But in the forest primeval of Grand Pré, Nova Scotia, a different statue stands still among the murmuring willows. Anne Marie Lane Jonah, a Parks Canada historian, says before the expulsion, Grand Pré was a thriving farming community in Acadie and Mi'kma'ki. The lands were beautified and on July 29, 1920, the Dominion Atlantic Railway unveiled the bronze Evangéline statue in a cow pasture. "I think our Evangéline, our Acadian queen, was a really big influencer because everybody appropriated her, everybody took advantage of our Evangéline," Gaudet says. "One of the locomotives was called Evangéline, there's Evangéline chocolate, Evangéline pop, Evangéline funeral home, Evangéline middle school, Evangéline café.

Source: CBC News July 26, 2020 09:00 UTC