The Spanish Castle

The flag of the City of Lafayette is the same as the one representing the Acadiana region, the official name given in 1971 by the Louisiana state legislature to the French-influenced region of southern Louisiana. This area became home to many Acadians exiled from eastern Canada by the British in 1755.Of the 64 civil parishes (counties) that make up the current state of Louisiana, 22 form Acadiana, which today has a population of about one and a half million people, including approximately 200,000 speakers of Louisiana French, often referred to as “Cajun French.”

It was three years later, in 1974, that the current flag of Acadiana was officially adopted by the Legislature. Known as the “Flag of the Acadians of Louisiana” (the Cajuns), it was designed in 1965 by Professor Thomas Arceneaux of the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) to mark the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the Acadians in Louisiana.

The three silver fleur-de-lis on a blue background represent the French heritage of Acadiana and recall several periods of Louisiana’s history when it was a French colony under the French crown, for which the fleur-de-lis was a symbol.

The golden star on a white background symbolizes Our Lady of the Assumption, the patron saint of Acadia and all Acadians, mainly in Canada and Louisiana.

The golden tower on a red background represents the Spanish royal family (Castile), which ruled Louisiana when the Acadians arrived.