters from David Taylor. 2 pp.
Contacts in the St. John Valley, arranged by categories. Prepared by Lisa Ornstein. 14 pp.
Documents concerning transfer of funds from the National Park Service to the Library of Congress. 3 pp.
Letters from project informants to David Taylor. 8 pp.
Thank you letters to informants from David Taylor. 94 pp.
2 pp.
Letter to Bruce Jacobson; letter from Bruce Jacobson. 32 pp.
Letters to and from Bruce Jacobson. 66 pp.
Memos and other documents from Alan Jabbour concerning cooperative agreement with NPS. 7 pp.
Letters from David Taylor; letters to David Taylor; other documents. 35 pp.
Project mailing list. 9 pp.
Letters to Maine Arts Commission from David Taylor; documents from the Commission concerning Acadians in Maine. 5 pp. and booklet.
Prepared by National Park Service. 5 copies.
Letters to and from; other documents. 43 pp. and newsletter.
Letters to and from. 19 pp.
Prepared by Lisa Ornstein. 27 pp.
Draft of contract with American Folklife Center. 8 pp.
letter from Juris Ubans; letters to Steve Hart (Mitchell's legislative assistant) from David Taylor. 6 pp.
Letters to and from; other documents. 75 pp.
Letters to and from. 39 pp.
26 pp.
Press releases and articles about the survey project. 45 pp. and five copies of
Memo, by Camila Bryce-Laporte, concerning the contents of a resource guide she prepared for project fieldworkers; table of contents for resource guide. 9 pp.
Text of slide-illustrated program about the Acadian Cultural Survey. Prepared by David Taylor. 23 pp.
Reports on trips to the Upper St. John Valley, Augusta, and Boston, by David Taylor. 26 pp.
Meeting on June 5, 1991, backgrounds of participants. Prepared by Lisa Ornstein. 3 pp.
6 pp.
Annotated list of field tapes recorded during the survey. Prepared by Camila Bryce-Laporte. 6 pp.
MAP-RB-A001 to MAP-RB-A016. 76 pp.
MAP-LO-A001 to MAP-LO-A014. 84 pp.
MAP-DW-R001 to MAP-DW-R007. 14 pp.; MAP-DW-A001. 3pp.
Completed forms. 19 pp.
Copies of drawings, mainly of furniture and architectural features. 37 pp.
Copies of drawings of architectural features. 30 pp.
72 pp.
101 pp.
35 pp.
43 pp.
MAP-RB-B001 to MAP-RB-B005. 6 pp.
MAP-HM-B001 to MAP-HM-B021. 25 pp.
MAP-LO-B001 to MAP-LO-B002. 5 pp. (Missing log for MAP-LO-B003; may not exist).
MAP-DW-B001 to MAP-DW-B069. 104 pp. (Photos MAP-DW-B060 to MAP-DW-B069 exist as only positives; negatives are missing).
Three duplicate contact sheets.
MAP-RB-C001 to MAP-RB-C012. 13 pp.
MAP-HM-C001 to MAP-C021. 22 pp.
MAP-LO-C001 to MAP-LO-C002. 2 pp.
MAP-DW-C001 to MAP-DW-C085. 109 pp.
Questionnaire survey of cultural institutions with holdings pertaining to Acadian history and culture. Compiled by Camila Bryce-Laporte. 40 pp.
Proposal for establishing a cultural center in Madawaska, Maine. 120 pp.
Booklet about the Acadian Village, Van Buren, Maine. 2 copies.
"Our Lady of Lille."
Data about Eagle Lake. 4 pp.
Four booklets.
"Update of Town History for Comprehensive Plan 1991." 15 pp.
"Voice of the Valley."
"Language Maintenance-Speaking French at Home." Conference paper, n.d. 33 pp.
"Madawaska Twin Barn."
"The War After the War: Fort Kent Blockhouse, 1839-1842.
[Madawaska, Me.]: N.p., [1969]. Excerpts. 28 pp.
7 pp. and two copies of booklet.
Various articles from the
Seven issues (1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990).
Various programs from events in the St. John Valley, summer 1991.
Miscellaneous articles about Van Buren. 29 pp. and two booklets.
5 pp.
5 pp.
The Little Franciscans of Mary. Local history for children. 52 pp.
160 pp. + 4 pp. covers.
28 pp.
Loose-leaf manuscript and draft of a book on the history and life at Fort Kent by the First National Bank. 38 pp.
"The Maine Acadian Cultural Survey." 199 pp. [Draft report submitted to the National Park Service by the American Folklife Center]
Acadian Culture in Maine (Boston: National Park Service, 1992). 2 copies. [Draft report based on the American Folklife Center's report "The Maine Acadian Cultural Survey."]
Flag: Acadia flag: 6-3/4"x10" nylon flag on 15" plastic staff.
"Maine Acadian Resource Guide": compilation of various articles and other materials about the history, culture, and economy of the Upper Saint John Valley. Prepared by Camila Bryce-Laporte. Stored in two loose-leaf binders.
Twenty-four 3-and-a-half-inch discs in 4 containers. 18 floppy discs in 2 containers. Most contents of discs most likely were printed and stored with the collection.
All sound recordings in BOXES 22 and 23 have been transferred to NAVCC.
Total reel-to-reel tapes: 7 7-inch reels.
Recordists: Ray Brassieur, David Whitman.
Total cassette tapes: 32 (C-60).
Photographers: Ray Brassieur, Howard Marshall, Lisa Ornstein, David Whitman. Total slides: 2,381.
Note: MAP-RB-C009-20 is vacant
Note: MAP-LO-C002-8 to MAP-LO-C002-20 are vacant
Note: MAP-DW-C027-18 to MAP-DW-C027-20 are vacant
Note: MAP-DW-C084-15 to MAP-DW-C084-20 are vacant
Photographers: Julie Bayley, Ray Brassieur, Howard Marshall, Lisa Ornstein, David Whitman.
Negatives for all black-and-white images, marked with the above accession numbers, in a loose-leaf binder. Aerial photographs were taken by Julie Bayley.
Total of 97 contact sheets, comprising approximately 2,700 images, in a loose-leaf binder. (3 duplicate contact sheets are in folder number 68.) The contact sheets are available in the Folklife Reading Room.
8 x 10" black-and-white photographic prints from field collection. 80 prints in a loose-leaf binder.
All moving images in BOX 24 have been transferred to NAVCC.
All videotapes have been transferred to NAVCC.
Four videotapes from the Fort Kent Historical Society.
One videotape copy of the July 16, 1990, 30-minute production of the